NCM100: THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF NURSING
CONCEPTS
NURSING
 Both and Art and a Science
 Why? It is more than just knowing, it is doing
It bridges information from nurses to patients
in a skillful way
 Nursing theories is brought about by scientific
principles through evidence-based practice
CONCEPT
 A unit of thought
 A general idea formed in the mind
 Something understood or retained in the mind
from: experience, reasoning, imagination or
occurrence
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK/MODEL
 A set of interrelated concepts that represents
a mental image about individuals , groups,
situations and events of interest
 Basic component are boxes, arrow and lines
THEORY
 A system of ideas intended to explain
something
 Set of principles in which the practice of an
activity is based
 An explanation based on observation,
experimentation and reasoning Ex. Theory of
Evolution of Man Theory on Growth and
Development
NURSING THEORY
 A body of knowledge that describes or
explains nursing and is used to support nursing
practice
PRINCIPLE
 A basic generalization that is accepted as true
and is used as basis for reasoning or conduct
CHARACTERISTICS OF A THEORY
 Interrelated concepts - link to each other
 Logical in nature – well reason, well thought
out, clear
 Basis for hypotheses – an idea or explanation
that is tested, studied and experimented Used
by practitioners to guide and improve their
practice
4 COMPONENTS OF A THEORY
A.
 Ideas and mental images that helps to describe
or label a phenomena (a fact, occurrence or
circumstance observed)
B.DEFINITIONS
 Conveys the general meaning of the concepts
 Ex. Conservation is commonly define as the
prevention of wasteful use of resources
whereas in Levine’s Conservation Model –
conservation is define as the keeping together
of life system
C.ASSUMPTIONS
 Statements that are accepted as true but has
not been proven as such
D.PHENOMENON
 A situation that is observed to exist but cannot
be thoroughly explained at the moment
 Ex. Covid-19
TYPES OF THEORIES
A. METATHEORIES
 Are theories about theories
 Theories whose subject matters are
some other theories
B. GRAND THEORIES
 Are broad in scope and complex and therefore
require further specification through research
before they can be fully tested
C. MIDDLE – RANGE THEORIES
 Has limited scope
 Address specific concepts
D. DESCRIPTIVE THEORIES
 Are the first level of theory development
 They have the ability to explain, relate and
predict nursing phenomena
 Ex. Theories of Growth and Development-
describes the maturation process of an
individual at various ages
E. PRESCRIPTIVE THEORIES
 Address nursing actions and predict
its outcome
 Action oriented Ex. Warm
Compress
IMPORTANCE OF NURSING THEORIES
 Aim to describe, predict and explain the
phenomenon of nursing
 Provide the foundations of nursing practice
 Helps to generate further knowledge an direct
how nursing will develop in the future
  Help to provide better patient care
 Enhanced professional status for nurses
 Guides research and nursing education
PURPOSES OF THEORIES
A. In Practice
 Assist nurses in everyday experiences
 Serves as guide in assessment, intervention
and evaluation of nursing care
 Helps establish a criteria to measure quality
of nursing care
 Enhance autonomy ( self-governance) of
nursing by defining its independent
functions
B. In Education
 Provide a focus for curriculum design and
decision making
C. In Research
 Offer a framework for generating
knowledge and new ideas
4 METAPARADIGM OF NURSING THEORIES:
1. PERSON
 Recipient of nursing care
 Individuals, families, communities and
groups
2. ENVIRONMENT
 Factors that affects individuals internally
and externally
 Everyday surroundings and settings where
nursing care is provided 4 MAJOR
CONCEPTS OF NURSING THEORIES:
3. HEALTH
 Addresses the person’s state of wellbeing
4. NURSING
 Describes what nursing is, what nurses do
and how nurses interact with clients/patient
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE (MID-1800): Environmental
Theory
 Developed the first theory of nursing:
 Environmental Theory She believed that in
the nurturing environment, the body could
repair itself
 First nursing theorist
 First professional nurse Published books
(1859) :“Notes on Nursing: What it is, What
it is not” : Notes on Hospital • She provided
the nursing profession the “Legacy of
Caring”
 Born on May 12, 1820 in Florence , Italy
Born to a wealthy family
 Her calling was to serve God and serve
mankind
 At age 24, she decided to work in a hospital-
her Family disapproved
 Studied nursing in the Institution of
Deaconesses (1850) Kaiserworth, Germany
(3 months)
▪ “The Lady with the Lamp”- served during
Crimean War
 After the war, she wrote the
Environmental Theory
 She intensely work reforms in
nursing and was given the title “The
Mother of Modern Nursing”
 She established a school of nursing
at St. Thomas Hospital in England
She advocated that “nursing
knowledge is different from medical
knowledge”
 She believe in nursing the sick and
those who were already well
 The nurse must use Nightingale’s 13
Canons in health promotion and
spiritual distress
 Died on August 13, 1910,London
NIGHTINGALE’S 13 CANONS
1. Venitilation and warmth
 Assess the body temperature
 Room temperature
 adequate ventilation, fresh air Foul odors
2. Light
 Assess room for adequate lighting
 Sunlight works best
3. Cleanliness of rooms and walls
 Assess room for dampness, dirt, dust or
mildew
4. Health of houses
 Assess room for dampness, dirt, dust or
mildew
  Assess surrounding environment for pure
air, clean water, drainage, cleanliness and
plenty of light
5. Noise
 Assess noise level
 Keep noise to a minimum