Study Daily 14

In this assignment, you are going to explore how a nurse theorist of your choice created their theory. You will become the theorist immersing yourself in the writings from the earliest mentioned to the most current literature. Writing in the voice of the theorist (taking on the persona of the theorist), you will create the theory through the following four stages.

In the first stage, theorizing occurs. This is where you, as the theorist, identify the concepts of what nursing is and is not. Perhaps you questioned what concepts were guiding those in nursing practice and then started to question your role. You started asking yourself, “Where am I in nursing, and where the profession is going? Is there some overarching understanding that guides the professional in his or her practice?” This is where you recognize that a theory is needed.

In the second stage, syntax is developed. This is where you will define the terms, explain relationships between the terms, and examine their expansion. Syntax development is an evolution. Consider, for example, Jean Watson. She starts by defining the word “caring.” Within the last several years, she has refined her terminology changing the term caring to caritas and identified the relationships between terms. This demonstrates a growth and maturation from decades of research she and other scholars did to produce the theory of caring.

The third stage is theory testing. Here, the theorists and other researchers consider whether this theory helps answer questions that arise in nursing. This is where your theory is used by a widening group of researchers. For example, graduate nursing students request to use the tool you developed while testing your theory in an area of nursing.

The fourth and last stage is evaluation. This is where the theory is used in practice with the goal of improving healthcare. It is evidenced in the development of policies, procedures and best practice standards that have evolved from theory implementation.