Middle Range Theory in Nursing Essay

The credibility of a profession is based upon its powerfulness to create and apply supposition. Nursing as a whole has not been at the forefront of theoretical investigate being much much than practical or hands-on in nature. Unless sucks increase the value rigid on query and the body of cognition that establishes the legitimacy of their utilize past allot for will remain in a subordinate congeal in the medical environment.Theorists pass judgment that by conceptualizing models of nurse, practitioners would be able to buzz off more autonomous in their clinical settings while increasing the visibility and authority of breast feeding as a discipline. It would therefore be anticipated that nurses being able to comprehend and use theory will offer to grow with more master degree nurses and with the development of advanced perform nurses. Theoretical development is imperative as nurse progresses into care management, prescribing rights and specializer arenas traditional ly held solely by physicians.Current embodiments such as the draw Recognition Program have encouraged theoretical research in nursing (McCrae, 2012) Definition Middle range theory as specify by Smith and Liehr (2008) is a set of related ideas associated with the defined candor of nursing. These theories are developed at the level where research and nursing practice intersect. Nursing is a professional discipline and as such affection range theories are part of this structure.Middle range theories and thusly the intimacy base of nursing is growing and theories are useful to both the nursing profession nut also other disciplines involved in the care of individuals and populations. On the Ladder of Abstraction, put range theories are the middle radius below the abstract philosophical rung of symbols and concepts, and above the empirical or concrete level or that which can be observed. Current Trends In the evolving nursing profession, nursing theories have set the stage for nursi ng research and practice.The current trends in nursing theories as noted by Im and Chang (2012) were categorized into six major groupings (a) foci on specifics where the researchers rather than tho developing nursing theory focused their energies on details of the previous work and in testing associations among those concepts (b) coexistence of various types of theories where it was identified the most prevalent trend in nursing research was that particular theories were cited predominantly, where 257 articles were well-nigh grand theories, 84 were about middle range theory, 13 were related to situation-specific theory, etc. (c) close colligate to research where it was noted that most of the articles published in the last 10 years were based on twofold areas of theorizing including research findings (d) international collaborative works whereby much of the work reviewed was written by international authors coauthored by authors in the United States, where the US author was the se nior author. This may be related to an increasing number of international nurse scholar exchanges in nursing academia (e) integration to practice where nurses attempt to integrate theory into practice in their clinical practice.Occasionally two or more theories were combined to explain a particular practice setting phenomenon and ultimately (f) selective evolution where most of the research noted related to the quaternary grand theories Neumans system model, Orems self-care theory, Rogers history of unitary military man beings and Roys adaptation model. Im and Chang titled it such because only those four selective theories had been further developed through additional research in the past 10 years. They postulated that these particular theories were further developed because they are more closely linked to nursing practice.Examples An example of the coexistence of various types of theories is demonstrated by Andershed and Olssons (2009) research review of the existing middle rang e theory of caring by Kristen Swanson. Her theory was developed from separate experiential studies and has been used by multiple authors referring to her theory, applying it in practice or validating and testing the theory. The authors concluded that if flock are guided through discussions about their experiences and feel understood, informed, provided for, validated and believed in (p. 609), they were better able to integrate ifficult events into their lives in a positive manner. The middle range intellectual capital theory conceptualizes nursing knowledge deep down health care organizations and how it relates to patient and organizational outcomes. This incorporates two concepts nursing gentleman capital and nursing structural capital. These are influenced by nurse staffing and employer protrude for continuing professional development. Magnet hospital nursing staff and nurse executives deem educational support to be necessary for higher flavour patient care (Covell, 2008) Con clusionOverall it is important for the profession of nursing to formalize and expand upon middle range theories as they relate to nursing to advance the profession and validate the expanded roles being seen in nows nursing field. While building upon existing research is good it is also important to conduct new research and expand the knowledge base for all nurses. As the role of the nurse is advanced so must the research that validates the nursing profession.