Nursing Theory Essay Example
Running Head: PUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE
Putting Theory into Practice: Utilization of Henderson’s Nursing Theory in Everyday Nursing Practice
Health care around the world and especially in the Western world, has undergone extreme changes over the past few decades, however, the basic principles of nursing such as caring for the sick and elderly have remained the same. Many of those principles come from the teaching of Virginia Henderson.
Her interactional theory of holistic care has helped to form the philosophical base of twentieth century nursing. Following the guidelines set by Nightingale, Ms. Henderson was a humanist who “viewed the education of patients and families as core to nursing care” (Sanford, 2000, p.1). Her theory of nursing brought to the forefront the idea of the nurse as patient educator.
It is for this reason I have chosen Virginia Henderson’s theory, coupled with a Christian Worldview of Nursing, to base my practice of care at the bedside in the intensive care unit (ICU) where I work. The aspect of seeing the entire person as a whole and not in parts is an important aspect in the delivery of my care. I also believe that a patient’s faith and religion play a key role in their well-being, both as an inpatient and in the community which they reside.
Therefore, it is important to care for the entire patient. The fourteen points of Virginia Henderson’s theory, which I will later describe, allow me to implement this theory of practice at the bedside. There is no irrelevant part of the patient’s care; all parts are equally important, as I will discuss.
Worldview
Henderson’s theory is considered a grand theory of nursing. Grand theories consist of a global conceptual framework that defines broad perspectives for nursing practice, ways of looking at nursing phenomena from a distinct nursing perspective. Grand theory explicates key concepts and principles of the discipline.
There are three behavioral theories associated with the
Putting Theory into Practice: Utilization of Henderson’s Nursing Theory in Everyday Nursing Practice
Health care around the world and especially in the Western world, has undergone extreme changes over the past few decades, however, the basic principles of nursing such as caring for the sick and elderly have remained the same. Many of those principles come from the teaching of Virginia Henderson.
Her interactional theory of holistic care has helped to form the philosophical base of twentieth century nursing. Following the guidelines set by Nightingale, Ms. Henderson was a humanist who “viewed the education of patients and families as core to nursing care” (Sanford, 2000, p.1). Her theory of nursing brought to the forefront the idea of the nurse as patient educator.
It is for this reason I have chosen Virginia Henderson’s theory, coupled with a Christian Worldview of Nursing, to base my practice of care at the bedside in the intensive care unit (ICU) where I work. The aspect of seeing the entire person as a whole and not in parts is an important aspect in the delivery of my care. I also believe that a patient’s faith and religion play a key role in their well-being, both as an inpatient and in the community which they reside.
Therefore, it is important to care for the entire patient. The fourteen points of Virginia Henderson’s theory, which I will later describe, allow me to implement this theory of practice at the bedside. There is no irrelevant part of the patient’s care; all parts are equally important, as I will discuss.
Worldview
Henderson’s theory is considered a grand theory of nursing. Grand theories consist of a global conceptual framework that defines broad perspectives for nursing practice, ways of looking at nursing phenomena from a distinct nursing perspective. Grand theory explicates key concepts and principles of the discipline.
There are three behavioral theories associated with the