Foundations of nursing research discussion

Know the Problem

Knowing the problem means being able to identify a gap in nursing practice that can be addressed with evidence.

"First we need to 'know' the problem. We have to think about why nurses are leaving," Nurse Brown said.

"There are many ways of knowing. Which way of knowing will be useful here?" I asked.

Refer to the Watson Caring Science Institute opens in new window to read more on related topics from the Caring Science Library of the Watson Caring Science Institute.

"We need to know empirically," Nurse Burns said.

Everyone had something to say since they often interacted with many dissatisfied nurses on a day-to-day basis. From the discussion, we could make out that there were three main concerns—low morale, lack of motivation, and stress. Nurse Cynthia Jones said, "It looks like all of them exhibit decreased job satisfaction," and all of us agreed.

"So if we increase job satisfaction, we should be able to hold them here longer," she continued.

It seemed simple.

Increased Job Satisfaction = Decreased Turnover

Ways of Knowing There are four fundamental patterns or ways of knowing or obtaining knowledge:

• Aesthetic knowing is the art of nursing. It includes the technical skills we, as nurses, develop with experience. This is made visible to others through the "bearing, conduct, attitude, and interactions of the nurse in response to others." An aspect of this way of knowing would be empathy for patients the ability of the nurse to actually feel what the patient is feeling. This type of knowing is the basis for the caring theorists like Watson. It answers the question, "What does this mean?"

             Refer to the Webliography of this course to learn more about the caring theorist, Jean Watson.

• Ethical knowing focuses on what ought to be done. It refers to understanding the difference between right and wrong while having respect for human life. It, however, is not just knowing the difference but taking the correct moral action. It answers the question, "Is this right and for whom?" An example of ethical knowing would be understanding why and knowing how to respond to a Jehovah's Witness patient who will not agree to a blood transfusion.

• Personal knowing is the knowledge of self. It is the idea that one must know oneself before one can know another person. This type of knowing is obtained when a nurse approaches a patient as a person instead of as a list of diagnoses or problems. Personal knowing refers to understanding the meaning of our own health and the health of others. It answers the questions, "Do I know what I do? Do I do what I know?"
• Empirical knowing is the science of nursing. This is the factual part of nursing that can be verified by others. It answers the question, "What is this, and how does it work?"