Grand Theory Critique Essay Example

Grand Theory Critique Paper Ida Jean Orlando is a well-known theorist in the realm of nursing. Orlando was born in 1926 and had a diverse nursing career which involved many titles and roles within the profession. Originally she received her diploma of nursing in 1947 at the New York Medical College. Over the years Orlando continued her education and in 1954 earned her Master’s degree in mental health consultation from Columbia University. Orlando worked as a staff nurse in many different areas of nursing and as a graduate of a Master’s program participated in research at Yale. It was 1961 when she published her first book titled â€Å"The Dynamic Nurse-Patient Relationship: Function, Process, and Principles. † This would not be her only publication in what turned out to be a very successful career. It wasn’t until 2006 that Orlando retired from the nursing profession (George, 2010). Orlando’s theory development began through her research in mental health while at Yale. She received a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to conduct her study. The study was focused on nursing curriculum and how mental health principles were included into it during that time. Through this research Orlando came to the conclusion that nurse’s perspective on a patient directly affected the communication between the nurse and the patient. Orlando then continued on in her research into these principles and put them into practice again at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts (George, 2010). According to Orlando nursing is to be unique to each specific patient, based on each patient’s specific need. The process of nursing is to receive proper training to perform the discipline and communicate with the patient effectively and individually. We will write a custom essay sample on Grand Theory Critique specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Grand Theory Critique specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Grand Theory Critique specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Each situation is very different according to the person and must be treated as such. There are no specific set of guidelines, according to Orlando, which can be used in nursing. Nurse’s, according to the theory, must not rely on physician orders or previous patient experiences when guiding their care. The focus is on patient individuality and providing care with the thought that each patient will need a different plan and implementation even though they may have the same diagnoses as a previous patient. The goal of nursing is to meet a specific patient need (George, 2010). Orlando’s theory can be considered a grand theory since it can be used in all areas of nursing and care. It is not specific to a certain genre or population and is broad and can be easily implemented across the nursing field. No matter what specialty in which a nurse practices, individuality when treating a patient can and should be used. Therefore, the theory falls in the category of grand theory. Fawcett invented a criterion for evaluating nursing theories and how applicable they are to the nursing profession. By answering a certain set of questions, one can determine how effective a theory is when placed into practice (Reed Shearer, 2012). Orlando’s theory, according to this criterion, is easily applicable to the nursing field. The first question is significance. The metaparadigm concepts and propositions which Orlando’s theory addresses are very clearly defined and stated within her writings, although she does not use society/environment in her theory. She also defines the philosophical claims on which it is based explicitly. Orlando describes how individuality in the nursing process and education affects each patient in different ways. She also describes how using her theory is important to nurse/patient communication and its effectiveness. It is clearly stated in her theory how patients thrive and are better education when treated individually as her theory calls for. Orlando used some direction of earlier theorists, Nightingale and Peplau, in developing her theory (George, 2010). The context and content of Orlando’s theory are congruent. Both show how individuality and a patient’s specific need call for individuality to achieve affective outcomes. Orlando’s theory is consistent in every sense. Her concepts described and used in the theory, as well as its structure are consistent throughout. Through her research she carefully developed her theory and used it in nursing practice. The theory has a very distinct structure and ideals which are unwavering no matter what field of nursing you may practice in. The basis for the theory is very clear, and individuality of the patient is the base for nursing care no matter the situation. Orlando’s content of her theory is clearly stated and easily understood. With her research used to back up the theory and how effective it is to patient outcomes, it is clear to the nursing profession how useful it is. It is not complicated and the theory does not change under certain circumstances. It can clearly be used in any discipline of nursing and should be used by all practicing nurses in their care. The theory itself was developed strictly out of the use of research and grants assisting in the research done by Orlando. With the grants and Orlando’s education she was able to implement her theory in different nursing facilities and test its use on patients and the outcomes the theory provided when used. Orlando, through her research, found that her ideals about individuality in patient care resulted in very favorable outcomes for those patients. Orlando saw lack of nursing education regarding patient individuality and treating mental health was lacking in the curriculum. Other studies have been done since Orlando originally invented her theory to test this problem. A study in 2008 conducted on nursing student’s aided in proving Orlando’s thoughts on this issue to be valid. 60 nursing student responded to a drafted questionnaire which simulated patient complaints/issues and their responses were evaluated according to Orlando’s theory. In conclusion of the study, it was found that nursing students focused mostly on physical aspects of the client and their perceptions of the problem when providing care and recommendations. The students forgot to assess the client’s perception of the problem and their participation in the solution and education process (Abdoli Safavi, 2010). All findings from the research Orlando performed, as well as latter studies serve to show congruency with the concepts and propositions of the theory. Personal experiences of Orlando helped to build and strengthen her theory and how she formed it. The latter study mentioned just aided in giving more examples of other’s experiences relating to Orlando’s theory. The theory calls for education implementation in nursing curriculum to effectively perform the discipline of nursing. Throughout time the theory has been applied in the nursing field and can be seen in nursing education today. Orlando’s theory can easily be implemented into nursing practice and provides effective nursing care. As a practitioner, it is within their scope of practice to implement the theory and evaluate its effectiveness in nursing care for each patient. Not only do the theory-based nursing actions lead to more favorable outcomes in patient care, but they also are considered widely in the field to be a nursing expectation when providing that care. When applied, the theory can be easily evaluated when used or not used to compare what outcomes the theory provided in similar situations. The theory is based on a patient’s specific problem or need. Outcomes of the theories use can be measured in how effective the theory was at solving the patient’s specific stated problem. Orlando’s theory has been a great asset to the nursing discipline and greatly helped in effective patient care. While sometimes nursing care still lacks using individuality in some ways to provide the care, the profession is much more aware of patient individuality. Nurse’s today see things in a different light thanks to the research done by Orlando and her theory which is easily implementable in any nursing specialty.