uci center for nursing philosophy and ipons co-host a virtual panel addressing nursing theory, education and practiceThe Center for Nursing Philosophy was honored to co-sponsor a live-streaming virtual panel event with the International Philosophy of Nursing Society (IPONS) on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021.

The panel, titled “Addressing current debates in nursing theory, education, practice,” was moderated by Pamela J. Grace, RN PhD FAAN, Associate Professor of Nursing and Ethics (Retired) at Boston College (USA) and Vice-Chair of the International Philosophy of Nursing Society and featured the following panelists:

  • Barb Pesut, PhD, RN, Professor at University of British Columbia Okanagan (Canada) whose talk was titled “Claiming the margins: Politics and Philosophy”
  • Peggy Chinn, PhD, RN, Professor Emerita at University of Connecticut (USA), whose talk was titled “Decolonizing nursing thought: Why and how?”
  • Sally Thorne, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor at University of British Columbia (Canada) whose talk was titled “Conceptual development of nursing’s theorizing movement”
  • Patricia Benner, PhD, RN, FAAN, Emerita Professor at University of California, San Francisco (USA), whose talk was titled “Rethinking nursing pedagogical models in light of current neuroscience epistemologies”
  • Martin Lipscomb, PhD, RN, Senior Lecturer at Worcester University (United Kingdom), whose talk was titled “Complexity and ambition in nurse education”

Q&A and discussion

Following the panelists’ talks, Jane Hopkins Walsh, MSN, PNP-BC, RN, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Boston Children’s Hospital (USA) and executive committee member of the International Philosophy of Nursing Society led a lively Q&A session with the panelists to discuss attendee questions such as:

  • The nature of the boundaries separating philosophy and politics in relation to the positionality of nurses
  • The need to decolonize nursing’s traditional metaparadigm concepts
  • The colonization of nursing education with Cartesianism
  • The role of nonconceptual thought in nursing education and practice
  • Addressing complexity thinking in relation to values and nursing practice

The panel was very well attended, with more than 500 registrants. Attendees provided a lively chat discussion throughout the panel proceedings, and had the following comments about the panel overall:

  • “Thought provoking and stimulating”
  • “Intriguing and applicable discussion of grand topics and immediate experiences”
  • “#mindblown”

The attendees also provided some welcome ideas for future events including “nurses who could speak to philosophies coming from Indigenous and Black communities [and] philosophies emerging from ancestral practices,” which the panelists all agreed needed to be prioritized. 

Watch the panel

To learn about upcoming events, view our events calendar.