Do you find the nursing theorists/theories you studied in school useful in real life?

I'm studying Parse's theory of humanbecoming. I find it hard to implement in the clinical setting. Did the theories that you studied in college come in handy in the clinical setting?


They're not meant to be implemented in the clinical setting. It's all bulls***.

So far so NO! Now I am taking yet another theory class for graduate school abd I can not see myself as a NP in the future trying to apply any of it then either

Not one bit. All a bunch of BS along with care plans.

Honestly, NO. They kind of go along with Nursing diagnosis. I am not sure why we bother with Nursing Diagnosis. Big expensive text book. The only thing we use Nursing Dx for is when we are making fun of ourselves. "Oh my, I have an alternation in mentation r/t too much/not enough caffiene."

I have uses several theories on a regular basis throughout my career -- but I don't use them exactly the way they are usually taught in school. Over the years, the work of several theoriests have influenced the way I think about patients, assessing their needs, etc. They help me see the patient from multiple angles (through multiple theoretical lenses), identify multiple aspects of their needs, etc. Some theories (e.g. "reality shock," "transition shock," "novice-to-expert," etc.) help me understand the behavior of my colleagues and identify their learning needs.I find that a lot of nurses use theories without being conscious of it. They simply think of the patient in certain ways and don't realize that the way they were taught to look at the patient and practice nursing back in school was based on someone's theory. They think "that's just the way the world is," or "that's just the way nursing is done," without realizing that there ARE other ways and that the way they were taught is actually based on some theoretical perspective from the past.

The only one I think has some real world application is novice to expert by Patricia Benner.

Quote from llgI have uses several theories on a regular basis throughout my career -- but I don't use them exactly the way they are usually taught in school. Over the years, the work of several theoriests have influenced the way I think about patients, assessing their needs, etc. They help me see the patient from multiple angles (through multiple theoretical lenses), identify multiple aspects of their needs, etc. Some theories (e.g. "reality shock," "transition shock," "novice-to-expert," etc.) help me understand the behavior of my colleagues and identify their learning needs.I find that a lot of nurses use theories without being conscious of it. They simply think of the patient in certain ways and don't realize that the way they were taught to look at the patient and practice nursing back in school was based on someone's theory. They think "that's just the way the world is," or "that's just the way nursing is done," without realizing that there ARE other ways and that the way they were taught is actually based on some theoretical perspective from the past.

I didn't till I was in graduate school. Then it all began to gel and I now really appreciate the input of those theorists! Gives me some idea "why" people think and act the way they do. Guess I was a slow learner.

Just Flo's. Keep 'em clean, plenty of sunshiine, observe and note. I sweat the rest was someone needing a doctorate. And the nursing diagnoses - sure we're a discipline distinct from and equal to medicine. Want to buy a bridge?

Quote from SuesquatchRNJust Flo's. Keep 'em clean, plenty of sunshiine, observe and note. I sweat the rest was someone needing a doctorate. And the nursing diagnoses - sure we're a discipline distinct from and equal to medicine. Want to buy a bridge?

Quote from BluegrassRNThis, this, this. Nursing theories are ridiculous. They are someone's justification of their position, nothing more. They are simply a regurgitation (and in some cases, completely ridiculous mumbo jumbo) of previously researched psychological and sociological theories. We just put a nursing spin on them and call them new, original, ground breaking, relevant, deep, whatever. Blah. It's so embarrassing, it's laughable. Anyone who has taken entry level ethics, philosophy, sociology and psychology can see this.And nursing diagnoses? Don't even get me started. This crap is why I will NOT be going to grad school in nursing. A waste of time, money, energy and talent.

Quote from SuesquatchRNJust Flo's. Keep 'em clean, plenty of sunshiine, observe and note. I sweat the rest was someone needing a doctorate. And the nursing diagnoses - sure we're a discipline distinct from and equal to medicine. Want to buy a bridge?