Nursing knowledge helps guide nurses in their everyday practice. But rarely do nurses stop to think where did this knowledge come from? Actions that nurses do everyday have been handed down to them regardless if they understand the meaning behind them. The purpose of this paper is through a limited analysis-synthesis to explore key terms that have helped shape the profession of nursing. These terms were selected to help understand why nurses do what they do. Nursing was not always seen as a profession, therefore it is important to explore what a profession is and its historical context related to nursing. Turkoski (1995) states that profession is a social construct that was determined by a male worldview. In other words, only men were allowed
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Overtime nurses begin to view knowledge and theories as being absolute and therefore for are assumed to be true (Riddell, 2007, Chinn and Kramer, 2015). When nurses begin to question assumptions, they begin to engage in critical thinking. Dewey (1933) states that it is essential to use critical thinking to move past assumptions. Critical thinking creates new areas of knowledge and prevents jumping to conclusions. Knowledge development is a critical component as it creates specialized knowledge, which is essential to the definition of a …show more content…
This ways of being helps nurses navigate through the interaction with their patients. An example of this could be the way a nurses uses the right words to comfort a palliative patient. There is an art to nursing that nurses embody. Scholars like Chinn and Kramer (2015) who emphasize that there is also an art to nursing; this is also called the aesthetics of nursing. One could suggest that it is this art is the ontology of nursing. As stated in Flaming (2004), ontology defines what are nursing characteristics and what is fundamental to nursing. When breaking this definition down, characteristics and the fundamentals of nursing is what makes a nurse a nurse, and therefore how he or she embodies the art of nursing. Ontology is important to the nursing profession because it unifies what it means to be a nurse and how to act like a nurse. It can create a sense of community (profession) where members share similar experiences but also helps to label what it means to be a nurse (MacIntyre, 1984, Brodeau, 1972, Flaming,
Overtime nurses begin to view knowledge and theories as being absolute and therefore for are assumed to be true (Riddell, 2007, Chinn and Kramer, 2015). When nurses begin to question assumptions, they begin to engage in critical thinking. Dewey (1933) states that it is essential to use critical thinking to move past assumptions. Critical thinking creates new areas of knowledge and prevents jumping to conclusions. Knowledge development is a critical component as it creates specialized knowledge, which is essential to the definition of a …show more content…
This ways of being helps nurses navigate through the interaction with their patients. An example of this could be the way a nurses uses the right words to comfort a palliative patient. There is an art to nursing that nurses embody. Scholars like Chinn and Kramer (2015) who emphasize that there is also an art to nursing; this is also called the aesthetics of nursing. One could suggest that it is this art is the ontology of nursing. As stated in Flaming (2004), ontology defines what are nursing characteristics and what is fundamental to nursing. When breaking this definition down, characteristics and the fundamentals of nursing is what makes a nurse a nurse, and therefore how he or she embodies the art of nursing. Ontology is important to the nursing profession because it unifies what it means to be a nurse and how to act like a nurse. It can create a sense of community (profession) where members share similar experiences but also helps to label what it means to be a nurse (MacIntyre, 1984, Brodeau, 1972, Flaming,