For this assignment, you will Reflect on topics they have covered over the last eight weeks, Discuss the application of Middle Range Theories and Nursing Practice, and Discuss the impact of mentors during the course.
Please include 400 words in your initial post with two scholarly articles by Wednesday midnight and 200 words in two answers to your peers by FRIDAY midnight. Example After 8 weeks of the Advanced Theoretical Perspectives for Nursing course, I’m much more aware of how nursing theories are the core of our field, informing clinical practice and research. This attention to middle-range theories has been especially informative, insofar as middle-range theories sit between the great theories and the practice of nursing, providing hands-on conceptual models of patient care. As a Med-Surg nurse, I can experience these theories directly within my own clinical workflow as I am able to offer more rounded, personalized treatment.
My favorite middle-range theory is Mishel’s Theory of Uncertainty in Illness. In my practice, I frequently work with chronic illness, and this theory offers an explanation for the affective and psychological effects of uncertainty. Complex treatment patients, particularly those with chronic conditions such as cancer or long-term heart failure, are unsure of their chances and outcome. Mishel’s theory has made me more sensitive to this ambiguity, and more sympathetic and compassionate in my care. I have been able to play with this theory by having open conversations with patients and their families, teaching them about their disease, and guiding them through the unknowns, which reduces anxiety and gives them more control.
Additionally, Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory has been a useful resource in my practice as well, specifically for patient post-operative care. This theory insists on measuring a patient’s capacity for self-care, and it has provided a systematic methodology for evaluating whether my patients have a capacity to take care of themselves. For example, following surgery, patients have a hard time performing simple self-care activities such as caring for wounds or taking medications. With Orem’s theory, I can easily measure these deficits, educate and assist patients to restore independence. And it’s a real-world solution that both enhances patient outcomes and empowers patients to own their recovery.
The mentorship through this course has been tremendous. I was mentored by one who taught me the intersection between theory and practice. Mentoring provided insight and validation especially when I found it difficult to figure out how to apply more conceptual ideas in practical context. My mentor and I discussed and reflected on the practicality of applying middle-range theories to certain patient cases, and the value of such paradigms in clinical decision-making. The feedback I received has encouraged me to apply these theories in my own practice, and now I am better prepared to bring these models with me into my future work as a nurse practitioner.
Finally, the application of middle-range theories in practice was something I have learnt from. Such theories – in particular Mishel’s and Orem’s – have had immediate consequences for my practice, which now includes more integration, patient-centered, reflective practice. Second, the guidance I got in this course was very useful in firmly cementing my grasp on these theories and boosting my application. I will take the knowledge and practice that I gained in this course and apply them as I progress towards becoming a full time advanced nurse practitioner to offer excellent, theory-driven care to my patients as I progress toward that.