It is critical that nurses have the ability to skillfully interact
with patients in any setting. This fosters trust, mutualgoal-setting, therapeutic interventions, and improved
learning experiences for the patient and the nurse. More
often than not, nurses use a combination of nursing theories
and conceptual frameworks in daily nursing practice.
Theories such as Peplau’s (1952) and concepts from rural
nursing continue to evolve to guide nursing practice in
the future. The information acquired through the development
of nursing theory and research, provides
increased validity and substance to the unique science of
nursing. It is important for nurses to utilize nursing theory
and conceptual models in the context of their appropriate
settings and populations. In evidence-based
practice, nursing theories provide strong building blocks
to produce research specific to nursing interventions,
which is essential to increase health promotion and
health prevention behaviors for patients. The evidence
produced through research helps to validate nursing
activities that can be directly responsible for positive
health outcomes.