NUR 620 Discussion Board #3

Applying Theory to Nursing Research

General Instructions for all Discussion Boards:

1. Complete required reading before creating your post.

2. Initial post: Each student creates a new thread in the forum as the initial posting of their own that is 250-300 350-400 words (use your Word Count tool) plus TWO scholarly references to support the posting. One of the references is the appropriate text and the other a scholarly, peer reviewed journal article. If the professor responds and asks you for clarification or a question, you must respond to the professor.

3. Responding to posts: Each student must respond once during the week. The response must be thoughtful and reference-based. The response must be 100-125 150 words. Please put thought into your statements. General posts will not count; you must provide additional knowledge and add to the discussion to receive credit for the posting. ONE reference is required for response. It may be one of the original references the poster used.

4. Students who do not post by the due dates will be considered absent and will earn a grade of 0% for the Discussion post. Discussion board posts that are incomplete or do not meet the requirements may earn a partial grade or zero.

5. References must be in APA Style (7th edition) and included at the end of both postings – hanging indentation not required.

6. The reference is not included in the word count. HINT: To avoid losing work and check your word count, write your post in Word or Google doc, do the word count, and when finished copy & paste into the Discussion Board.

Use your McEwen & Wills text as a source for this post.

Follow the general instructions above and use the follow information:

A. Nursing research generates new knowledge. It finds answers to questions that align with the Nursing Metaparadigm. Theory can provide a framework for research, making it easier for novice researchers to design studies to solve problems.

B. Outline a research study

· Choose a problem from your practice area you would like to find a solution for or a healthcare/nursing/client problem you are aware of and interested in finding a solution (cannot be the same problem from your Applying Theory to Practice paper)

· Choose a theory, a framework, or conceptual model that fits the problem (may be the same theory from your Applying Theory to Practice paper)

· Determine how the theory will guide the study and create a post that:

1. Describes the problem briefly (use reference(s) to support

2. Describes the theory briefly (use text to support)

3. Defines key terms or concepts (related to problem and theory)

4. Identifies the goals or aims of the potential study

5. Explains how the research will contribute to the body of nursing knowledge

· Add a Title – include theory and enough detail for readers to understand in your thread post

C. Respond to one Peer who used a different theory for their research than you did. Reflect on how their theory could design a study to address your problem too.

Example of an Initial Discussion Post with APA Citation

Using Novice to Expert Theory to Help Nurses Transition to Pediatric ICUs

1. I work in a pediatric ICU and we have had an influx of nurses with mixed clinical experience transferring to the unit as either the first time in the ICU (peds nurses) or the first time in peds (adult ICU nurses). They are often way out of their comfort zones, and although they have nursing knowledge, either of ICU or peds, they don’t have both and this requires time and effort to get them proficient in their work. The needs of pediatric ICU patients and their parents are different from other settings (Douglas et al, 2013). We don’t have a structured way to help them which causes frustration for all of us, wastes resources, and can impact patient care.

2. We learned about Benner’s Model of Skill Acquisition this semester and it makes so much sense. The Model provides the framework for the movement of nurses from the start of their BSN education to achievement of expertise in their practice area (McEwen & Wills, 2019). It includes

a. Novice: no practice experience – new nursing student

b. Advanced beginner: demonstrates marginally acceptable performance, some real life work so can judge recurrent meaningful situations, have rule driven behaviors – new graduate nurse

c. Competent: 2-3 years experience, sees their actions as long-range goals, consciously aware of these plans, and what is most important

d. Proficient: perceives situations as a whole, recognizes expected normal and when the normal is absent. Decision making is easier because of ability to attend to what is important

e. Expert: intuitive, not just rule guided, sees problems without wasting energy, perceives the situation as a whole with appropriate actions

3. Definitions: Competent nurse – 2-3 years in pediatrics or adult ICU but new to peds ICU, Proficient nurse – more than 3 years in pediatrics or adult ICU but new to peds ICU, Skill Acquisition – knowledge and behaviors necessary to provide safe, quality care in peds ICU

4. Aim of Study – To understand the education and training needs of experienced nurses transitioning to peds ICU

5. Nurses who are ready for a new professional challenge and work life should receive support from unit management and colleagues to socialize to the new RN role. Understanding and structuring the mentorship and coursework they need will improve their orientation experience, increase collaboration on the unit, retain nurses, and lead to safe, high quality care in our peds ICU.

References

Douglas, S., Cartmill, R., Brown, R., Hoonakker, P., Slagle, J., Schultz Van Roy, K., Walker, J. M., Weinger, M., Wetterneck, T., & Carayon, P. (2013). The work of adult and pediatric intensive care unit nurses. Nursing Research, 62(1), 50–58.

McEwen, M., & Wills, E. M. (2019). Theoretical basis for nursing (5th Ed.). Wolters Kluwer Health.

Example of a Peer Response Discussion Post with APA

Nice work Sheri. My problem was helping nurses transition from in-patient to the outpatient setting, specifically the community health clinic where I am the nurse manager. I used Meleis’ Transitions Theory to address the many challenges of switching a nursing worldview from the intensity of hospital nursing with 5-7 patients per a shift to a community clinic with maybe 20+ patients (with families/caregivers) coming through every day. Benner’s Novice to Expert helps identify nurses along their professional development path (McEwen & Wills, 2019). I could also use Benner to design research that captures their needs based on their identified experience level they identify from their original work to where they find themselves now. We could aim our research at providing resources that match with their needs and measure their satisfaction.

References:

McEwen, M., & Wills, E. M. (2019). Theoretical basis for nursing (5th ed.). Wolters Kluwer Health.

Elting NUR 620 Spring 20221