Share This Link

Descriptive theories describe or explain phenomena, such as how patients respond to illness or stress. They do not provide nursing interventions or actions.

Developmental theories (e.g., Erikson’s or Piaget’s) explain growth and development over time and are often borrowed from psychology. While they may inform nursing care, they are not nursing-specific and do not directly guide clinical nursing practice.

Systems theory examines interactions between parts of a system, such as the person and their environment. It is a broad theoretical perspective often used in management or conceptual models, not specifically focused on direct clinical practice or nursing interventions.

Self-actualization is the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy and refers to personal growth, fulfillment, and achieving one’s potential. This is not a priority when the patient is experiencing a life-threatening condition such as impaired breathing or cardiac symptoms.

Safety: While safety (protection from harm, stability, and security) is the second level of Maslow’s hierarchy, it becomes a priority after physiological needs are met. A patient cannot feel or be safe if they are unable to breathe or have cardiac issues.

Esteem and self-esteem needs: These are higher-level needs, involving self-worth, confidence, and respect. While important in overall care, they are not relevant when the patient is in physiological distress, as with respiratory or cardiac compromise.

Explain how nurses should intervene to treat specific conditions: This describes prescriptive or practice theories, which focus on guiding nursing interventions and actions.

Guide nurses in developing policies and protocols: This is typically the role of grand or middle-range theories used for broader system-level planning and administrative decisions.

Predict relationships between nursing interventions and outcomes: This is the focus of predictive or explanatory theories. These theories move beyond description to identify cause-and-effect relationships, which descriptive theories do not attempt to do.

A middle-range nursing theory: Middle-range theories are nursing-specific and focus on a narrower scope of practice, such as pain management or coping. They are more concrete than grand theories but are still developed within nursing.

A grand nursing theory: Grand theories are broad, abstract, and complex frameworks developed by nurse theorists (e.g., Orem’s Self-Care Theory, Roy’s Adaptation Model). Maslow’s theory is not a grand theory and was not developed in the nursing field.

A descriptive theory: Descriptive theories explain or describe phenomena without providing nursing interventions or guidance on prioritization. Maslow’s theory, while foundational, helps guide prioritization, which makes it more applied than descriptive.