Application of Nursing Theory Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Application of Nursing Theory - Research Paper Example Although nursing theories are designed to address a range of concrete and specific phenomena, they however are seen to vary in scope as regard to the relative level of substantive specificity of a given theory as well as the degree of concreteness of its propositions and concepts. Grand Nursing Theories which are theories are developed to represent extremely complex and global nursing phenomena. They are developed to provide an overall framework that can effectively be used in the structuring of broad abstract ideas (Lloyd, Hancock & Campbell, 2011, p. 30). The Middle-Range Nursing Theories that are formulated with the aim of addressing more narrowly defined and concrete phenomena as compared to grand nursing theories (Elo, 2013, p. 3) and the Practice Nursing Theories which are narrow in scope and concrete; these theories establish basic nursing care guidelines that can be used to effectively address specific nursing problems (Lloyd, Hancock & Campbell, 2011, pp. 32). It is not possible to choose one level of nursing theories over the others as nursing practice requires the use of multiple theories; these theories cannot by themselves tell nurses exactly what they need to do in the effective solving of clinical situation practice problems. The different levels of theory generally provide different types of utility that can be used in nursing practice and the same burden of expectation cannot be placed on the different levels of nursing theory. In the resolution of nursing practice problems, each level of theory has its own usefulness. Based on the functions of each level of theory, it can be perceived that the usefulness of a given level of nursing theory is really a function of determining exactly which layer of the rather complex nature of nursing one wish to address. In resolving the problem in nursing