The principles from Barbara Carper’s theory of “Ways of Knowing
Reflect upon a patient care encounter from personal practice in which principles from Barbara Carper’s theory of “Ways of Knowing” were used. Illustrate how each fundamental pattern for nursing knowledge contributed to the care of this patient.
Select a particular area of nursing that is of interest to you. Elaborate on the specifics of nursing research in relation to this area— what can be accomplished by it, and why you believe it to be valuable. Include an explanation of the following questions in your response.
What role does nursing research play in the development of applied medicine?
What are the best methods for conducting such research? Include specific topics you will cover, and how this relates to your literature review.
How do you know whether a topic qualifies as research worthy? What criteria make a topic acceptable for research?
Nurses require a great deal of knowledge to provide a comprehensive and effective nursing care. a number of patterns have been put into place to help nurses acquire this knowledge. In 1978, Barbara Carper named personal knowing as a fundamental way of knowing in our discipline. By that, she meant the discovery of self-and-other, arrived at through reflection, synthesis of perceptions and connecting with what is known. Along with empirics, aesthetics and ethics, personal knowing was understood as an essential attribute of nursing knowledge evolution, setting the context for the nurse to become receptively attentive to and engaged within the interpersonal processes of practice.
