Jean Watsons Theory and Patricia Benner's Skill Theory Essay

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Application of Theory to the Practice Problem of Nurse Staffing

Nursing theories are important in shaping how practitioners discharge their duties or make decisions related to the service delivery in healthcare. The following study explores and applies a middle range theory to an identified problem in nursing. Theory can be applied to solve nursing challenges especially in the management of nursing care services. The study will demonstrate the benefits of applying theory to solve a nursing dilemma. Jean Watson’s human caring theory and Patricia Benner's Skill Acquisition theory have been applied to examining and addressing the problem of nursing shortage.

A Brief Summary of the Problem

Nursing shortage is a common problem in many nations, and the United States suffers from the same problem. Sometimes, retired nurses have been approached to cover the gap in various health facilities (Grant, 2016). The shortage is characterized by a few nursing staff who are forced to work extra hours to fill the gaps of vacant positions. The literature on this topic indicates that adequate nursing staff leads to quality care for patients (Kritek & Hickey, 2011). However, lack of adequate nurses adversely affects patient outcomes and satisfaction. The nursing shortage does not only relate to adequate numbers some of whom are lost because of injuries, burnout, and overwork. The problem extends to the effect on patient care and the nursing workforce when caring, and compassionate care is lacking and its impact on both the nurse and the patient (Grant, 2016). Healthcare organizations have tried to use traditional methods such as retention plans and financially based strategies to address the issue without any success. Nevertheless, application of nursing theories to the identified problem can help give insights and interventions, which could help support the nurses, improve care delivery and patient outcomes.

The Applicable Middle-Range Theory to Curb Nursing Shortage Problem

Jean Watson’s human caring theory and Benner’s model are grand theories, which contribute to the existential practice of nursing (Schmidt & Brown, 2015).

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The human caring theory emphasizes on caring for the whole patient. Therefore, nurses must care about a patient’s body, mind, and spirit for the healing process to occur at an optimal level. Watson believes that caring is a science which goes past an intellectualization of the issues (Schmidt & Brown, 2015). Therefore, she invites us to revisit the phenomenon of the human condition. This theory is appropriate to the identified problem because applying such abstract concepts of spirituality, love and caring to the practice of nursing will help stratify the idea of human caring.

In contrast, Benner’s model will help us address the current issue by applying the ideas of education. For instance, it is important to identify the learning and performance needs of nurses and classify them as per the five levels of skill acquisition (Smith & Liehr, 2014). The process will help in identifying experts who could serve a mentoring and teaching role to nurses who are still in the novice to beginner stages. By understanding the skill level of nurses, healthcare facilities will prepare their nursing staff in the education role properly.

The Theory's Origins

Jean Watson proposed the human caring theory in 1979 (Watson & Watson, 2012). Her interest to develop this theory stems from her personal experiences, studies, and view regarding the nursing curriculum. Her personal misfortunes such as losing her husband and her eye shaped her journey regarding developing this theory. The primary focus of her theory is to give a deep meaning to nursing through what she calls the carative factors (Smith & Liehr, 2014). Benner developed the skill acquisition model because of applying the Dreyfus model that was proposed in 1984 (Schmidt & Brown, 2015). His model proposes five phases of skill acquisition namely novice, beginner, competent, proficient and expert.

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