The Status of Nursing Theory Use in Nursing Administration Practice

Gill, Marie E. PhD, MSN, MS, RN
Webb, Sherry S. DNSc, RN, CNL, NEA-BC
Johnson, Randall L. PhD, RN
Holt, Annabelle L. MSLS

Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, College of Nursing, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA
Department of Acute and Tertiary Care, College of Nursing, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA
Health Center Library, The University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

Correspondence regarding this article should be directed to Marie E. Gill, PhD, MSN, MS, RN, 874 Union Avenue, Room 327, Memphis, TN 38163, USA. E-mail: [email protected]

Research & Theory for Nursing Practice 39(3):p 420-444, August 01, 2025. | DOI: 10.1891/RTNP-2024-0115

Background: Nursing theory plays an integral part of the nursing discipline. The use of nursing theory provides value and confidence to nurses in practice within the discipline. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing recognizes the importance of nursing theory by noting in their new Essentials that theory must be integrated into curricula at entry and advanced levels in nursing education. However, the use and value of nursing theory in nursing administration practice are unclear. The American Organization of Nursing Leadership Core Competencies do not explicitly mention nursing theory use in nursing administration practice. Therefore, this discussion article seeks to identify the status of nursing theory use in nursing administration practice. Design: A discussion paper format is used. Literature Review: Sixteen articles published from 1986 to 2025 were retrieved from searches using CINAHL, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect and were sorted and analyzed using thematic networks to identify global themes reflecting the use of nursing theory in nursing administration practice. Implications for Nursing: There is a weak history of nursing theory use in nursing administration practice. Nursing administrators must develop business acumen and leadership skills to help guide their decision-making in health care while also incorporating theory use and development, including economic and leadership theories outside of nursing, anchored by nursing theory. Conclusion: Six global themes reflecting the use of nursing theory in nursing administration practice emerged: (a) undervaluing of nursing theory, (b) the case of borrowed theory, (c) theory imbalances of business acumen and nursing leadership, (d) importance of the practice environment, (e) intentionality of theory-integrated practice, and (f) underdevelopment of nursing theory-guided practice.