PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE EMBEDDED IN THE NURSING CARE PROVIDED TO STROKE PATIENTS.
Contributors: Columbia University. Teachers College.
Published: 1989
Number of pages: 242
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: There is increasing agreement that the nursing discipline has not utilized the rich source of knowledge developed by experienced nurses in their actual practice and that knowledge development could be greatly enhanced by utilizing this asset.

The purposes of this study were to identify and describe three areas of practical knowledge embedded in the nursing care provided to stroke patients, including paradigm cases, common meanings and the frame of reference underlying the nursing care.

The method consisted of observation and interviews with experienced nurses at one stroke unit in a university hospital in Norway. Twelve experienced nurses were observed for 10 weeks providing care to 30 stroke patients. Thirty-two paradigm cases were collected through interviews. The frame of reference and common meanings embedded in the paradigm cases and observed care were identified using an hermeneutic data analysis approach.

The nurses shared two common meanings about what providing nursing care to stroke patients entailed: The care as potentially physically and psychologically heavy, but also potentially exciting. The nurses structured their care to maximize the excitement and limit the heaviness of the work.

The frame of reference consisted of four values underlining stroke patients' rights to receive high quality nursing care in order to be helped to live a meaningful life, as well as four action-oriented expectations (norms) underlying the nurses' responsibility in ensuring these rights. In addition, the frame of reference consisted of one value emphasizing the right of nurses to have meaningful work and two outcome-oriented expectations reflecting that the patients ought to benefit from the care provided and that something positive comes ought to come of one's efforts. Underlying the values and norms was a basic assumption of the importance of maintaining hope in the situation for the patients as well as for the nurses. Maintaining hope was closely related to limiting the heaviness and maximizing the excitement of the work. It was concluded that much unique and valuable knowledge existed in the nursing care provided to stroke patients.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-08, Section: B, page: 3400.

Thesis (ED.D.)--COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY TEACHERS COLLEGE, 1989.

School code: 0055.