Ways Of Knowing In Nursing Practice
Ways of Knowing in Nursing Practice
Erica Walters
Aspen University
November 2014
Ways of Knowing in Nursing Practice
Multiple ways of knowing are employed in the discipline of nursing. Traditionally, four patterns of nursing knowledge, or ways of knowing, have been used in the field of nursing. These include empirics, or the science of nursing, esthetics, or the art of nursing, personal knowledge, and ethics (McEwen & Wills, 2011). By combining these ways of knowing, a nurse develops clinical knowledge which guides nursing actions in different situations. The following case demonstrates the use of multiple ways of knowing in a clinical situation.
Case Study
A nurse on a medical/surgical floor is treating a 62 year old patient with an initial diagnosis of colitis. The patient has been in the inpatient setting for 11 days, which is far longer than the normal length of stay for this diagnosis. This patient also has a comorbidity of seizure disorder. He has not been compliant with daily ambulation orders, and acts largely helpless when asked to independently perform activities of daily living.
Upon assessment at the beginning of the shift, the patient is alert and oriented. He has no complaints of pain. His lungs sounds are clear but diminished in the bases. Breathing is even and regular at this time. His oxygen saturation via pulse oximetry is 94% on room air. The patient has sequential compression devices on his bed, but they are not applied. When the patient is asked why they are not on, he states that they were annoying him so he took them off earlier in the day. They are reapplied at this time. The patient is without further complaints. His evening medications are administered, including 30 mg of Phenobarbital, 100 mg of Dilantin, and 10 mg of Valium, which is his normal regimen of medications for his seizure disorder.
Later in the shift, the certified nurse’s aide takes his routine vital signs. The aid reports an oxygen
Erica Walters
Aspen University
November 2014
Ways of Knowing in Nursing Practice
Multiple ways of knowing are employed in the discipline of nursing. Traditionally, four patterns of nursing knowledge, or ways of knowing, have been used in the field of nursing. These include empirics, or the science of nursing, esthetics, or the art of nursing, personal knowledge, and ethics (McEwen & Wills, 2011). By combining these ways of knowing, a nurse develops clinical knowledge which guides nursing actions in different situations. The following case demonstrates the use of multiple ways of knowing in a clinical situation.
Case Study
A nurse on a medical/surgical floor is treating a 62 year old patient with an initial diagnosis of colitis. The patient has been in the inpatient setting for 11 days, which is far longer than the normal length of stay for this diagnosis. This patient also has a comorbidity of seizure disorder. He has not been compliant with daily ambulation orders, and acts largely helpless when asked to independently perform activities of daily living.
Upon assessment at the beginning of the shift, the patient is alert and oriented. He has no complaints of pain. His lungs sounds are clear but diminished in the bases. Breathing is even and regular at this time. His oxygen saturation via pulse oximetry is 94% on room air. The patient has sequential compression devices on his bed, but they are not applied. When the patient is asked why they are not on, he states that they were annoying him so he took them off earlier in the day. They are reapplied at this time. The patient is without further complaints. His evening medications are administered, including 30 mg of Phenobarbital, 100 mg of Dilantin, and 10 mg of Valium, which is his normal regimen of medications for his seizure disorder.
Later in the shift, the certified nurse’s aide takes his routine vital signs. The aid reports an oxygen
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