The Center for Nursing Philosophy Purpose
The profession of nursing has a social mandate to contribute to health. The American Nursing Association’s current definition of nursing is “the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, facilitation of healing, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations” (2015, p. 1).
The academic discipline of nursing has a goal to generate knowledge that allows for nurses to achieve their professional mandate. Yet a defining issue for the nursing discipline since its inception has been the complexity of professional nursing practice, which precludes the notion that any single account of it can be adequate (Green, 2018; Holmes & Gastaldo, 2004, Bender & Holmes, 2019, Bender 2018).
Conceptualizing nursing knowledge
This basic fact raises distinct challenges in conceptualizing nursing knowledge. Nursing knowledge is an ambiguous term that can mean the knowing practice of nurses in hospitals and communities, nursing theories, or the results of empirical research studies, to name but a few conceptualizations.
This ambiguity and plurality challenge the notion of a “core” disciplinary knowledge, which as Sally Thorne has noted is “maddeningly elusive” (Thorne, 2014). It also raises critical questions about what constitutes the nursing discipline’s focus of inquiry and of methods for examining nursing phenomena.
It has led to a defining disciplinary paradox: the dualism of nursing science and art, which has become a focus for nursing philosophy.
The art-science dualism is only one way of expressing ongoing discourse and debate within the nursing discipline about its philosophical orientation and subsequent conceptualizations of knowledge, practice and scholarship.
There is a compelling need to create novel structures and modalities to overcome these seemingly entrenched divides. What is needed is a space where scholars can have open discussion about the concepts and meanings of terms such as nursing science, practice, theory and knowledge.
Engaging the global community
The Center for Nursing Philosophy hopes to be that space.
The CNP, in order to fulfill its mission, must engage with the national and international philosophy community.
We actively seek affiliations with known philosophy organizations (for example IPONS, the University of Alberta Unit for Philosophical Nursing Research) and invite scholars to UCI with the goal of fostering dialogue and philosophical programs of scholarship, including doctoral student training, conference organization, and in-person and virtual dissemination of ongoing and completed scholarship.
The CNP will also actively recruit faculty from departments of general philosophy both within UCI and across institutions to expand CNP’s scope of knowledge and expertise.
LATEST NEWS
Event recap: Addressing current debates in nursing theory, education, practice
The 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 [...]
Seeking answers to nursing’s deepest questions
What is the definition of nursing? That’s one question Associate Professor Miriam Bender is trying to answer as Director of the new Center for Nursing Philosophy at the UCI Sue & Bill Gross School of [...]
UPCOMING EVENTS
Overdue Reckoning on Racism in Nursing: Nursemanifest
The UCI Center for Nursing Philosophy is honored to be an ally to Nursemanifest’s ongoing initiative “Overdue Reckoning On Racism In Nursing.” The initiative was launched in September 2020 “to open discussion that focuses on [...]
Nursing Philosophy Reading Group
The Center for Nursing Philosophy is proud to launch the Nursing Philosophy Reading Group.The goal is to select a topic of interest to nursing philosophy, identify a selection of papers/book sections related to the topic, [...]
Joint KTS Center & Center for Nursing Philosophy Lecture
Annemarie Mol, Professor of Anthropology of the Body at the University of Amsterdam. The 1st Annual Joint UCI Knowledge, Technology and Society Center & Center for Nursing Philosophy Lecture will be delivered by [...]
Concept Analysis in Nursing A New Approach – John Paley
Join UCI Center for Nursing Philosophy partner University of Worcester as they celebrate the launch of a new book about the philosophy of ethics and professional nursing practice by John Paley. Event Details Date: Tuesday, [...]
Addressing current debates in nursing theory, education, practice
The International Philosophy of Nursing Society (IPONS) and the UCI Center for Nursing Philosophy invite you to a special live-streaming virtual panel, “Nursing philosophy: Addressing current depates in nursing theory, education and practice.” Event Details Date: Thursday, [...]
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