Introduction
Development and clarification of knowledge in nursing is a major concern in the industry. Because of this focus, many people have shifted their attention towards the methods of clarification and concepts. Over the years, concept analysis methods have been used for people to get conceptual clarity. There is adequate exploration in conducting analyzing concepts. To understand this topic more, this paper seeks to analyze concepts as the building blocks of the nursing knowledge.
List of concepts
The film ‘Breathing Lessons: The Life of Mark O’Brien is a documentary film touching on the life of Mark O’Brien. O’Brien was a disabled man in the society and because of this, he faced several challenges. For instance, he fought hard to establish that even the disabled in the society can be independent. In this film, there are several concepts that are addressed. These concepts may include caring, community, holism, health promotion, ethics, stewardship and human diversity (Butts et al. 2011). All these concepts were relevant in O’Brien’s care.
Related concepts
The above nursing concepts are related in one way or another. As a major source of nursing information, the interrelationship that exists between these concepts is essential as the nursing practice is facilitated (Butts et al. 2011). For the purposes of this paper, I will analyze the concepts of caring, ethics and human diversity and explain how they are related in the film.
Conceptual definition
Caring as a nursing concept means that one is compelled to be involved to the patient’s activities by providing them with the support they need. The care-giver is required to act on behalf of the person needing care. Under this concept, it is necessary for the care-giver to overcome prior beliefs and biases before tackling the situation/person. This concept may focus on a group, standard or an individual. It is important that one remains honest, intuitive, nonjudgmental, committed and persistent. This is the only way that nursing will be relevant to the society.
Ethics
In every profession, there exist rules and traditional beliefs on what is considered to be right and what can be classified as being wrong. In practice, this concept should be well-nurtured in institutions to ensure that it seamlessly fits the bill. The manner that people behave and the consequences of such behavior are all as a result of ethics as a concept. Professionalism is always key.
Human diversity
This refers to the variations that exist among different individuals, communities and groups. In most cases, such variations take multiple dimensions such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, mental ability, gender, culture and economic status. This concept has a direct impact in the nursing industry.
Concept analysis
Caring
Nursing education is essential in shaping students to understand what is expected of the once they enter the market. Although it has several constraints, its role in the industry cannot be underestimated. Caring as a concept of nursing entails more than mere support directed to the patients. In the film, for instance, this concept is demonstrated by the care that the family members gave to O’Brien. The engagement between the nurse and the patient should be both emotional and psychological. Through this way, success will be achieved in the society. The consequences of this concept depend on how it is applied. Proper care is likely to give the patients the morale to improve on their conditions whereas a negative approach may never achieve the same (Reed et al. 2004).
Ethics
This concept requires that all nurses and employees in health facilities subscribe to a certain way of conduct when doing their duties. In most cases, this concept is adopted into the culture of the institution. Effectively, nurses ought to behave professionally when handling clients and other patients (Reed et al. 2004). Whenever this is not the case, they risk being criticized for failing to play their roles effectively. The effect of this concept is that the professionals get to act based on the laid down rules and as such, their behavior is restricted. With this in mind, it becomes easy for the professionals to offer better services.
Human diversity
The antecedents of this concept are based on the notion that different people tend to handle situations differently. As such, it is essential to have teamwork in any activity. The sharing of information and making collective decisions is essential in ensuring success is achieved. When correctly applied, this concept results in quality decisions on how to handle potential problems (Reed et al. 2004).
How concepts are building blocks of a theory
Concepts form the building blocks of several theories. In essence, a concept seeks to describe reality, though partially (Reed et al. 2004). In most cases, the term offers a general description of a phenomenon being discussed. Every theory in nursing commences with a single idea and develops after being put in tests. Lack of this would make it impossible to have concepts. Theories are based on concepts. The strength that a given theory in the nursing discipline gets depends on the quality of the concept and its analysis. For instance, using poorly understood concepts when carrying out a research is likely to lead to wrong facts. Concept analysis is related to philosophical inquiry’s research design. Because of this, concepts play a significant role in building nursing theories and theories in other subjects.
Development of a middle range theory
There are several middle range theories relevant to O’Brien’s case. The self-reliance theory dictates that nurses should do their best to ensure that patients are empowered to handle their own problems (Peterson et al. 2004). This should be the case for disabled people in the society. The ethics, care and human diversity concepts are relevant to the self-reliance theory. It is through care that nurses are motivated to empower patients. The table below shows how the three concepts are related to the theory.
Formulating nursing assessment questions based on the concepts
- How do the staff members behave when handling the patient?
- What is the likely impact of ignoring the patient in terms of assisting them doing their duties?
- What perception do different people develop towards patients?
- How can all the concepts be controlled to ensure a better outcome is achieved?
- Discussing the value of a theory
- Theories play a significant role in aiding the clinical nursing practice. Nursing practice is in most cases guided by approved theories to ensure there is a fresh approach to the issue. Theories also ensure that there is an outline to be followed in an attempt to provide better services t people. This way, theories are essential (Peterson et al. 2004).
References
Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. (2011). Philosophies and theories for advanced nursing practice. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Peterson, S. J., & Bredow, T. S. (2004). Middle range theories: application to nursing research. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Reed, P. G., Shearer, N. B., & Nicoll, L. H. (2004). Perspectives on nursing theory (4th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
