Leveraging Psychological Theories in Nursing to Enhance Patient Care

Science-based theories have been very instrumental in not only explaining human behavior but equally predicting how individual may behave when placed under certain environments. As such, these theories have over time gained popularity within the health profession. Some of the scientific theories that describe my peers are the social psychological theories and the cognitive theories (De Ribaupierre & Lecerf, 2017). Social psychology is basically a discipline that relies on scientific techniques to gain an understanding and explanation of how other people impact the feelings, thoughts, and behavior of persons whether actual or imagined. Essentially, the discipline of social psychology is more of comprehension of how one’s social environment affects their individual behavior (Gawronski & Bodenhausen, 2015). The social psychology theory and cognitive theories have therefore have been useful in understanding why my peers act in the manner they do. By doing so, I have been able to predict their behavior. In the case of a DNP prepared nurse, the two theories are useful in understanding patient behavior. Further, patient behavior is critical to the success of any intervention (Heath, Cooke & Cameron, 2015. Consequently, DNP prepared nurses in relying on these theories get to apply the most effective interventions.

In summary, my peer’s behavior is best explained using the two discussed theories. As such, by understanding these theories, I am better equipped to appreciate how my peers react in different situations and why they do so. In situations of a heavy workload, for instance, I have often noticed some of my peers succumb to the pressure while at the same time get very motivated when certain incentives are offered. On the other hand, there has been improved health outcomes for the DNP prepared nurses through the use of the above-discussed theories.