Nursing theory is defined as "a creative and conscientious structuring of ideas that project a tentative, purposeful, and systematic view of phenomena".
[7] Grand nursing theories have the broadest scope and present general concepts and propositions.
[8] Theories at this level may both reflect and provide insights useful for practice but are not designed for empirical testing.
They present concepts and a lower level of abstraction and guide theory-based research and nursing practice strategies.
[10] The functions of middle-range theories includes to describe, explain, or predict phenomenon.
[11] Nursing models are usually described as a representation of reality or a more simple way of organising a complex phenomenon.
A metaparadigm is intended to help guide others to conduct research and utilize the concepts for academia within that discipline.
Also not included are the many nurses who improved on these theorists' ideas without developing their own theoretical vision.