This course provides an opportunity for the student to apply critical analytical skills to theoretical thinking in nursing. It involves discussion of theory development and the ontological and epistemological foundations of nursing knowledge. Differences between a practice profession and a practice discipline and nursing as a field of inquiry are areas for discussion and debate. This clinical course will focus on the experience of individuals and families in maintaining integrity during acute episodes in persistent illness, which may include the dying process. The meaning and impact of these experiences across illness and developmental trajectories will be examined including cultural, ethical, and system issues.
Complexity includes pathophysiology, related interventions, and the care delivery context.
Themes to be addressed will be the caregiver context, the therapeutic process, temporality, and challenges to therapeutic relationships. This course is designed to provide students with clinical practice skills to care for individuals, families, and communities within the context of a primary health care delivery system. Relevant theories, ethical issues, and research findings will be critiqued and applied to practice. Primary health care will be introduced as the foundation for health care reform, locally and globally. The contribution of nursing to health care reform will be emphasized.