Complexity Theory as Applied to Nursing
Complexity Theory as Applied to Nursing, 2005
Abstract
Many conventional ideas about the world we live in have been shaken to their foundations by the emerging concepts of chaos and complexity. Insights are now being gained from the application of complexity theory into phenomena varying in scale from the natural sciences such as biology to the concept of caring in the nurse-patient relationship. These new scientific ideas have significant implications for the theory and practice of nursing.
This paper will cover four key concepts from complexity theory that will be introduced as relevance to nursing. These include: unpredictable dynamic systems; the whole is greater than the sum of its parts; fuzzy and permeable boundaries; and, the centrality of paradox in all of life.
Introduction
Many conventional ideas about the world we live in have been shaken to their foundations by the emerging concepts of chaos and complexity. These new scientific theories are being applied with startling results in the social and natural sciences, particularly in the biological field.
Insights are now being gained from the application of complexity theory into phenomena varying in scale from ventricular fibrillation to the spread of epidemics to the concept of caring in the nurse-patient relationship. Nursing therefore needs to be aware of these new scientific ideas as they have significant implications for the theory and practice of nursing.
Chaos and complexity theory encompasses a large field. However, in this paper four key ideas will be introduced which are of relevance to nursing:
1. Dynamic systems behave in an apparently unpredictable and chaotic fashion, making predictions of future behavior impossible unless the rules governing chaotic systems are understood. Health can be argued to be a dynamic system.
2. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts; therefore reductionism is severely limited in its use as a tool in health care.
3. Boundaries between
Abstract
Many conventional ideas about the world we live in have been shaken to their foundations by the emerging concepts of chaos and complexity. Insights are now being gained from the application of complexity theory into phenomena varying in scale from the natural sciences such as biology to the concept of caring in the nurse-patient relationship. These new scientific ideas have significant implications for the theory and practice of nursing.
This paper will cover four key concepts from complexity theory that will be introduced as relevance to nursing. These include: unpredictable dynamic systems; the whole is greater than the sum of its parts; fuzzy and permeable boundaries; and, the centrality of paradox in all of life.
Introduction
Many conventional ideas about the world we live in have been shaken to their foundations by the emerging concepts of chaos and complexity. These new scientific theories are being applied with startling results in the social and natural sciences, particularly in the biological field.
Insights are now being gained from the application of complexity theory into phenomena varying in scale from ventricular fibrillation to the spread of epidemics to the concept of caring in the nurse-patient relationship. Nursing therefore needs to be aware of these new scientific ideas as they have significant implications for the theory and practice of nursing.
Chaos and complexity theory encompasses a large field. However, in this paper four key ideas will be introduced which are of relevance to nursing:
1. Dynamic systems behave in an apparently unpredictable and chaotic fashion, making predictions of future behavior impossible unless the rules governing chaotic systems are understood. Health can be argued to be a dynamic system.
2. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts; therefore reductionism is severely limited in its use as a tool in health care.
3. Boundaries between
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