NUR 502 Week 4 Assignment 1

Collaborative Learning Community: Grand Nursing Theorist Assignment: Theorist Identification and Rationale

Details:

This is a CLC assignment.

The purpose of this assignment is to have a clear understanding of the elements of a theory and to apply a theory to practice. The CLC group must use a grand theory or a high-level mid-range theory.

The group will create a report for a practice committee at a health care institution. The objective is to convince your peers of the value of using a specific theory to guide practice and evaluate care.

Since the text does not provide adequate information on any one theory for the purpose of this assignment, further research through nursing theory websites (general and specific), as well as theory texts specific to individual theories, will be required.

Begin the assignment by identifying a theorist and providing the rationale for the group’s selection.

Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the GCU APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Refer to the directions in the Student Success Center. Only Word documents can be submitted to Turnitin.

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Grand Nursing Theorist

Introduction

Virginia Henderson was one of the first women to graduate from nursing school. She began her career as a nurse at the U.S. Army Hospital in Washington D.C., and later became director of nursing for the army’s General Headquarters for six years before retiring in 1955 at age 50.

Virginia Henderson was born in Kansas in 1897 and was raised by her grandparents.

Virginia Henderson was born in Kansas in 1897 and was raised by her grandparents. She graduated from the Army School of Nursing in Washington, D.C., and developed a theory to define the unique focus of nursing practice.

She graduated from the Army School of Nursing in Washington, D.C.

• She graduated from the Army School of Nursing in Washington, D.C., in 1917.

• She studied at the University of Michigan and earned her bachelor’s degree in 1922 with a minor in economics.

• In 1925 she received her master’s degree from the University of Minnesota with a major in sociology and minors in psychology and history/social science education.[2]

Henderson developed a theory to define the unique focus of nursing practice.

Nursing theory is the focus of nursing practice. Nursing theorists believe that nurses should focus on the needs of individual patients and their families, rather than on what nurses can do for them. For example, when caring for a patient with kidney failure, you may be tempted to administer intravenous fluids and antibiotics because it’s what you’ve always done in the past and it seems logical to do so now. While these actions might help some patients with kidney failure survive longer than others who don’t receive these treatments, they won’t necessarily improve quality of life or eliminate pain from their lives. Instead of focusing on what we all want—a healthy body ready for discharge from hospital—nurses should instead spend time understanding how this illness affects each person differently; how does their condition affect family members; how does it impact other aspects such as work responsibilities or social life?

The focus of her theory is on what nurses should do for patients as opposed to what they should know about them.

The focus of her theory is on what nurses should do for patients as opposed to what they should know about them.

In other words, it’s not so much about knowing everything there is to know about each patient’s medical history and condition, but rather focusing on the relationship between the nurse and patient. This can help make sure that both parties are comfortable with one another, which in turn helps improve communication between all involved parties (doctor, nurse and patient).

Conclusion

I think you’ve seen in this article how Virginia Henderson developed her theory of nursing practice. She started with the belief that nurses need to focus on doing things for their patients instead of knowing about them. This is an important concept to keep in mind when practicing as a nurse, because it will help you become more productive and efficient at what you do every day.