Nursing theory is an important aspect of nursing practice, which supports their daily activities. It provides specialists with insights into the core of their responsibilities and drives the further development of nurses’ knowledge. The modern healthcare environment requires care providers to understand and exhibit diverse skills and abilities, which should be based on nursing theory (Masters, 2014). Moreover, these approaches rely on the evidence from reliable research; therefore, they transform nursing practice into an evidence-based activity. Thus, it provides specialists with a sense of identity and assists them in comprehending their role and input into the process of care.
One of the situations in my clinical practice that was linked to the application of a nursing theory was the case of a patient who had his leg amputated. He felt depressed and thought that his life had no meaning because part of his body was removed. I decided to apply the Self-Care Theory developed by Dorothea E. Orem. I tried to provide him with psychological support by helping him to realize why he was feeling this way, and it turned out that he believed that he could no longer be self-sustaining. After determining the factors that were bothering him, I explained to the patient how he should take care of himself (Grove, Burns, & Gray, 2014). By providing education and instruction to him, he understood that, in fact, he could function autonomously and that his fears were only disturbing him and hindered the process of healing.
Common Barriers to Change
The three common barriers to change within the nursing practice are insufficient knowledge, weak motivation, and ineffective time management of specialists. These factors can hinder the successful implementation of a project or can negatively affect its results. Nurses are often overwhelmed with duties, and they might consider that the change project intends to load them with new responsibilities (Harvey & Kitson, 2015). To overcome these barriers, it is necessary to explain the potential benefits that the project can bring and discuss the skills and knowledge that will be required from nurses.
In addition, it is crucial to stress that nurses will receive the necessary instruction so that they will be knowledgeable of how they should contribute to project implementation. Furthermore, sufficient time provision will help to address the project of time management. It is important to anticipate these barriers to change to ensure that the project is carried out under the same conditions as it was planned and that the nursing personnel engaged in it comprehend their responsibility as well as the advantages of testing the new intervention (Harvey & Kitson, 2015). Overall, by implementing a project successfully, the researcher will have the possibility to transform the current healthcare setting into a more secure and healthy environment.
Nursing Theory and Change Project
The nursing theory that supports my change project is the Health Belief Model. This theory is one of the widely used approaches for stimulating preventive behavior among patients (Aboyoun Hayden & Paterson, 2013). The essence of this model lies in the idea that a nurse should help patients understand the important factors related to their health and encourage them to respond appropriately to prevent negative consequences. In particular, according to this theory, patients should be aware of their vulnerability to certain factors and recognize their personal risk.
From the point of view of my project, patients should understand that falls can have serious consequences for their health including a decrease in the quality of life due to traumatization and even death. This will help to convince patients of the importance of preventive behavior (education and physical exercise) to preserve their health and ensure safety (Aboyoun Hayden & Paterson, 2013). Also, the application of this theory to my change project will help explain to patients why they will benefit from participating in it. Thus, the Health Belief Model suggests that for patients to change their behavior (so that they begin to exercise to improve balance and tone of their muscles), they need to receive an internal stimulus.
Potential Barriers
Several potential barriers can threaten the success of the change project. To be more precise, they are the health status of patients, nurse instruction, and communication. It should be noted that not all patients can receive the intervention due to their condition (physical activity is not recommended). In addition, nurse participants might require additional instruction to educate patients correctly in terms of physical exercises. Moreover, communication is perceived as one of the greatest barriers (Ellis, 2016). Nurses should actively communicate with both patients and their families to ensure that the intervention is implemented fully. Therefore, this requires additional effort from their side. However, nurses are overwhelmed with duties; therefore, they might reduce the number of contacts with patient families. To minimize these barriers, it is necessary to discuss the importance of the project with all participants prior to initiating it so that they comprehend the benefits a successful project implementation can bring (Pooler, 2014). Nurses, as well as patients and their families, should be made aware of the fact that the change project has a potential to make quality improvements to care provision and enhance the quality of patients’ lives.
References
Aboyoun Hayden, J., & Paterson, W. (2013). Introduction to health behavior theory (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Ellis, P. (2016). Evidence-based practice in nursing (3rd ed.). London, UK: Learning Matters.
Grove, S. K., Burns, N., & Gray, J. (2014). Understanding nursing research: Building an evidence-based practice (6th ed.). New York, NY: Elsevier.
Harvey, G., & Kitson, A. (2015). Implementing evidence-based practice in healthcare: A facilitation guide. New York, NY: Routledge.
Masters, K. (2014). Nursing theories: A framework for professional practice. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Pooler, A. (2014). An introduction to evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare. New York, NY: Routledge.