Hobfoll’s Conservation of Resources Theory in Nursing Essay

Applicable Nursing Theory

Although medicine is a holistic and humanitarian science, in hospital management systems nurses are viewed as human resources. The majority of nursing theories are typically patient-focused and are based either on utilitarian or Kantian ethics. Thus, they are unfit for being implemented as frameworks to support the intervention aimed at restructuring and rationalizing existing schedules. However, Hobfoll’s theory of Conservation of Resources is capable of addressing the matter of effective nursing management as well as the psychological effects of burnout and turnover, which lead to understaffing in hospitals. The theory considers four resources, which are as follow (Prapanjaroensin, Patrician, & Vance, 2017):Hobfoll’s Conservation of Resources Theory in Nursing Essay

• Objects. In this scenario, objects are instruments, equipment, and facilities. Rationalizing and simplifying hospital logistics in order to reduce travels between offices would reduce the overall number of hours nurses spend without attending to patients.
• Conditions. In this scenario, conditions are defined by schedules, workload, the number of patients served, and the environment. Our intervention is aimed at affecting two of the major conditions, which are scheduling issues and effective workloads.
• Personal characteristics. These are defined by the skills, endurance, psychological resilience, resistance to burnout, adaptability, and other characteristics that individual nurses have.
• Energy. Is defined by physical and emotional energy spent by nurses during work.