The purpose of this presentation is to share a nurse-patient clinical experience that lends support to the unitary transformative paradigm. I graduated from a baccalaureate-nursing program before the conceptualization of person as an irreducible whole was widely discussed. At that time, the discipline of nursing acknowledged the patient as having spiritual, emotional, and physical components, but the primary focus was on the patient’s physical needs. Caring for a person spiritually meant little more than inquiring upon admission what religious preference the patient had. Beyond that, spiritual care was left to the patient’s clergy of choice. Caring for a patient emotionally meant holding a hand, listening attentively and making referrals as needed. Emotional health issues in the community setting were not under the domain of nursing at all. Instead, it was the task of social workers to manage mental health clients. Such fragmentation of person was consistent with nursing research conducted from the empirical paradigm. Obtaining objective, measurable data that was untainted by human experience was regarded as the only legitimate line of inquiry to inform our practice. The purpose of this presentation is to :
1. Examine the philosophical assumptions of person behind prevailing paradigmatic views, 2. Present a clinical experience that supports the conceptualization of person-environment as an irreducible whole; This experience will be interpreted through Margaret Newman’s Theory of Health as Expanding Consciousness. A brief description of Newman’s Theory is given that will include Newman’s key terms and fundamental philosophical principles. 3. To propose support for research that honors the unbroken wholeness of human experience. The implications for nursing of this presentation is to advance the critical importance of consideration of the unitary transformative paradigm in nursing practice and research.
Session #1121 - Nursing Theory in Research and Practice
The 29th Annual MNRS Research Conference (April 1-4, 2005)