Page 715 - alligood 8th edition_Neat

696 UNIT V Middle Range Nursing Theories

of the theory is to foster delivery of nursing care fo- beyond nurse-client encounters. Recent applications
cused on the needs of the individuals while fostering in clinical nursing practice show tangible positive re-
their dignity, respect, and empowerment. Simplicity sults. For example, since coming to the UNC School
and consistent language used to define the concepts of Nursing at Chapel Hill as Dean, Swanson has
and processes allows students and nurses to under- focused on intensifying the linkages among nursing
stand and apply Swanson’s theory in their practice. education, research, and practice. In partnership with
Clinical Professor Dr. Mary Tonges, Chief Nursing
Generality Officer and Senior Vice President for Patient Care
Swanson’s Theory of Caring may be applied in re- Services at UNC Hospital, Swanson has worked on
search and clinical work with diverse populations. strengthening the scholarship that supports nursing
The conditions essential for delivering caring that practice and enhances the relevance of nursing educa-
promotes individuals’ wholeness across the life span tion and research to clinical practice through quality
have been described clearly (Swanson, 1999c). Hence, improvement projects. This research partnership has
the theory is generalizable to nurse-client relation- already resulted in positive outcomes on nursing
ships in many clinical settings. workplace satisfaction and patient safety. Likewise,
Swanson’s Theory of Caring has been applied in clini-
Accessibility cal practice and evaluated on selected variables at
Swanson’s Theory of Caring concepts and assump- Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, Washing-
tions are grounded in clinical nursing practice and ton, resulting in positive outcomes for patients and
research using an empirical approach. The com- nurses.
pleteness and simplicity of operational definitions
strengthen empirical precision of this theory. Swan-
son and others have successfully applied her theory CASE STUDY
in numerous studies. Swanson and her research 1. The birth of a child is one of the most memo-
team tested the Theory of Caring in a clinical trial rable experiences in a woman’s life. You are a
with women and men who experienced miscar- birth unit nurse, and at the change of a shift
riage and demonstrated that caring intervention you are assigned to care for a teen mother
resulted in decreased depressive mood and facili- who came to hospital alone and is now in
tated healthy grieving for both genders. Swanson active labor. When you arrive in her room,
has published research guidelines with colleagues you notice that she is teary and appears
for assessing the impact of caring healing relation- frightened. Describe how you would apply
ships in clinical nursing (Quinn, Smith, Ritenbaugh, Swanson’s theory to connect emotionally and
et al., 2003) and developed self-report instruments deliver caring in your practice with this
to measure caring as delivered by health care pro- young mother.
fessionals and by couples to each other (Swanson, 2. A 56 year old obese man presents in the out-
2002). The template for delivering caring-based in- patient clinic. He is experiencing polydipsia
terventions and the research-based instruments and polyuria for over a week. He also reports
open possibilities for use and further testing with a weight loss of 5 kg in the past few weeks.
other populations.
He delayed his clinic visit for as long as
Importance possible because he feared he may have
Swanson’s Theory of Caring describes nurse-client diabetes like his father and was afraid to face
the reality. You check his sugar level and it is
relationships that promote wholeness and healing. The 430. The man bursts into tears. Describe how
theory offers a framework for enhancing contempo- you would apply Swanson’s theory to help the
rary nursing practice, education, and research while client face the diagnosis of chronic disease,
bringing the discipline to its traditional values and cope with the disease process, and promote
caring-healing roots. Swanson’s Theory of Caring has well-being?
been applied to interdisciplinary caring relationships