Essay on Nursing Evolution: Embracing the Six Ways of Knowing for Improved Healthcare and Patient Relations

Introduction

Over the past decades, the nursing profession has undergone some significant changes. By implementation of the six fundamentals of knowledge, which include: personal, empirical, ethical, aesthetics, emancipatory, and unknowing, has helped in opening up a new gateway in the field of nursing. The six critical fundamental ways aid in improving the relationship between nurses and patients in the provision of healthcare.

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Two Ways of Knowing That Influence One's Understanding of Nursing Science

Ethical Knowing

Ethical knowing helps an individual develop their moral codes, which entails having a deeper understanding of what is right or wrong. In nursing science, one's ethics is based on the nurses' obligations to protect human lives. Through ethical knowing, it aids in guiding the nurses' actions (Bender, 2018). Ethical knowing has influenced one in understanding nursing science; this is because it has helped one in developing and refining moral codes, which are of importance in the nursing field. With the help of ethical knowledge, it has enabled one to understand and respect human lives; thus, it will enable an individual to respect the patient's rights, for example, the patient's confidentiality.

Personal Knowing

Personal knowing refers to the knowledge that an individual has seen and experienced in real life. In nursing science, personal knowledge can enable an individual to understand nursing through the implementation of the following processes; observations, reflection, and self-actualization (Heath, 1998). Individual knowledge and experience can make an individual establish a therapeutic relationship; thus, it propels one towards integrity and wholeness in the nursing field (Bender, 2018). When an individual gains experience in the nursing field, it makes them more aware of their attitudes and empathy; thus, they will be in a better position to handle patients this is because positive or negative attitudes have an impact on the individual.

Two Ways of Knowing That One Has Not Considered in Nursing Science and How They Can Shape One` Future Practice

Aesthetic Knowing

One has not taken into consideration the aesthetic knowing. The aesthetic makes the nursing field an art since it makes one uncover something new (Marrone, 2017). It is based on holistic and human discipline in the nursing field since it enables an individual to understand nursing practice on a deeper level (Heath, 1998). In the future aesthetic knowledge, will enable nurses to appreciate art by creating pleasing environments that will aid in enhancing the health and well-being of the patients (Heath, 1998). For example, the use of music therapy to create a calm environment for the patient. Art has also been used in hospital settings.

Empirical Knowing

One has never used empirical knowledge in the nursing field. One gains the use of empirical knowledge from research and other objective facts. The knowledge of empirical knowledge is organized further into general laws and theories (Marrone, 2017). Empirical knowing explains and aids in the prediction of both social and natural phenomena. In the future empirical knowledge will be implemented on a more advanced Evidence-Based Practice, which is useful in improving the care of the patient and also its outcomes.

Example of How Nursing Science Has Encompassed the Ways of Knowing to Improve Healthcare Outcome

Nursing Science has embraced the use of Evidence-Based Practice, which uses the six ways of knowing to bridge a gap in improving health care. For example, Evidence-Based Practice provides nurses with scientific research skills that are used in empirical knowledge (Marrone, 2017). Evidence-based practice will help in the identification of risks or the effectiveness of the treatments or even the diagnostic tests (Tobbell, 2018). It also enables the nurses to include the patients in their care plans in order to ensure that the patients are managed well, which implies to the aesthetics art of nursing where the nurse can create care and use the art, for example, music therapy in the nursing care plan to achieve patient's comfort and wellbeing.

Through Evidence-Based Practice, it allows the patients to raise their concerns and share their suggestions regarding the health care given to them (Marrone, 2017). It implies the person knowing which is based on the fact that if an individual knows oneself in this case, it is the nurse (Tobbell, 2018). One will truly understand the patient based on their behaviors, emotions, and physical traits. This will enhance the good relationship between the nurses and patients in the hospital setting.

Conclusion

The ways of knowing in nursing have facilitated in improving the nurse's view towards this medical profession. When nurses employ the six fundamental ways of knowing, it will aid in improving their performance and management skills. It will also aid in improving the relationship skills between them and the patients. The Six Ways of Knowing employs the use of Evidence-Based Practice as a nursing science, which provides better holistic skills in the management of patients, is because evidence-based practice employs the use of research skills to determine the problems that face the health settings and determine a better way of improving on this problem.

References

Bender, M. (2018). Re-conceptualizing the nursing metaparadigm: Articulating the philosophical ontology of the nursing discipline that orients inquiry and practice. Nursing Inquiry, 25(3), e12243. https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12243

Heath, H. (1998). Reflection and patterns of knowing in nursing. Journal Of Advanced Nursing, 27(5), 1054-1059. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.1998.00593.x

Marrone, S. (2017). The art of knowing: Designing a nursing professional development program based on American nurses' experiences of providing care to Arab Muslims. Retrieved 9 September 2017, from http://www.sciedupress.com/journal/index.php/jnep/article/view/10822.

Tobbell, D. (2018). Nursing's Boundary Work. Nursing Research, 67(2), 63-73. https://doi.org/10.1097/nnr.0000000000000251