Similarities and Differences on Philosophical Perspectives of Nursing
There are numerous perspectives on the philosophy of nursing as a profession. These diverse philosophical approaches may influence one’s view of the profession and by extension those who rely on the service to be provided. The nursing profession is based on many philosophies some of which include; logical positivism, historicism, postmodern, phenomenological philosophy, hermeneutics, and feminist.
There are different foundational basis for philosophies, but there are notable similarities and differences. This paper will look at these similarities and differences, albeit in summary.
Notable Similarities in the different Philosophies of Nursing
The postmodern theory is premised on the notion that the healer is self, and the purpose of the nurse is to provide physical, psychosocial, and spiritual care to give patients the power to accomplish this. The concept is to ensure that all the medical practitioners, including the doctor and the nurse, should encourage the patient to have a positive feeling about the process of treatment and healing. This theory is buttressed by the modern campaigns about healthy living, and practices that gives the patient more control on how to be healthy.
Logical positivism on the other hand is founded on the belief that any process that would lead to the patient’s well-being and how a nurse will helps to achieve this is based on science. Its foundational concepts are on empirical research and personal observation. This philosophy thus lays emphasis on the surrounding circumstances of treatment like hygiene, space, light, proper medication, and observance of all that is required to ensure a recovery.
The historicist perspective considers the development of the profession of nursing as a slow and gradual exercise, which has numerous challenges. Their emphasis is an attempt on exploring the outer limits of cognizance and theory discovery. The phenomenological philosophy is not by itself a grand theory but an attempt to describe in accurate terms, the experiences of the patient in respect to what is being studied. This approach allows the nurse to attach some value to the individual’s experiences. The historicist perspective is similar to the postmodern theory in the sense that it seeks to take into consideration the sentiments of the patient. While the former seeks the views of the patient, the latter encourages the patient to have the will to overcome the problem of poor health.
The feminist theory identifies the structurally organized inequalities of power and the invisible influence that can exist in work relationship thereby reinforcing these structures. The feminist care perspective is based on the belief that women are able to be better caregivers because of their concerns with feelings, relationship and individual needs. The argument here is that the biological capacity of women such as expectations of motherhood, sensitivity to the need of a child, and the general compassion shown by women, makes the caregiving profession of nursing symbolically feminine in trait and perspective. This perspective has some tangible similarity to the logical perspective because both borrow from the vast pool of what history can teach us on the profession of nursing. Feminist believe that historically the profession has been dominated by women because of their ability to be better caregivers. The hermeneutics approach has been used to explore and inform the conduct of interpretive research. This perspective is used generally to analyze all the diverse thoughts in order to distill a more general philosophical perspective.
References
Aristotle. (2007). The Nicomachean Ethics. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Filiquarian Publishing, LLC.
Popper, K. (2013). The Poverty of Historicism (2, Revised ed.). London: Routledge.
