Assignment: Theory–Practice Gap

Assignment: Theory–Practice Gap ORDER NOW FOR CUSTOMIZED AND ORIGINAL ESSAY PAPERS ON Assignment: Theory–Practice Gap Fundamentals of Nursing Models, Theories, and Practice discusses the theory-practice gap in detail in many chapters. As you’ve read throughout the course, there is ongoing discussion about the connection between theory and practice, and the application in day-to-day nursing activities. This assignment is designed to illustrate that although there may be a gap, other factors play an important role in decision-making and each aspect of theory, research, and practice experience are integral to well-rounded patient care. Assignment: Theory–Practice Gap Read: Fundamentals of Nursing Models, Theories, and Practice and review Figure 1.4 Correlation: education, science and practice. (Included as attachment) Think of a scenario in which theory, research, and practice interact to create good patient outcomes. Create a visual representation of the theory-practice relationship or gap by replacing the text in the Theory-Practice Gap Diagram template. (Included as an attachment) Write a minimum of 525- to 700-word narrative explanation of your visual representation following the diagram. Describe the chosen theory, research, and practice guideline or standard. Explain the relationship between the three and discuss the role each plays in quality patient care in the scenario. Explain any gaps, such as a lack of research, no practice standard, or no useable theory. Determine the best course of action for making decisions in the absence of one aspect. Include documentation of the practice guideline or standard, and your corresponding research, evidence, or literature example. Cite your research and practice guidelines in-text and on the references page at the end of the template. attachment_1 attachment_2 Key Concepts 1.1 1) Phenomenon: something that you experience through your senses 2) Concept: a name given to a phenomenon Proposition: a statement that links concepts together different types of relationships 3) Assumption: something that you take for granted even though it has not been proved or tested From these exercises you will hopefully be able to understand some of the definitions that exist to explain nursing theory. For example, Dickoff and James (1968: 105) defined nursing theory as a ‘conceptual system or framework’ whereas Chinn and Jacobs (1979: 2) saw theory as ‘an internally consistent body of relational statements about phenomena which is useful for prediction and control’. Chinn & Jacobs later developed the definition further. The more recent definition is more complex (Chinn & Jacobs 1987), but you should understand its meaning: ‘a set of concepts, definitions and propositions that project a systematic view of phenomena by designating specific interrelationships among concepts for the purpose of describing, explaining, predicting or controlling the phenomenon’. The definition highlights the content, context and function of the theory, pointing to the construction of a theory (concepts, definitions and propositions) and the interrelationships between theory elements and functions of a theory (describing, explaining and predicting). It is important to note here that this description is close to the original meaning of the term ‘theory’. It is derived from the Ancient Greek term theoria , meaning a spectacle, i.e. something that is witnessed – in other words, a phenomenon! Another definition, this time by Im and Meleis (1999: 11), drew attention to a theory as something that is purposefully structured: ‘an organised , coherent and systematic articulation of a set of statements related to significant questions in a discipline that are communicated in a meaningful whole to describe or explain a phenomenon or a set of phenomena’. This clearly states that the theory is a body of knowledge of nursing, and provides answers to questions that are of interest to nursing. However, more recently, Chinn and Kramer (2008: 219) defined theory as ‘a creative and rigorous structuring of ideas that project a tentative, purposeful, and systematic view of phenomena’. Earlier in this chapter, we wrote that theories may reflect fact or, indeed, be totally untrue. When a theory is tested many times and stands up to that test, in theoretical language it is beginning to take on the shape of a law. Theofanidis and Fountouki (2008: 16) stated that a theory can be defined as ‘a statement representing a law waiting to happen’. For example, let us say a theory of skin integrity led nurses to turn bed-bound patients once every two hours to prevent pressure ulcers. If this was consistently tested through research and found to be true then the theory could be taking on law-like properties. According to these various definitions, a nursing theory is constructed out of specific nursing phenomena represented as concepts, definitions, assumptions and propositions that help describe, explain or predict how nursing may support and help patients, families or society Get a 10 % discount on an order above $ 100 Use the following coupon code : NURSING10