The Cycle of Nursing Theory
The Cycle of Nursing Theory
Erin Bancroft
Concordia University
The Cycle of Nursing Theory
Nursing cannot exist without theory, and the concepts that define those principles. Every intervention a nurse organizes is based off of theory, and revolves directly around the patient. The current practice used as a Registered Nurse in the emergency room setting is similar, but less complicated than that of an Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner. Emergency room nurses firstly ask the patient what their chief complaint is upon arrival. The chief complaint labels the patient, and gives them a triage level based on the amount of resources needed to intervene. The chief complaint (or illness) is the nurse’s focus of his/her practice. The nurse also takes into consideration the need to educate the patient and his or her own readiness to learn. All of these factors help reach the goal of making the patient “feel” better and regain health. Below is a model of how nurses in the emergency room revolve directly around the patient.
Figure 1.1: Emergency Room Registered Nurse Conceptual Framework
Making the decision to use this framework of nursing and theory helps organize the nurse and prioritize his/her actions. Without knowing the chief complaint, the nurse cannot treat. Furthermore, the nurse must ask the patient the reasoning for his visit in the emergency room today. Often, patients have many symptoms regarding their illness; nurses must prioritize which symptoms are most concerning, and ask the patient what his bothering him/her the most (i.e. headache versus shortness of breath).
After learning what the patient has arrived for, the nurse must start gathering data that relates to the patient’s chief complaint. For example, if the patient presents with shortness of breath, it is important to gather data such as: oxygen saturation, respiratory rate and effort, lung auscultation, presence of cough, and observing patient color. In
Erin Bancroft
Concordia University
The Cycle of Nursing Theory
Nursing cannot exist without theory, and the concepts that define those principles. Every intervention a nurse organizes is based off of theory, and revolves directly around the patient. The current practice used as a Registered Nurse in the emergency room setting is similar, but less complicated than that of an Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner. Emergency room nurses firstly ask the patient what their chief complaint is upon arrival. The chief complaint labels the patient, and gives them a triage level based on the amount of resources needed to intervene. The chief complaint (or illness) is the nurse’s focus of his/her practice. The nurse also takes into consideration the need to educate the patient and his or her own readiness to learn. All of these factors help reach the goal of making the patient “feel” better and regain health. Below is a model of how nurses in the emergency room revolve directly around the patient.
Figure 1.1: Emergency Room Registered Nurse Conceptual Framework
Making the decision to use this framework of nursing and theory helps organize the nurse and prioritize his/her actions. Without knowing the chief complaint, the nurse cannot treat. Furthermore, the nurse must ask the patient the reasoning for his visit in the emergency room today. Often, patients have many symptoms regarding their illness; nurses must prioritize which symptoms are most concerning, and ask the patient what his bothering him/her the most (i.e. headache versus shortness of breath).
After learning what the patient has arrived for, the nurse must start gathering data that relates to the patient’s chief complaint. For example, if the patient presents with shortness of breath, it is important to gather data such as: oxygen saturation, respiratory rate and effort, lung auscultation, presence of cough, and observing patient color. In
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