Grand and Middle Range Theories
Meriam Izobo
Oakland University

Grand and Middle Range Theories

When one thinks of the word theory the next thought should be nursing because the foundations of nursing are built from nursing theories. The history of nursing holds a significance to theory in that theories help establish nursing as a profession (Smith & Liehr, 2014). Theories from the past in the Nightingale era and new theories today in the 21st century aid in the guidance of nursing practice and research (Smith & Liehr, 2014). In the twentieth century, nursing was not recognized as an academic discipline or a profession (Alligood, 2013). As theories such as the middle range and grand theories are being brought to the forefront of nursing education, nursing is being viewed now more than ever as a profession. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the middle range and grand theories and discuss how they are relevant to nursing practice. A relevant and important concept for nurses to understand is that theory informs practice and research in the everyday world of nursing and that the existence of nursing is founded on theories (Smith & Liehr, 2014 ). Every procedure, assessment, and nursing intervention is related to and guided by nursing theory and it is every nurses obligation and responsibility to utilize theory into their practice. Theory is a key component in the history of nursing as an academic discipline and it is vital to the practice of professional nursing (Alligood, 2013). Two major theories that are useful to nursing practice but provide different types of utility are the middle range and grand theories. Middle range theories provide a broader scope but address particular nursing issues such as pain, chronic sorrow, or symptom management (Smith & Liehr, 2014). They use a range of variables to rule out problems