Mid-Range Nursing Theory Analysis Research Paper

Introduction

Mid-range nursing theories aim to bridge the gap between the theory and practice of nurses. One of these models was developed in 2003 to promote the importance of the interactions between a nurse and their patient and the impact of this relationship on the health outcomes.

The Quality-Caring Model was selected as the focus of this paper since it highlights the aspects of care that are beyond the understanding of medicine or human biology, which help address many illnesses but are insufficient to make an impact on one’s attitude towards health. This aspect is especially crucial for Family Nurse Practitioners (FNP) since they often work with patients long-term and have to address chronic illnesses, which implies a change in a person’s lifestyle for achieving successful management. As such, this paper aims to explore the concept and theory of the Quality-Caring model and argue that this approach has to be an integral part of an FNP’s professional practice.

Biography

This theory was developed by Joanne Duffy and Lois Hoskins in 2003. The bibliography of the two includes several notable moments. Hoskins was engaged in studies connected to nursing care at the University of America in Washington. Duffy (2016; 2019) is a practitioner and author of several books, such as “Professional practice models in nursing: Successful health system integration” and ” Quality-Caring in nursing and health systems: Implications for clinicians, educators, and leaders” that focus on the implications of the explored nursing care model in practice.

Duffy is a professional nurse with a Ph.D. degree, who is also a professor at West Virginia University Hospitals (Duffy, 2019). Duffy worked as a cardiovascular specialist and Director of Nursing Services, and she was influenced by the Theory of Human Caring and Quality of Health Model. Thus, the achievements of Duffy include extensive clinical practice and academic work, while Hoskins helped Duffy develop the model and publish articles that describe it.

Summary

Scope

The scope and central thesis of this model focus on the main element of nursing practice that affects the quality of outcomes. The work of nurses and the relationship they establish with their patients has a direct impact on the quality of health outcomes. According to Duffy (2016), the main idea of this model is that relationship-centeredness, and therefore, nurses should focus on developing a relationship with patients and their families. Moreover, this includes the interactions a nurse has with other team members since the efficiency of those can also impact the type of information and quality of diagnosis produces by the medical personnel. Thus, nurses are a link between patients, other healthcare professionals, and health outcomes.

In general, the central thesis of this theory is the idea that nursing is a relationship-centered profession. Thus, it is vital to dedicate much attention to developing communication skills and focusing on building relationships with patients and their families. Duffy (2019) argues that caring relationships established by nurses enable better health outcomes for their patients, which positively affects the quality of health services. Professional encounters and the focus on relationships is the main factor that affects the patients and the caring process facilitated by nurses.

Context

The central meta paradigm concept of this model is the environment that affects a patient and their health and can be affected through communication. Duffy (2019) states that “relationships are the context of human birth, living, working…” (p. 67). The idea is that when a person feels cared for and is in a trustworthy relationship with the healthcare provider, they can feel more comfortable when sharing details about their condition, symptoms, and other health-related factors, which otherwise can be missed. Moreover, Duffy (2019) argues that such people are more inclined to follow the recommendations of medical professionals.

It is significant because the provision of health services is a complicated matter that involves not only efforts from medical professionals, such as nurses, availability of resources and variety of treatment options but also the willingness of a person to rely on the advice of their provider (Duffy, 2019). This enables the change of old patterns of behavior that possibly led to the development of a condition and successful management of the disease.

Patients should be regarded as complex beings whose health is affected by multidimensional factors. More specifically, people are interconnected with other individuals, including healthcare professionals, and their health is a result of these interactions (Duf