Philosophy and Science in a Practice Discipline
Philosophy and Science in a Practice Discipline

A nurse enters a patient’s room to check her vitals and spends some time talking with the patient’s family how they are doing. Later that day, another nurse responds to the patient’s call button; she becomes concerned when she discovers that the patient is running a fever and is in pain despite receiving the medication that has been ordered for her. She recalls a similar instance with a different patient, and keeps that in mind as she asks the patient about how she is feeling. These seemingly simple actions are guided by philosophy—each nurse’s view of nursing and appropriate patient care. Do you, personally, think nursing should rely solely on biological science? Or do you think it is important for nursing to incorporate a broader, more holistic approach to care? How do you know what you know? What sources of information are most significant to you? How should you determine what types of research are applicable to nursing practice?

To prepare:

Reflect on your professional experiences, and assess how philosophy and science influences nursing practice.
Consider how the scientific method is supported by philosophy, and how it influences nursing knowledge.
By tomorrow 5/31/17, post 550 words essay in APA format with 3 references from the list below, that include the level one heading as numbered below:

post a cohesive response that addresses the following:

1) Why are philosophy and science important to a practice discipline?

2) How do they legitimize the nursing profession?

Assignment: Philosophy and Science

Assignment: Philosophy and Science

3) Provide examples from your nursing practice that demonstrate how the scientific method influences nursing knowledge.

Required Readings

McEwin, M., & Wills, E.M. (2014). Theoretical basis for nursing. (4th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health.

Chapter 1, “Philosophy, Science, and Nursing”

Chapter 1 introduces the scientific and philosophical foundations of nursing and how these contribute to knowledge development within the discipline of nursing.

Assignment: Philosophy and Science

Assignment: Philosophy and Science

Gray, J.R., Grove, S.K., & Sutherland, S. (2017). Burns and Grove’s the practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Saunders Elsevier.

Chapter 1, “Discovering the World of Nursing Research”

Chapter 1 introduces nursing research and discusses how science, theory, and philosophy all influence research.

Chapter 2, “Evolution of Research in Building Evidence-Based Nursing Practice”

Chapter 2 reviews the history of nursing research beginning with the work of Florence Nightingale and examines the influence of nursing research today on evidence-based practice.

Moran, K., Burson, R., & Conrad, D. (2017). The doctor of nursing practice scholarly project: A framework for success (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Chapter 1, “Setting the Stage for the Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Project”

Chapter 5, “The phenomenon of Interest”

Chapter 6, “Developing the Scholarly Project”

Isaacs, S., Ploeg, J., & Tompkins C. (2009). How can Rorty help nursing science in the development of a philosophical ‘foundation’? Nursing Philosophy, 10(2), 81-90. doi:10.1111/j.1466-769X.2008.00364.x

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

This article discusses the application of the Richard Rorty’s pragmatic philosophy to nursing practices and research.

Kinsella, E. A. (2010). Professional knowledge and the epistemology of reflective practice. Nursing Philosophy, 11(1), 3-14. doi:10.1111/j.1466-769X.2009.00428.x

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

This article examines the philosophical underpinnings and epistemological assumptions of reflective practice in an effort to advance understanding for application in professional healthcare settings.

Mackay, M. (2009). Why nursing has not embraced the clinician-scientist role. Nursing Philosophy, 10(4), 287-296. doi:10.1111/j.1466-769X.2009.00416.x

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

In this article, the role of the clinician-scientist and importance of clinical research for nursing is examined.

Persson, J. (2010). Misconceptions of positivism and five unnecessary science theoretic mistakes they bring in their train. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 47(5), 651-661. doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2009.12.009

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

This article discusses misconceptions of positivism and the implications of these misconceptions for nursing researchers.

Pesut, B., & Johnson, J. (2008). Reinstating the ‘Queen’: Understanding philosophical inquiry in nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 61(1), 115-121. doi: 10.1111/j.1365 -2648.2007.04493.x

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

This article provides an analysis of the use of philosophical inquiry within nursing research. The article identifies characteristics of philosophical inquiry as well as common tools used in this methodology.

Porter, S. (2001). Nightingale’s realist philosophy of science. Nursing Philosophy, 2(1), 14-25. doi:10.1046/j.1466-769X.2001.00029.x

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

In this article, Florence Nightingale’s realist philosophy of science is compared to today’s dominant philosophy of positivism.

Optional Resources

Connor, M.J. (2004). The practical discourse in philosophy and nursing: An exploration of linkages and shifts in the evolution of praxis. Nursing Philosophy, 5(1), 54-66. doi:10.1111/j.1466-769X.2004.00159.x

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Chou, M., & Lee, L. (2007). Initial formation of nursing philosophies following fundamental clinical practice: The experience of male nursing students. Journal of Nursing Research, 15(2), 127-137.

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Effken, J. (2007). The informational basis for nursing intuition: Philosophical underpinnings. Nursing Philosophy, 8(3), 187-200.

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Mantzoukas, S., & Jasper, M. (2008). Types of nursing knowledge used to guide care of hospitalized patients. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 62(3), 318-326. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04587.x

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Mills, J., Chapman, Y., Bonner, A., & Francis, K. (2007). Grounded theory: A methodological spiral from positivism to postmodernism. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 58(1), 72-79. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04228.x

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Persson, J., & Sahlin, N. (2008). A philosophical account of interventions and causal representation in nursing research. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 46(4), 547-556. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2008.11.008

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Trochim, W. (2006). Research methods knowledge base: Positivism & post-positivism. Retrieved from http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/positvsm.php

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.