Running head: THEORY INTO PRACTICE

Theory into Practice

Andrea S. Pratt
University of Saint Mary

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Theory into Practice

Applying nursing theory into practice is done in several ways. Most nurses do not realize
they are applying theory into practice while doing their daily routines and duties. Personally, I
used to not think about it as I did my work. The emphasis is on doing tasks, taking care of things
immediately, and, then, thinking about processing.
Theory-based nursing practice according to McEwen and Wills (2014, pg. 414) is the
application of various models, theories, and principles from nursing science and the biological,
behavioral, medical, and sociocultural disciplines to clinical nursing practice. According to
Idrees (2014), a case study was presented and related to Florence Nightingale's theory of the
environment. The basic needs of our patients are reflected in her theory that we practice on a
daily basis. This includes light, noise, cleanliness of rooms/walls, personal cleanliness, food,
chattering hopes and grief, ventilation and warming, pure air, pure water, health of houses,
efficient drainage, bed and bedding, and petty management. Most of us do not think of washing
our hands and keeping things clean as part of a nursing theory when it is.
If you asked most nurses about a nursing theory and how to put it into practice, most
would not be able to answer the question. Theory may be totally imbedded in nursing research
and practice to such an extent that nurses are not consciously aware they are using it. (Bond et
al. 2011). My first exposure to theories and research that I recall was in a baccalaureate
program. According to McEwen et al. (2014), over half the nurses in the United States have
been educated in an associate or diploma programs which do not include exposure to research or
theory. This is key to putting theory into practice. Nurses must have exposure to research and
theories to have a better understanding of why nurses do what nurses do. My associates program

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did not have research as a separate class or exposure to the topic. It was focusing on the tasks at
hand, basics, and taking care of patients without the theory or more in-depth reasons taught.
In the master's program, there is a greater emphasis on theories and research while
connecting it to our daily work in nursing. This gives us a why to our work. A basis for what we
do and how it came about.
There is a growing need for nurses to understand evidence-based practice. Most are told
by supervisors or managers of changes in practice without being given the background
information. If the background information was given along with the practice change, there
would be less resistance to the change. I have used this approach to make changes with giving
an explanation as to why with less resistance. I feel this approach would be one way to educate
nurses on evidence-based practice and relating it to research and theory.

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References

Bond, A. E., Eshah, N. F., Bani-Khaled, M., Hamad, A. O., Habashneh, S., Kataua, H., al-Jarrah,
I., Kamal, A. A., Hamdan, F. R., Maabreh, R. (2011). Who Uses Nursing Theory? A
Univariate Descriptive Analysis of Five Years' Research Articles. Scandinavian Journal
of Caring Sciences, 25: 404-409. DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-6712.2010.00835.x
Idrees, S. (2014). Clinical Application of Nursing Theory into Practice. I-manager's Journal on
Nursing, 4(1): 23-27.
McEwin, M., Wills, E. M. (2014). Theoretical Basis for Nursing. 4th edition. Philadelphia:
Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.