Aristotle's nursing models and theories: bridging theory-practice gap

Nursing theory, research, and practice
Scenario in which theory, research, and practice interact to create good patient outcomes
Imogene King’s theory
Functional Status
Nurse-Patient Relationship
Using the Imogene King’s theory to enhance Nurse-Patient Relationship
Enhanced Patient care
narrative explanation of your visual representation following the diagram.
Nursing theories have been developed as a way of trying to explain the fundamental importance of clinical practice (INSCOL, 2014). Even though these theories are used to guide practice, it is true to claim that most of them have not been put to the test as a way of determining whether the proposed nursing actions produce the claimed effects. If nursing asserts itself as the professional practice it is a professional practice environment must be supported and practiced. In order to enhance the outcome of patients and nursing staff then the professional nursing practice must be supported (INSCOL, 2014). There exist several nursing theories and conceptual models providing a basis on which clinical practice can be anchored. Among the nursing theories is the Imogene King’s Theory of Goal Attainment.
In the diagram the theory-practice relationship demonstrates the significance of the Imogene King’s Theory of Goal Attainment in helping nurse practitioners to cultivate a stronger Nurse-Patient Relationship for better clinical outcomes. As stated by Caceres (2015) the nursing theory avails a nursing schema for the interested nurse practitioner to help them enhance their functional status. This said though there exists a gap in that there is no universal definition for what functional status really means and this has derailed the development of solid comprehension of the theoretical phenomenon. Functional status has some significance for the nurses concerned with wellbeing and safety of their clients/patients. With the increased attention paid to patient and family care it has become important for the cultivation of innovative ways of examining functional status which incorporates the perspectives of the patient and the family. The ability to mutually make decisions between the nurse, patient and family has been an underutilized resource that would offer some important insight into understanding functional status.
Nursing theories should be applied in nursing practice for a number of reasons. The theories help in guiding practice in ways such as helping in organization of data, help in understanding and analyzing patient data, as well as assisting in the making of sound decisions with respect to interventions made by the nurse (INSCOL, 2014). The Imogene King’s Theory of Goal Attainment is applicable in nursing practice in many ways. The theory is fundamental in helping nurse practitioners to make sound judgment with regards to choosing the appropriate action, reaction, intervention, and transaction that would help make a patient’s health and hospital stay more manageable and comfortable as well as helping them recover faster from their physical and emotional dilemma.
Scenario in which theory, research, and practice interact
A good scenario in which theory, research and practice interact would be where a nurse is faced with a situation in the Antenatal Orthopedic care unit. A nurse practitioner serving in the orthopedic care unit is faced with a situation where a 25 year old pregnant woman who looks quite healthy and comfortable visits the examination room and begins an interaction with the nurse. In the cause of the interaction the nurse discovers that the lady is married and has since gained 10 pounds. The pregnant lady has also moved into a new neighborhood. From the interaction with the nurse it can be deduced that the lady views herself as healthy. The nurse discovers that the lady is an employed teacher and she plans to continue with her job even after delivery. The lady is quite naïve on matters labor processes. She thinks that the pregnancy is proceeding normally although she had some nausea which quickly subsided.
With this information the nurse is in a position to apply the Imogene King’s Theory of Goal Attainment in assisting the patient to set appropriate health goals and coming up with a step by step roadmap to helping her achieve the set goals. The theory pays attention to the process that will help strengthen the relationship between the nurse and the patient therefore helping the patient to achieve the set goals for the betterment of their health (Caceres, 2015). In doing so the nurse has identified the knowledge gap with the patient in terms of the existing scarcity of healthcare resources and her recent shift of locality into a new neighborhood. The mutually set goals by the mother and the nurse are to ensure that the mother is healthy throughout the pregnancy culminating into a successful delivery of a healthy child. The intervention set in place is the establishment and sustenance of a regular prenatal care schedule with frequent hospital visits for assessment. During the evaluation process the nurse was able to apply the Imogene King’s Theory of Goal Attainment to understand the position of the patient and the resources she needed to make her pregnancy and labor journey a success.
Describe the chosen theory, research, and practice guideline or standard
Nursing theory offer nurses the perspective to evaluate the situation of patients, an avenue of organizing the numerous bits of data they encounter in their daily patient care endeavors, and an ability to interpret and analyze patient information (INSCOL, 2014). The theoretical perspective makes it possible for the nurse to make plans and implement healthcare proactively and purposefully. When the nurse undertakes responsibilities systematically and purposefully they become more efficient, become better controlled with respect to healthcare outcome, and gain the ability to expertly communicate with their patients and their colleagues. The Imogene King’s Theory of Goal Attainment is founded on the perceptions of both the patient and the nurse. The theory is fundamental in the facilitation of family centered healthcare and a sound patient-nurse relationship (Caceres, 2015). Even though the theory is an excellent way of understanding the humanistic framework that enables the existence of a therapeutic and mutual relationship between the patient and the nurse, a good number of nurses have no familiarity with the theory (Adib-Hajbaghery & Tahmouresi, 2018). This essentially diminishes the applicability of the theory in the clinical practice. The functional status of the theory is not well understood by the nurses and hence more research is needed in order to make the theory an applicable practice guideline.
Explain the relationship between the three and discuss the role each aspect plays in quality patient care in the scenario
As outlined in the scenario the Imogene King’s Theory of Goal Attainment is fundamental in helping the nurse to comprehend the situation of their patient and helping them in strengthening the relationship between the nurse and the patient. The research gap in this theory is the poor comprehension of the functional status of the theory in practice and the fact that few nurse practitioners are familiar with the application of the theory in practice. It can be deduced from the scenario that the theory has some practical benefits for the patient.
Explain any gaps (a lack of research, no practice standard, or no useable theory)
The functional status of the theory as previously alluded to is non-existent. Many nurse practitioners are not familiar with the theory and its applicability hence the low usage of the theory in practice. More research is needed in order to fully comprehend the functional status of the Imogene King’s Theory of Goal Attainment (Adib-Hajbaghery & Tahmouresi, 2018).
Determine the best course of action for making decisions in the absence of one aspect
In the absence of research the value, essence, and impact of the Imogene King’s Theory of Goal Attainment will not be realized. Furthermore the functional status of the theory will remain unexploited. Consequently the relationship between the nurse, family and the patient will miss an incredible opportunity to grow. A fundamental aspect of humanistic patient care will be left out in the nursing process.
Alligod (2014) proposes intensive critical thinking and case study activities aimed at helping to alleviate the gap existing between application and theory. The author (Alligod, 2014) incorporates case studies towards the end of every theory in his book hence allowing the reader to have a broader perspective. This plan may be insightful in helping nurses understand the manner in which theoretical information can be applicable in real life practice.
References
Adib-Hajbaghery, & Tahmouresi, M. (2018). Nurse–patient relationship based on the Imogene king’s theory of goal attainment. Nursing and Midwifery Studies, 7(3), 141. https://doi.org/10.4103/2322- 1488.235636
Alligod, M. R. (2014). Nursing Theorists and Their Work (8th edn). Contemporary Nurse (Vol. 24, pp. 106–106). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.5172/conu.2007.24.1.106a
Caceres, B. A. (2015). King’s Theory of Goal Attainment. Nursing Science Quarterly, 28(2), 151–155. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894318415571601
INSCOL (2014). Integration of Nursing Theories into Practice. Retrieved 8 January, 2019 from http://www.inscol.com/canada/blog/integration-of-nursing-theories-into-practice