18

Why do we define Nursing?

 As Lang had said..

“If we cannot name it, we cannot

control it, finance it, research it, teach it or
put it into public policy.”

19
A Nursing definition is needed in
order to:
 Guide nurses in their practice knowing
what is nursing and what is not
nursing.
 Help people understand the
competencies and professional
accountability of the nurse
 Guide formulation of nursing education
curricula
20
 Define the role of nurse in the
multidisciplinary health care team
 Point out the scope and the
limitations of nursing practice to
guide researches on areas that
require further studies in order to
expand the nursing profession’s
body and knowledge
21
Key concepts contained in various
definitions of nursing:

 A focus on health not merely on sickness

 A clientele that includes people of all ages
in all settings, as individuals, families and
communities
 The identifications of “human responses
to actual or potential health problems” as
nursing’s phenomena of concern

22
Terms
Nursing
 Practiced with an earnest concern for the art and
science of care
 Evolved into a profession through the Nursing Care
Plan
 Addresses client in a humanistic and holistic way.

Goal of Nursing Practice in 20th Century

• First with the goal of becoming recognized profession
• The goal of delivering care to patients as professionals

23
 Terms
METAPARADIGM
 It specifies the main concepts that encompass
the subject matter and scope of discipline
 Is the most abstract level of knowledge

PARADIGM
 Relationship of ideas to one another
 Model, pattern, theory of ideas about how
something should be done.

Philosophy
 Nightingales work is an example of philosophy of
nursing
Conceptual models
 Are frameworks or paradigms that provide a broad
frame of reference for systematic approaches to the
phenomena with which the discipline is concerned.
Example: Johnson theory focuses on behavior
Roy theory focuses on adaptation
Middle range theories
 Least abstract level of theoretical knowledge because
they include details specific to nursing practice.

25
 Include information indicating the situation or health
condition of the patient.
Grand theories
 Theories that propose something that is true or
testable.
Example: Roy's theory of the person as an adaptive system
derived from the Roy Adaptation Model.
Knowledge
 Understanding acquired through learning or
investigation of what is known about a disciplines
subject matter.

26
Phenomena
 Are the subject matter of a discipline
Concept
 an idea or complex mental image of a phenomenon
(object, property, or event)
 Major components of theory.
Abstract concepts
 Are independent of time or place and they are
indirectly observable.
Concrete concept
 Are specific to time and place and are observable.

27
Hypothesis
 Is a testable relationship statement.
Research
 Is the application of systematic, scientific methods to
study phenomena and generate knowledge.
Induction
 Is a form of reasoning that is loosely described as
moving from the specific to the general.
Deduction
 Is a form of logical reasoning that is loosely described as
progressing from the general to the specific.

28
Terminology
Health
 State of complete physical, mental, social
well being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity (being weak or ill)

29