Theories in nursing help us to understand and interpret things like the human mind, pain, and suffering. They are useful in helping us to:
- interpret phenomena from unique perspectives
- Building new understandings relationships and possibilities.
Five significant terms are:
- Concepts
- Conceptual framework
- Theory
- Paradigm
- Metaparadigm for nursing
Concepts
Concepts are the building blocks of theories. Their definition includes everything from the speed of light to the unconscious. An example of a concept is:
- Einstein's theory of relativity consists of a beautiful mathematical relationship between three concepts in physics: mass, energy, and the speed of light
- Freud's theory of the unconscious mind consisted of a host of human experiences together under one mental roof of dreams, wishes, decisions, behaviors, feelings, anxieties, sexuality that resulted in three new concepts of the ego, the id, and the superego. The new concepts helped him create a model in which his larger idea, the unconscious, might be understood.
Conceptual Framework
- Conceptual framework is a group of related ideas, statements, or concepts.
- Freud's structure of the mind (id, ego, superego) could be considered a conceptual framework or model.
Theory
- Theories offer ways of looking at or conceptualizing the central interests of a discipline.
- Theories articulate significant relationships between concepts that point or explain something larger such as the unconscious, or the experience of pain.
- By definition, theories are defined as a supposition or system of ideas that is proposed to explain a given phenomenon.
Paradigm
- A paradigm refers to a pattern or set of shared understandings and assumptions about reality and the world.
- They include our notions of reality that are mostly unconscious or taken fro granted.
Metaparadigm for Nursing
- Refers to the relationships between four concepts: person, environment, health and nursing.
Source: Fundamentals of Nursing, Concepts, Process, and Practice, Seventh Edition by Kozier, Erb, Berman and Snyder
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2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
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