nursing theories

Grand Theories

The broadest of the three theory classifications, offering wide-ranging perspectives focused on abstract concepts that often stem from a nurse theorist's lived experiences or nursing philosophies, helping to guide research in the field.

Hildegard Peplau's Theory of Interpersonal Relations

An example of a grand nursing theory suggesting that for a nurse-patient relationship to be successful, it must go through three phases: orientation, working, and termination.

Middle-Range Nursing Theories

Theories that lie between the sweeping scope of grand nursing and a minute focus on practice-level theories; they are often phenomena-driven, attempt to explain or predict certain trends in clinical practice, and are testable or verifiable through research.

Dorothea E. Orem's Self-Care Deficit Theory

A grand theory applied to patients dealing with various conditions (ranging from hepatitis to diabetes) which suggests that patients recover most effectively if they actively and autonomously perform self-care.

Practice-Level Nursing Theories

Theories that are specific to a patient's needs or goals, guiding the treatment of health conditions and situations requiring nursing intervention, and directly impacting daily bedside practices more than other theory classifications.

Nursing Theory in Practice

The reciprocal relationship where theory and practice inform each other, determining research that shapes policies and procedures while nurses apply theories to patient interactions.

Madeleine Leininger's Transcultural Nursing Theory

A theory put into effect when a nurse aims to provide culturally competent care through a commitment to ongoing education and open-mindedness.

Value of Applying Nursing Theoretical Frameworks

Develops nursing knowledge, supports evidence-based practice, helps understand decision-making processes, and promotes quality patient care.