Do you consider nurses “scientists”? Why or why not?

Nurses play an intricate role in health care as scientists. I believe nurses are scientist because in addition to providing high quality care at the bedside through the incorporation and implementation of research findings, nurses are also expected to participate in and conduct research studies in order to ensure best practices are utilized (Polit & Beck, 2017, p.3). Furthermore, nursing has been described by Barrett (2002) as a “basic science” itself, with its unique practice delineated as “the scientific art of using knowledge of unitary human beings who are in mutual process with their environments for the well-being of people” (as cited in Barrett, 2017, p.130). Therefore, through the use of nursing research, which has been cited as the “systematic inquiry designed to develop trustworthy evidence about issues of importance to the nursing profession”, nurses serve as distinct scientists within the field of health care (Polit & Beck, 2017, p. 3).

Two broad paradigms for nursing research are positivist and constructivism. What do these terms mean to you? Which of these paradigms do you most closely relate to? What aspects of the …show more content…
My tendencies to identify with the positivist paradigm are related to my own personal need to understand the fundamental foundations of natural processes (Polit & Beck, 2017). In my daily practice as a nurse, I am inclined to implement scientific thinking, systematic processes, and clinical reasoning which are grounded in my beliefs in reality and absolutes. Furthermore, not only do I enjoy implementing systematic processes, but I also appreciate being able to visually analyze statistical data. Therefore, secondary to my worldviews, attraction to absolutes, and tendency to learn better through visualization, I am also innately attracted to the rudiments of quantitative