To provide guidance and understanding of the practice, grand theories have been created in nursing. These theories provide broad and abstract concepts to help explain the dynamic and complex nature of health and nursing. Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring suggests, for instance, that care is at the core of nursing and that people can promote healing and good health through nurturing relationships.
The use and continued development of grand nursing theories has many benefits. Grand theories can provide the foundation for more detailed, mid-range theories that could be used in practice or research in particular clinical environments. Grand theories provide a framework that can be used to guide nursing practice and ensure consistency in values and principles.
Grand theories are a way to bring together nursing expertise from different areas. This promotes the creation of an integrated and cohesive discipline. Watson proposed the notion of caring to be applicable to nurses in many settings including community and acute health care.