...Ways of Knowing Carper’s Ways of Knowing consists of four different patterns. The ways of knowing patterns are empirical, personal, ethical, and aesthetic. This theory help bring all four ways of knowing into patient care and into the nursing process. Empirical knowing is the scientific knowledge or science of nursing. A 69 year old man under my care in the Emergency Room presented with palpitation with slight chest discomfort. After initiating standing orders for chest pain, labs, IV access, oxygen by nasal cannula, and EKG, his potassium level came back highly elevated. I notified the doctor right away since he had not yet seen the results of the blood work. The proper medications were ordered to lower the patient’s potassium level. Having the empirical knowledge of blood levels and knowing the symptoms of the patient allowed me to treat this patient correct away. The personal knowledge pattern of knowing in the nursing is ‘concerned with the knowing, encountering and actualising of the concrete, individual self…standing in relation to another human being as a person.’(Carper, 1978, p. 18) I have been on the same side as a patient. One common complaint that is seen in the emergency room are the dreaded kidney stones. The last two ER jobs I had, I was unable to pass a kidney stone while at work. The pain had become so intense I had to get registered myself and become the patient. I had to be admitted due to the size of the stone and for pain control. It was an overwhelming...
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...Ways of Knowing Nursing is a very rewording profession which can blossom when incorporated into practice of Carper’s fundamental patterns of thinking. After reading Cotton and Roden article (December 2006 – January 2007), I realized great importance of understanding and implementing four concepts of thinking into daily nursing practice. According to Carper (1978:21-22) empirics, aesthetics, personal and ethical way of knowing in nursing are ‘necessary for achieving mastery in the discipline’. I believe that implementing those four patterns of knowing into daily nursing care is vital in order to provide best quality care for each patient. Nursing care should be implemented in flexible, thoughtful manner and should be carefully executed in unique situation with unique patients. Empirical Way of Knowing Empirical way of thinking is defined in article as a ‘factual, descriptive…exemplary, discursively formulated and publically verifiable which is ultimately aimed at developing abstract and theoretical explanation’ (Carper: 15). This way of thinking is executed using Evidence Based Practice. I have been a nurse for the past 10 years and I believe that empirical way of knowing is most familiar to me. For example, my facility is using Congestive Heart Failure protocol (policy created by facility based on clinical practice guidelines CPG) for patients admitted to hospital with either new onset of CHF or exacerbation of the disease. Each patient with CHF has comprehensive assessments...
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...Final Review of Fundamental Patterns of Knowing in Nursing Knowing how to act in any given situation is important in a professional nurse. Carper (1978) stated that knowing in the nursing profession are divided into four ways that might be applied to any given situation. The patterns of knowing involve of empiric, esthetics, personal knowledge and ethics (Carper, 1978). This paper explores the relationship between each pattern of knowing, Carper’s conclusions and the impact in the future nursing career. Summary Empirics First, the empirics involves the science of nursing (Carper, 1978). The science of nursing is applied in nursing education. It involve knowledge about the interpretation of the law, the description of theories and it can...
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...his model exploring aesthetics, personal knowing, ethics and empirics and then encouraging the reflective practitioner to explore how this has changed and improved their practice. Carper B (1978) Fundamental patterns of knowing in nursing. Advances in Nursing Science. 1, 1, 13-23. Greater Manchester AHP/HCS Life Long Learning Project Team. Hand out 3 Models of reflection. Available URL http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:Ta_9a2Ad4FUJ:www.bolton.nhs.uk/SHA/LLL/resources/reflective/Framework%2520for %2520Reflection.doc+Johns+Model+of+Structure+Reflection&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=uk th Accessed 11 January 2008 Hilliard C (2006) Using structured reflection on a critical incident to develop a professional portfolio. Nursing standard 21 (2) 35-40 Johns C (1995) Framing learning through reflection within Carper’s fundamental ways of knowing in nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 22, 2, 226-234 Johns Model of reflection Johns Model of Reflection Description of the experience Describe the experience and what were the significant factors? Refection What was I trying to achieve and what are the consequences? Influencing factors What things like internal/external/knowledge affected my decision making? Could I have dealt with it better What other choices did I have and what were those consequences? Learning What will change because of this experience and how did I feel about the experience How has this experience changed my ways of knowing o Empirics – scientific o Ethics – moral knowledge...
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...enabling him to access the greater ‘mind at large’ and in doing so to circumvent the brain and nervous system as some sort of reducing valve. In other words, taking mescalin blew fuses and opened Huxley’s mind to perceive things in new and different ways. Hence the title of his book, The Doors of Perception. As we go about our everyday business we take the world largely for granted and respond habitually. Meaning is projected into events that enable us to take things in our stride, and in doing so, reinforce our sense of self. Thus the multiple doors of possibility are not always visible: instead, existing knowledge and experience are defended as if the ego itself is threatened. The more we know, the more threatened we become when that knowing is challenged. A certain degree of anxiety and fear is useful for learning (see Joyce 1984; Casement 1985; Freshwater 2000). However, too much fear and anxiety is not conducive to learning. Perhaps we all need mescalin in the morning to heighten our perceptions, to lower our defences and open ourselves to possibility. From a Buddhist perspective we are caught in a world of samsara, depicted by the cock, the snake and the pig – craving, aversion and delusion respectively – who chase one another around and around, locked into a world of greed, hate and ignorance. It is a restless world of seeking pleasure to avoid pain: what Freshwater (2003) refers to as ‘toxic speed sickness’. We cling to what we know, for the small pleasures that we have...
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...Ways of Knowing D. Boone Ways of Knowing What are the four patterns of knowing fundamental to the professional nurse? Unlike many other professions, the nursing profession has many distinct and unique components. Nurses’ knowledge is acquired from many different sources and life experiences. Although hands on clinical skills are necessary, these skills are not usable alone. The ways of knowing is much more than the educational components of a college degree and licensure. Barbara Carper established four patterns of knowing which are needed in order to learn and apply nursing knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the four patterns of knowing, describe its relation to professional nursing and reflect upon these patterns in personal practice. Barbara Carper was a nurse pioneer who developed the four fundamental patterns of knowing in nursing. According to Carper (1978), “Understanding these patterns is essential for the teaching and learning of nursing” (P. 13). Carper identified four fundamental patterns of knowing which she classified as empirical, esthetic, personal and ethical. Carper (1978) states “The four patterns are distinguished according to logical type of meaning and designed as: (1) empirics, the science of nursing; (2) esthetics, the art of nursing; (3) the components of personal knowledge in nursing; and (4) ethics, the component of moral knowledge in nursing” (P. 14). Nursing knowledge goes beyond factual information. According to...
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...leaders specializing in education, research, and practice add a personal and emotional perspective to the analysis. Appendix A lists questions used in the interviews. A concept map serves as a visual result of this analysis. Clarity of the concept of nursing will add to its knowledge base and is important to future development of the discipline. Results suggest a need for the nursing discipline to adopt a concept that will explain the discipline given its presentation in any context. Keywords: art of nursing, science of nursing, concept analysis, knowing, relevant and irrelevant attributes of nursing Nursing: A Concept Analysis The aim of this paper is to analyze the concept of nursing. Concepts represent views of experiences and add to the base of knowledge of a discipline. A literature review on conceptual analysis reveals numerous attempts to explain the term nursing. Given its multiple-related concepts philosophers, educators and nurse researchers have studied whether to categorize the term as...
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...Community Pharmacy Visit Reflection is important as it allows us as students to look back at a particular event and help us improve for future references. In this piece of writing I will mainly use Gibbs reflective cycle[1] as it allows one to analytically reflect on events. When I first got to the pharmacy it was very busy and the dispensary staff as well as the pharmacist seemed quite calm despite the queue of customers and patients, at first I felt under pressure as I was just only allowed to stand and observe rather than stepping in and helping, but all of the staff were composed; which is important especially in a community pharmacy setting as errors with respect to people’s prescription as well as dosage could happen if the pharmacist is under stress and doesn’t do final checks properly. As a result I learnt that stress is something that needs to be controlled and that outside factors shouldn’t affect work as there are many repercussions Later in the day I spoke to other members of staff in the pharmacy and their role, from that I learnt about the skill mix and the importance of different professionals working together, this reinforced my IPE work because I was able to see how interpressionalism works in practice rather than in theory. Adding on to this a customer complained that the Doctor was taking long to write the prescription for him to take the prescription to the pharmacy, one of the major things I took from that situation is that there are some communication...
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...Clinical supervision continues to be a term evident in everyday language in nursing and definitions of the term are variable. Definitions suggest it has a broad purpose in nursing and can appear to have a lack of accord and focus. Jones (1999) suggests that clinical supervision offers nurses guidance, support and education and is concerned with quality, safety and protection of clients which reflects the Department of Health ‘Vision for the Future’ (1993) interpretation of clinical supervision as a: ‘formal process of professional support and learning which enables individual practitioners to develop knowledge and competence, assume responsibility for their own practice and enhance consumer protection and safety of care in complex situations. It is central to the process of learning and to the scope of the expansion of practice and should be seen as a means of encouraging self assessment and analytical and reflective skills.’ The following assignment aims to demonstrate a critical appraisal of the concept of clinical supervision, critique the process and the outcomes of clinical supervision and review contemporary research that directly informs understanding and application of clinical supervision to practice. It will also reflect on personal knowledge, skills and attributes required for effective clinical supervision and evaluate the impact that clinical supervision has on health and social care practice with the emphasis on my professional discipline of nursing/ mental...
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