THEORETICAL BASIS FOR ADVANCED NURSING PRACTICE

Importance of Theory: Guidelines with Scoring Rubric

PURPOSE

The purpose of this assignment is to a) identify a nursing theory, b) analyze the importance of the selected

theory to the nursing profession, c) summarize key concepts and relationships among the concepts of the

selected nursing theory, d) present views of the selected theory on areas of specialization, and e)

communicate ideas in a clear, succinct, and scholarly manner.

COURSE OUTCOMES

Through this assignment, the student will demonstrate the ability to:

 (CO#1) Analyze theories from nursing and relevant fields with respect to their components, relationship samong the components, the logic of the propositions, comprehensiveness, and utility to advanced nursing. (PO1)

 (CO#3) Communicate the analysis of and proposed strategies for the use of theory in nursing practice. (PO3,

7, 10)

 (CO#4) Demonstrate logical and creative thinking in the analysis and application of theory to nursing

practice. (PO4, 7)

DUE DATE

Sunday 11:59 PM MT at the end of Week 2

TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE: 100

REQUIREMENTS

Description of the Assignment

This assignment focuses on the importance of nursing theory within the profession. Selecting one nursing

theory (non-nursing theories are not allowed), the nursing theory will be presented by identifying the key

concepts present within the theory. The selected nursing theory will then be applied to ONE of the

following professional nursing practice areas:

•  Education (e.g. undergraduate, staff development, etc.)
•  Leadership (e.g. nurse executive, manager, leader, etc.)
•  Informatics (e.g. data management, etc.)
•  Healthcare policy (e.g. application to local, state, national, or global healthcare concerns, etc.)
•  Nurse practitioner

Criteria for Content

1. Introduction:

The introduction requires the following information.

NR501 Important of Theory Guidelines.docx Revised 01/01/2016 DRL 2

•  Statements about nursing theory in general
• Identification of the ONE nursing theory (non-nursing theories are not allowed) selected by the

student to be used within this assignment. The specifically selected nursing theory may be from any of

the three categories of nursing theory (i.e. grand, middle-range, or practice), but must be a specific

nursing theory (i.e. Orem, Roy, Benner, etc.); a category may not be used.

•  Identification of the sections of the paper.
•  References from nursing literature are required.

2. Importance of Nursing Theory:

This section requires the following information.

• Present an analysis of the importance of nursing theory, in general, to the nursing profession. Each of

the following questions is to be answered.

•  Why should the study of nursing theory be included in a master’s program?
• How is nursing theory useful to the nursing profession?
•  How can a nursing theory be used to separate the nursing profession from other healthcare professions?
•  What would be ONE concern regarding the use of nursing theory within the profession?

 References from nursing literature are required.

3. Summary of Selected Nursing Theory:

This section requires the following information.

•  Present the name and author of the selected nursing theory (bibliographic and historical

information about the theory or theorist is NOT included). Identify when the nursing theory was

initially published and the latest edition of the selected nursing theory.

•  Provide a summary of the key concepts contained within the selected nursing theory.
•  Provide a detailed description of how this nursing theory addresses each of the metaparadigms/ concepts (person, health, environment, and nursing profession) associated with nursing.
•  Identify why this nursing theory selected and its potential use within the student’s selected Master’s track (i.e. education, leadership, informatics, healthcare policy, or nurse practitioner)
•  References from nursing literature are required.

4. Application of Specific Nursing Theory to Selected Professional Nursing Practice area:

This section includes the following elements:

•  Present a discussion of how the selected nursing theory defines and explains one of the following  professional nursing practice areas:
•  Education (e.g. undergraduate, staff development, etc.)
•  Leadership (e.g. nurse executive, manager, leader, etc.)
•  Informatics (e.g. data management, etc.)
• Healthcare policy (e.g. application to local, state, national, or global healthcare concerns, etc.)
• Nurse practitioner

 Present 2 (two) examples illustrating the above information. Professional examples come from a
student’s own practice experiences or from the scholarly literature. If the example is from the
student’s experience, identify this as the source by using the first person in describing the example.
 Keep each example succinct (about 1 – 3 paragraphs).
 References from nursing literature are required.