Consistent concern for the organization and financing of our nations health care system, and the shortage of nurses, prompts the need to communicate what “nursing” is and can be, is essential. Definitive answers about the nursing field are found in conceptual models of nursing and nursing theories. This also provides answers for nurse educators :”who continues to seek better ways to prepare students for current and future trends in health serves,” states Jacqueline Fawcettt, PhD. and Fellow American Academy of Nursing (FAAN ), (2005). Theories also include answers for nurse researchers, administrators, and practicing nurses.
There is a margin of confusion in nursing literature between conceptual nursing knowledge and nursing theories. Conceptual nursing is, hypothetical, theories are concrete. They vary in scope. The “grand nursing theories,” is the broadest, and less abstract than conceptual models. The “middle-range theory,” is narrower in scope composed of a limited number of concepts, and allows for measurable research terms to be tested. This theory is the most structured (Fawcett, 2005).
To be even more precise, nursing theory is a term given to the “body of knowledge used to support nursing practice.” Nursing, in itself, has an assortment of connotations, but to the majority of people, nurses help doctors, plain and simple. However the universal view has agreed that nursing is a science involving people, and their environment. Ninety percent of all nursing theories have been generated in the last twenty years. Nursing colleges, now encourage students to form their own personal philosophy of “mid-range theory,” as part of their curriculum. “Nursing models are conceptual models, constructed of theories and concepts.” This helps nurses to plan and implement patient care by providing a paradigm, or framework to work within.
Florence Nightingale, in l859, was the first nursing theorist to clearly eloquent the nursing role distinct in the medical profession. Today, one of the foremost , pioneering nursing theorist is Madeline Leininger. Dr. Leininger holds several academic degrees and titles including; PhD, DS (Doctor of Science), LHD (Doctor of Human Sciences), and LL (Living Legend). She is the first professional nurse with a graduate preparation to complete a PhD in anthropology. Leininger’s most notable concept of “Trancultural Nursing,” which is how nursing interacts with the concept of culture, remains the only theory focused exclusively on Transcultural Nursing, and is world renowned (wikipedia, 2008).
Dr. Leininger used Jacqueline Fawcett’s nursing metaparadigm as a framework for her analyses. She was an avid believer in the usage and effectiveness of the paradigm. Leininger characterized her Culture Care Theory within the metaparadigm’s four central concepts of person, environment, health, and nursing (academictermpapers, 2003).
This research paper will focus on “components of contemporary nursing knowledge,” combining conceptual models in the field and theories, including the nursing metaparadigm. Fawcett’s metparadigm is defined “as the global concepts that identify the phenomena of central interest to a discipline, the global propositions that describe the concepts, and the global propositions that state the relations between or among the concepts.” Simply stated, both the philosophy and propositions ,about the notions, are required to identify the subject matter.
The metaparadigm acts as a framework, within the more restricted structures. It is particularly comprehensive and provides no precise direction for activities such as research and practice. This is an expected fact because the metaparadigm, “is the broadest consensus within a discipline. It provides the general parameters of the field and give scientists a broad orientation from which to work.”
Metaparadigm brings unison to a specific field of study, such as nursing. It providesa communication channel to all members of the nursing profession and to the general public, conversely it explains what nursing is not about. The paradigm, also provides answers for nurse researchers, who continue to look for new ways to design studies that reflect nurses typical perception of patients; for administrators who continue to “organize the delivery of nursing services,” and answers for practicing nurses who strive to improve the quality of peoples lives. Any unison to a discipline can only obtain a positive result.
Especially where educators are concerned, having a concrete structure to formulate a valid curriculum enhances their students achievements (fadavis).
The nursing metaparadigm has four requirements:
1. The metaparadigm must “identify a domain that is distinctive from the domain of other disciplines.”
2. The metaparadigm must “encompass all phenomena of interest to the discipline in a parsimonious manner.”
3. The metaparadigm must be “perspective neutral.”
4. The metaparadigm must be “international in scope and substance.”
These requirements indicate that the metaparadigm of any field of study must be exceedingly theoretical and universal. It must be concise, and not associated with a particular disciplinary frame of reference.
In the l970’s, when the nursing field was struggling to prove their place in the scientific community, the concept of a nursing metaparadigm was first introduced.
It wasn’t until l984, when Jacqueline Fawcett defined the framework of any discipline as “a statement or group of statements identifying its relevant phenomena.” She further revealed “evidence supporting the existence of a metaparadigm of nursing.”
Countless proposals for different versions of the met paradigm have surfaced, however, “The Fawcett Proposal,” is one of the most utilized and accepted.
The metaparadigm of nursing, according to Fawcett, has four central concepts, or tools; person, environment, health, and nursing. Definitions of these conceptions are:
1. Concept of persons, later changed to human beings, refer to the individual, families and communities who participate in nursing.
2. Concept of environment refers to the physical surroundings, settings where nursing occurs, which range from private homes, to health-care facilities, to society as a whole.
3. Concept of health refers to human process of living and dying.
4. Concept of nursing refers to the definition of nursing. They’re actions are viewed as a mutual process between patients and themselves. The progression encompasses actions that include assessment, labeling, planning, intervention and evaluation.
Fawcett’s commonly cited metaparadigm concepts were a modification of labels for “four concepts induced from the conceptual framework of baccalaureate programs accredited by the National League of Nursing.” The original concepts were man, society, health and nursing. Fawcett’s four metaparadigm concepts are generally regarded as the central or domain concepts of nursing. The concepts are also international I scope and substances, because it does not reflect the beliefs and values of nurses from any one country or culture (Fawcett, 2005).
The essential difference between philosophies and the metaparadigm becomes further obscured when Fawcett’s proposal is utilized. She claims that the metaparadigm identifies the domain of nursing philosophies as empirical indicators, capable of being verified, and since they are statements of conviction, they must be defensible by dialogue and reason. The metaparadigm is empirically untestable because there is no direct connection between it and empirical indicators, but should be defensible through dialogue and debate. Philosophy and metaparadigm appear to be similar notions. Nursing theories derived from nursing conceptual models clearly identify with the nursing metaparadigm, and comply with a unique philosophy (Sousa,2002).
Nursing is a wide-opened field of opportunity and specific areas. The area using metaparadigm continually are nursing educators. This avenue of nursing combines clinical expertise and a zeal for teaching. These professionals work in classroom and practice settings, and are responsible for preparing and mentoring current and future nurses. “Nurse educators play a pivotal role in strengthening the nursing workplace, serving as role models and providing the leadership needed to implement evidence-based practice.”
Educators are ultimately responsible for designing, implementing, evaluating and revising academic and continuing education programs for nurses. Essential professionals assuring quality educational experiences that prepare the nursing workforce for a diverse, revolving health care environment. They depend on the metaparadigm to provide a structure of continuity, templates and unity with other educators.
Nurse educators are prepared at the master’s or doctoral levels and practice as faculty in colleges, universities, and hospital-based schools of nursing. Benefits for nurse educators include access to cutting edge knowledge and research. Nursing schools nationwide are struggling to find new faculty to accommodate an impending rise in nursing students.
A nurse educator is a Registered Nurse (RN) who has an advanced educational background, including advanced clinical training in a health care specialty. They may serve in a variety of roles that range from adjunct clinical faculty to dean of a college of nursing. Professional titles include; Administrator Nurse Faculty, Clinical Nurse Educator, and Staff Development Officer.
Nurse educator combine quantifiable abilities and responsibilities related to; designing curricula, developing courses and programs of study, teaching and guiding students, evaluations, and documenting outcomes of the educational process. Educators, who also work in an academic setting have additional tasks which include; advising students, research, and engaging in peer reviews. Educators need to anticipate the future role of the nurse and acclimatize curriculum and teaching methods to accommodate innovations in nursing science and continuing changes in the practice environment (nursesource, 2008).
Can you imagine the perplexity of achieving the above objects without a structured framework? Nurse educators would be implementing programs based on their individual work ethics, philosophy and individuality. New nurses going into the practice field could possible have a myriad of influences in the behavior toward patients and clinical practices. “The conceptual framework provides direction for the selection and organization of learning experience t achieve program outcomes,” An inspirational statement.
Fawcett’s, nursing metaparadigm concepts are implemented in hundreds of nursing curriculums, in the most prominent nursing colleges and universities. Millersville University, in Pennsylvania, for they’re undergraduate and graduate programs, implement Dr. Fawcett’s organizational framework with high regard (Hart,2008). The paradigm evolves around the major concepts, interwoven throughout the curriculum. All of the educators challenges and rewards stem from the nursing metaparadigm concepts.
References
- academictermpapers. (2003). Madeleine Leininger’s Nursing Theory. Academic Term Papers. Retrieved March 8, 2008 from http://www.academictermpapers.com
- allnursingschools.com. (2008). What is a Nurse Educator? All Nursing Schools.
- Retrieved March 6, 2008 from http://www.allnursingschools.com
- fad avis. (n.d) Structure of Contemporary Nursing Knowledge. Retrieved March 7, 2008
- from http://www.fadavis.com
- Fawcett,J. (2005) Contemporary Nursing Knowledge. Retrieved March 6, 2008 from
- http://www.fadavis.com/related_resources/1_2042_618.pdf
- Hart, M. (2002) Nursing Practice in Rural and Remote Canada. Retrieved March 8, 2008
- from http://www.ruralnursing.unbc.ca
- Millersville.edu. (2008). The Nursing Department at MU. Millersville University.
- Retrieved March8, 2008 from http://www.millersville.edu/nursing/bsn./php
- nursesource.org. (2008). Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow. Retrieved March 6, 2008
- from http://wwwnursesource.org/nurse_educator.html
- Sousa, V. (2002). Nursing Theory Development. Online Brazilian Journal of Nursing.
- Retrieved March 8, 2008 from www.uff.br/nepael/objn102sousaetal.htm
- wikipedia.org. (2008). Nursing Theory. Retrieved on March 8, 2008 from
- http://enwikipedia.org/wiki/Nursing_Theory
