Nursing theory: A discussion on an ambiguous concept

B A C K G R O U N D : For the past few decades, nursing has struggled dramatically to reach scientific status.Theories were “borrowed” from the social sciences, or were developed specifically for nursing. However there is a lot ofambiguity about the whole effort as issues of definition, interpretation and implementation are still being addressed.A I M : This paper aims to elucidate the ambiguous world of Nursing Theories and its relevance to contemporaryNursing.D I S C U S S I O N : Nursing theory is defined and discussed, and reasons why nursing needs theories are explained.An overview of the frameworks and methods used in the analysis and evaluation of Nursing Theories is presented.Considerations with regards to the advantages and disadvantages of the use of the Theories in Nursing are discussed.C O N C L U S I O N S : Suggestions are made about contradictory concepts, their interpretation and incorporationinto practice. Simple examples of nursing theories are provided