Enhancing cardiac rehabilitation nursing through aligning practice to theory: implications for nursing education

This article presents a case study that examined the work practice of nurses in a cardiac step-down unit (CSDU). The action research included interviews, participant observation, and a self-reporting questionnaire. Nurses in the unit used a conceptual framework that was inconsistent with the rehabilitation-oriented nursing necessary to enhance patient outcomes in a CSDU. The results of this study show that a need exists for greater alignment between the practice and the educational preparation of nurses who work in a CSDU. A framework such as Dorothea Orem's Self-Care Theory of Nursing (1995) offers a conduit for nurses to deliver care appropriate to CSDU patient needs. However, there is a need for continuing education for nursing staff to align the cardiac rehabilitation nursing philosophy and the theories that underpin it (such as the Self-Care Theory) with nursing practice. Practice development provides a mechanism through which to examine the congruence between patient needs and nurse perception of those needs.