Importance of nursing theory Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Importance of nursing theory - Assignment Example Section four summarizes the paper. Nursing theory forms the foundation of the practice of nursing. The various theories equip nurses with the vital knowledge they need to attend to patients. Like with many professions, many theories of nursing have been criticized as being out of tune with the practice(Henderson, Schoonbeek, & Paterson, 2011). These critics posit that many theories bear little or no relevance to the practical needs of the profession. The often cited examples are those of the theories of Freud Sigmund who sought to explain everything in terms of sex. Although the claim may be correct, the importance of nursing theory cannot be dismissed altogether. Students of nursing acquire practical skills when they practice the knowledge acquired from the theories. Nursing theories distinguish the profession from others. This distinction is possible because the theories are unique to the profession having been developed by nurses themselves. Besides, nursing has a fairly long history that has enabled it to establish itself. On patient care, nursing theories have helped enhance the care received by patients in the hands of nurses. For instance, during the time of Florence Nightingale, most nurses were uneducated and incompetent. Then Nightingale proposed formal nurse education and training(Zinner, 2014). Today America boasts of the world’s top nursing schools. Improved nurse training has resulted in improved care. In their Environmental Theory, Florence Nightingale described nursing as the process of using the environment of the patient to bring about their recovery. The theory posits that the patient’s environment affects their biological and physiological processes, hence the recovery process(Hallett, 2011). It is the work of the nurse to manipulate the environment so as to make it conducive to the healing process. Nightingale identified five environmental factors that the nurse should seek to manipulate.