According to the College of Nurses of Ontario (2009), “Nursing is the therapeutic relationship that enables the client to attain, maintain or regain optimal function by promoting the client’s health through assessing, providing care for and treating the client’s health conditions”(p.3). In nursing we learn how to help others by using a holistic approach. Depending on the health status of the patient, our role can be preventative, supportive, therapeutic, palliative or rehabilitative. The nurse’s role may be direct or indirect by means of education, management, administration or research (CNO, 2009). The body of nursing knowledge is fundamental of our nursing practice, which is organized and structured in various patterns. Carper (2012), identified four fundamental patterns of knowing in nursing, which includes empirics, esthetics, ethics and personal knowledge. White (2012), explored an additional knowing in nursing called sociopolitical knowing. In this scholarly paper, I would like to explain the five ways of knowing in nursing with specific example from my own nursing practice.
Empirics
Empiric is the science of nursing which functions as the structural frame work of nursing practice. It helps to develop theories and models in nursing. It is the factual descriptions, predictions and explanations of phenomena in nursing. This type of knowledge can be obtained from nursing literatures, journals, text books and quantitative research. By using empirical knowledge the nurse
After previously writing about Caper’s (1978) pattern of knowledge defined as personal knowledge I started to reflect back up on each day of what had previously occurred? What had led to the situation? And what could have I done differently to have bettered my relationship with patients? Searching for these answers during my daily practice has opened self-exploration into what nursing means to me. Within this paper I will discuss my philosophy of nursing, my personal definition of nursing, and what guided me towards becoming
I define my philosophy of nursing within the three nursing domains of person, health, and environment. My goal is to communicate the importance of nursing as a knowledge-based career, depending not only on the nurse fulfilling her role but also on the patient’s compliance. A patient must learn to provide self-care at home in the same capacity as the nurse would provide care in the clinical setting. I discuss various subjects within nursing. I explain why I want to be a nurse, what I believe a nurse’s role is, the different domains of nursing, and where I believe nursing will be in the future. My philosophy demonstrates the interdependence of the nursing domains. You cannot fully evaluate a person without evaluating their health,
It is essential in nursing to continue learning and applying knowledge to the everyday practice. In doing so, it is important to understand how to organize, test, and apply knowledge to nursing. Barbara Carper identified four fundamental patterns of knowing in nursing which are necessary for the teaching and learning of nursing. Carper's four fundamental patterns of knowing in nursing are defined as empirical, ethical, personal and
Professional nursing practice has been developing for several centuries. Nursing as a profession can be traced back to the early Christian era. Since then the perception of nursing practice has changed significantly. “Nursing is caring, commitment, and dedication to meeting the functional health needs of all people” (Craven &
Ethical knowing or the moral direction of nursing is focused on the nurses’ responsibility of knowing what out to be done and what is good and right (Carper, 1978). Ethical knowing “guides and directs how nurses morally behave in their practices” (Chinn & Maeona, 2011, p. 7). This nurse practices ethics by being a patient advocate and preserving his client's right to choose or refuse care. This patient advocacy will continue as this nurse advances to the role of APN.
Carper’s ways of knowing provide a fundamental source of information regarding nursing knowledge and practice. Any professional field is built around a variety of knowledge tenets, which help to organize ideas, test those ideas, and then apply them. Carper’s ways of knowing outline fundamental patterns of deriving knowledge and building experience as far as teaching and the practice of nursing are concerned (Zander, 2007). These patterns are used to explain or develop theory in the teaching of nursing, besides helping practitioners to build more knowledge and to enhance their practice. Carper’s ways of knowing identifies four different patterns of knowledge, which are analyzed in this case within their syntactical and conceptual frameworks. They include empirical, personal, ethical, and aesthetic.
The development of a philosophy related to the profession of nursing is important in that it provides a framework for the nurse to base his/her work on. Philosophy is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means”. In other words, philosophies are based on beliefs and assumptions with an overall goal of obtaining an objective which states the nurse’s purpose in the profession. In my undergraduate nursing program I was exposed to multiple nursing concepts that guided my practice. Coupled with my ten years of experience in the nursing field, I was enabled to formulate my own framework or guide to nursing. The paradigm which resonates with me the most is the interactive-integrative perspective as it views practice “as having multiple, interrelated parts in relation to a specific context.” (Newman, Sime, & Corcoran-Perry, 1991, p.38). My framework includes three main components: the client, the professional nurse, and the nurse-client relationship.
Carper’s ways of knowing provide a fundamental source of information regarding nursing knowledge and practice. Any professional field is built around a variety of knowledge tenets, which help to organize ideas, test those ideas, and then apply them. Carper’s ways of knowing outline fundamental patterns of deriving knowledge and building experience as far as teaching and the practice of nursing are concerned (Zander, 2007). These patterns are used to explain or develop theory in the teaching of nursing, besides helping practitioners to build more knowledge and to enhance their practice. Carper’s ways of knowing identifies four different patterns of knowledge, which are analyzed in this case within their syntactical and conceptual frameworks. They include empirical, personal, ethical, and aesthetic.
As a nurse, communication is an essential and important factor to building a therapeutic relationship between a nurse and patient as it is the difference between average and excellent nursing care, as it helps maintain a good quality of life and allows nurses’ and patients to interact and provide comfort when needed. The importance of good communication can become apparent with patients especially when they are in the hospital, as it helps the nurses build a positive relationship with patients and helps overcome barriers including physical, psychological and social. A therapeutic relationship is built on many factors which include both verbal and non-verbal communication which helps maintains the relationship and strengthens it due to the positive impact it has not only on the patient’s experience but also the nurse’s.
In this module’s Assignment, you will draft a formal paper expressing your personal philosophy of nursing paper. In this paper, you will provide a framework for your personal practice of nursing and reflect on why you chose nursing as a profession. Your paper will define how you interact with patients, family members, other nurses, and other health care professionals.
Nursing was, for my sixteen year old self, taking care of the sick. Little did I know the complexities of that definition. Still, taking care of the sick was interesting enough to make nursing my major. I started practicing nursing years ago. However, I still struggle defining and explaining my profession to others. I usually start by differentiating nursing from medicine. Nurses see patients as humans rather than a disease that needs treatment (Zaccagnini & White, 2014, p. 15). However, as I advance my career, I must actively incorporate nursing theory into my practice. Nursing theory gives a foundation to understand patients and their health problems better. The use of nursing theory provides a framework to evaluate nurses’ interventions on a higher standard (Zaccagnini & White, 2014). Kenney described five steps to follow once the decision to include nursing theory has being made. This paper will explore the process of applying the Kenney’s five steps into my practice.
Empirics is known as the science of nursing. According to Rogers (1988) nursing science gives direction to the further generation of nursing knowledge, and it is nursing science that provides the knowledge for all aspects of nursing. “Empirical knowing by is factual, descriptive, and ultimately aimed at developing abstract and theoretical explanations” (Carper, 1978, p 25). Empirics as a pattern of knowing is grounded in Science and other empirically base methodologies (Themes, 2016).
My approaches to caring include compassion, grace, service, presence, love, empowerment, partnership, justice and advocacy. I believe that an effective nurse thinks critically, communicates effectively, feels deeply, interacts meaningfully, assumes responsibility, acts morally, approaches clients within a partnering framework, understands that people’s needs vary with developmental stage and cultural background, and views people holistically, recognizing that health encompasses both wellness and illness. I believe that I believe the nature of nursing is rooted in commitment to public service and the undeniable desire to help those in need. Nursing is more than treating an illness; rather it is focused on delivering quality patient care that is individualized to
So I bring up this controversial topic again, about both mental and physical health and how important it is to take some time out of our crazy busy lives as nurses just to sit with our patients for a few minutes to discuss their pain. By pain, I mean both mental and physical pain. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a situation I was involved in as a nursing student in the clinical setting and how I can critically analyze this situation using Carper’s Fundamental Patterns of Knowing in Nursing (1978). This model has helped many practitioners to consider what they learn throughout reflection on their experience within a holistic way.
Modern nursing is a rewarding, but challenging, career choice. The modern nurse's role is not limited only to assist the doctor in procedures, however. Instead, the contemporary nursing professional takes on a partnership role with both the doctor and patient as advocate caregiver, teacher, researcher, counselor, and case manager. The caregiver role includes those activities that assist the client physically, mentally, and emotionally, while still preserving the client's dignity. In order for a nurse to be an effective caregiver, the patient must be treated in a holistic manner. Within the subject of nursing, there are often times in which different aspects of the practice must be analyzed by using primary research from other scholars. Nursing scholarship is vital to the profession, as we have seen, in order for the modern nurse to remain current with scholarship and practice. At the very core of this paradigm, though, is the manner in which the blend of art and science in nursing will be expressed to others, to the next generation, and through pedagogical theory (Alligood & Tomey, 2002). To do this, however, requires a new approach to the paradigm of nursing leadership strategic thinking, planning and action and above all appropriate integration of a more holistic and multidisciplinary approach to professional nursing.