Adavanced Nursing Theory

Advanced Nursing Theory

Any scientific discipline necessarily operates under the guidance of theory. Indeed, without theory, science cannot operate. On the other hand, it is also true of all theoretical disciplines that theory cannot exist without practical experimentation to support it. In fact, without the practice and experiments to further provide solid proof for theory, no theory can further develop. In this way, practical experimentation and theory go hand in order to further the entire discipline for the benefit of humanity and science. It words, or should work, the same for nursing. In nursing practice, however, there is often a divide between the theory and practice. One of the reasons for this is that, because nursing is such a practical profession, the theory is often left to gather dust. In other words, the interaction between theory and practice is somewhat diminished because of the nature of the profession.

Theories that interact closely with practical application within the sciences mostly do so to create the concept of "applied sciences" (Butts and Rich, 2010, p. 6). Sciences such as sociology, psychology, and anthropology fall under these. However, when the focus of science is human beings and the use of science to and for them, like nursing, it is known as human science. This term was coined by the German philosopher Dilthey, who was concerned with the person at the center of scientific practice. And indeed, there is no scientific discipline in which the person is more central than in nursing. Perhaps, also, this is the main reason for the basic divide that has come to exist between the theory and practice.

This is a central question within nursing theory and practice. There appears to be a fundamental divide between focuse theory and the actual realities experienced by nurses. Indeed, many nurses believe that the theory is not at all helpful to the practice they need to engage in at a daily basis. Hence, there is a sense within this group of individuals that nursing, being a practical science, should be grounded within theory that is far more applicable to actual practical situations.

As an example, one might take the Hippocratic Oath, as discussed by Hulkower (2010). This oath, created for the first time in Greece more than 2,400 years ago, still forms the basis of most nursing ethics documents. During recent decades, however, there has been an increased body of criticism against the perceived rigidity of this oath in the light of new nursing developments. Practical concerns such as euthanasia, science developed to prolong a patient's life, and other related developments have come into conflict with the central directive of "do not harm." Indeed, the nature of "harm" has become far more liquid than the case was in the past. Prolonging life, for example, might mean causing more harm than good in terms of prolonging pain that neither the family or the patient consider to be "harmless."

In such a case, the theory needs to be modified to more practically relate to the everyday lives of nurses and their patients. Euthanasia today is a very controversial issue, precisely because of this divide between the practice of nursing and the ethical theory underlying it. Many patients and families are made to suffer not only physically, but also emotionally and financially because there is so little practical agreement between underlying theory and practice.