Theory Practice Nursing Theory Into

Theory Practice

Nursing Theory into Nursing Practice

Both Fawcett et al. (2001) and Chinn and Kramer (2008) have developed a consistent nursing theory that has an enormous and direct impact n the practice of nursing, and on the practice of nursing education and learning. Both sets of researchers identify the four commonly accepts "patterns of knowing" in the nursing field and profession, which are ethical knowledge, aesthetic knowledge, empiric knowledge, and emancipatory knowledge, all of which must be developed and utilized to achieve the optimal level of nursing care (Chinn & Kramer, 2008; Fawcett et al., 2001). The purpose of this thoery is to provide practicing nurses and nursing students with frameworks for understanding their field and profession as well as establishing certain constructs for the delivery of care and the role of the nurse in this delivery (Chinn & Kramer, 2008; Fawcett et al., 2001). A noticeable difference exists in the structure of the four types of knowledge and the way in which they are learned, according to these researchers; Chinn and Kramer (2008) are more concerned with the personal development of knowledge and the engagement of nurses with each knowledge type on an individualized basis, while Fawcett et al. (2001) is more concerned with the external elements of theory, inquiry, and evidence in creating four distinct patterns of knowledge.

Essentially, however, this theory of the patterns of knowledge is one and the same, and is both clear and accessible. The different perspectives also make the theory far more comprehensive, analyzing nursing knowledge from several angles and so arriving at a more complete picture of the internal and external aspects and requirements of each knowledge type (Chinn & Kramer, 2008; Fawcett et al. 2001). The theory is also highly generalizable, as it can be applied to truly any body of knowledge yet is especially suited for nursing knowledge, which occurs along common lines throughout the profession (Chinn & Kramer, 2008; Fawcett et al., 2001). At the same time, the theory is quite abstract, and implementation can be difficult without a great deal of self-awareness, self-confidence, and a thorough understanding of the non-concrete and theoretical underpinnings of nursing knowledge as it is constructed by these researchers (Chinn & Kramer, 2008; Fawcett et al., 2001).