What is Nursing Theory and why do we need it Article

What is Nursing Theory and why do we need it - Article Example It can also be a set of principles based on a subject (OAD 1980). When we put it together with the nursing field, theory is a set of ideas and principles by which a nurse determines how to view the patient and determine the best solution for the patient. However, there are a number of theories in nursing and all of them are relevant to some aspect of the nursing field and how one can make decisions. Ultimately, while these are meant to be meaningful and relevant, they must also be understood in how they affect the practice of nursing as well as aspects of nursing research, management and administration, and also in nursing education (McEwan and Wills 2010). Initially, nursing was considered more as a series of functions and tasks that were assigned initially by a doctor dictating what needed to be done to a patient, rather than a careful series of thought processes conducted by the nurse in regards to the state of the patient. As more people, usually women, became involved in nursing whether through a concentrated study of medicine, or through environmental circumstances (war), the idea of nursing became more of a career calling or profession which is now well-respected in nearly every community because of the good outcomes from what nurses do for society (McEwan and Wills 2010). It wasn’t until the 20th century that those in nursing began thinking more about the structures of the nursing profession and the principles behind how nurses operated and approached their work with patients. Hildegard Peplau was one of the first writers to publish her theory work Interpersonal Relations in Nursing in 1952. Her work was initially delayed because she was not publishing in conjunction with a medical practitioner which was standard at that time (Lakeman, 1999). This work was influenced by Harry Stack Sullivan’s theory of interpersonal relations