INITIAL QUESTION:

Mary, a registered nurse, decided that she wants to become a CNP. She applied and was accepted to the Family Nurse Practitioner program at Chamberlain College of Nursing. She received a course curriculum which outlined the courses necessary to complete her degree. One of the early courses in the program curriculum is NR-501 Theoretical Basis for Advanced Nursing Practice.

You are a student colleague of Mary's enrolled in the same class. On the class Q&A discussion board, Mary posted, "I took nursing theory classes fifteen years ago in my bachelor's program. I don't understand why I need to take theory classes again."

Discussion Question:

How would you respond? Develop a logical response to Mary's post. Provide evidence to support your arguments.

ANSWER:

I would initially react by first elucidating Mary immensely for having the courage to admit she has not taken a nursing theory course and being upfront and honest with her peers and professor. The nursing world is ever changing. Nursing theory is displayed in undergraduate bachelor degree programs with the purpose of understanding the foundations of the present and best practice. While in practice, all health professionals, including nursing and other disciplines, demonstrate a form of evidence-based practice. Within nursing literature, most articles related to nursing theory are for nurses to learn to use nursing theory as the framework for patient care. It is essential for Mary to study nursing theory and its useful methods, such as incorporating theory into her own practice. It can encourage organizational support of nursing theoretical frameworks, satisfaction of patients cared for, improvement of patient care, and professional growth of nurses. I believe that all health professionals depend on comparative focus feelings concerning the sciences that guide them. Florence Nightingale and Dorothea Orem are examples of our forefathers of the nursing practice. They paved the path to what has lead to the way nursing practice has evolved today. Being that Mary is a registered nurse for fifteen years, and has completed a nursing program that has given her incite to the background of nursing, she is already aware of how to discuss her practice to the class. With Mary's years of experience, I believe she will find nursing theory more interesting and informative then she may expect, and can take back what she's learned to apply in her own practice and vice versa.

Reference

Alligood, M. R. (2014). Nursing theorists and their work (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Health Sciences

QUESTION TO ANSWER

Mary wrote, "All nursing theories are the same and certainly there is no connection to APN practice."

Discussion Question: How would you respond? Develop a logical response to Mary's post. Provide evidence to support your arguments.