INTRODUCTION

THEORY came from the Late Latin word theoria and Greek word theōria meaning contemplation or speculation. Meleis (1997) defined nursing theory as “…a conceptualization of some aspect of reality (invented or discovered) that pertains to nursing. The concept is articulated for the purpose of describing, explaining, predicting, or prescribing nursing care.” This definition adds the importance of communicating nursing theory and the purpose of prescription of nursing care.

Throughout history, even before the nursing profession existed, nursing practice have been accounted for and even documented. However, formalized modern nursing practice that translated into a professional context can be argued to have started and attributed to the work of Florence Nightingale. After the World War II development in science and technology had an immense influence on health care that included nursing practice. Nursing became a scientific discipline on its own with its unique body of knowledge as a basis for its practice.

In the 1960’s the proliferation of scientific knowledge became dominant. Development in the disciplines of health sciences, basic physical sciences, social and ethical theory, bio-behavioral sciences and philosophy of science contributed to the transformation of the nursing practice. The society focus changed from simply attending to sick and injured to a larger scope of curing and eradicating diseases. These changes expanded the physicians’ influence over the delivery and structure of health care. At this time, nurses realized the urgency of defining and differentiating how the nursing practice differs from other health care professionals. This initiated the drive for formulating theories in the practice of nursing which was led by nursing educators.

References:
George, J. B. (2002). Nursing Theories: The Base for Professional Nursing Practice (5th ed.).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Potter, P.A., Perry, A.G., Stockert, P.A., Hall, A.M. (2014) Canadian Fundamentals of Nursing.
Elsevier, Canada: Elsevier Mosby.
Theory. (n.d.) In Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/theory
Theory. (n.d.) In Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved from
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=theory

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