Carper (1978)

Fundamental patterns of
knowing

Prepared by Jah, Acab & Latifah

Chepkwony
Background
Born 24 Apr 1931 in Bethany,
Harrison, Missourimap
Died 9 May 2002 in Des Moines,
Polk, Iowa, USAmap
RN,Ed.D
Assistant Professor and Chairman
Division of Medical Surgical Nursing
College of Nursing in Texas
University
The problem of Nursing as a
practice discipline
Nursing involves processes of dynamic
interactions
Nurses in practice know more than
they can communicate to others
Historically what nurses know has not
been communicated well
Empirical knowledge only partially
reflects nursing knowledge
This can be improved when all forms of
knowing are integrated and valued
Why develop patterns of
knowing
The aim of Carpers theory was to:
Formally express nursing knowledge
Provide a professional and discipline
identity
Convey to others what nursing
contributes to healthcare
Create expert and effective nursing
practice
Knowing and knowledge

Knowing and knowledge

Knowing refers to the way of
perceiving and understanding self
and the world

Knowledge refers to knowing that is

expressed in a form that can be
shared and communicated to others
Nursings fundamental
patterns of knowing

Carper (1978) Chinnand

Ethics Kramer (2008)
Personal knowing Emancipatory
Aesthetics Knowing
The praxis of
Empirics
nursing
Ethics: the component of moral
knowledge in nursing
Guides and directs how nurses
conduct their practice
Requires
Experiential knowledge of social values
Ethical reasoning
Focus is on:
Matters of obligation, what ought to be
done
Right , wrong and responsibility
Ethical codes of nursing
Confronting and resolving conflicting
values, norms, interests or principles
Sources of Ethical
knowing
Nursings ethical codes and
professional standards
An understanding of different
philosophical positions
Consequentialism
Deontology
Duty
Social justice
Personal knowing: acceptance of self
that is grounded in self-knowledge and
confidence
Concerned with becoming self-aware
Selfawareness that grows over time through
interactions with others
Used when nurses engage in the
therapeutic use of self in practice
Scientific competence, moral/ethical practice,
insight and experience of personal knowing
Personal reflection
Informed by the response of others
Openness to experience
Personal knowing

Itneeds to be integrated or
reconciled with professional
responsibilities
Personal Knowing is the basis of the
therapeutic use of self in the nurse
patient relationship
Perceiving self feelings, and prejudices
within the situation
Aesthetic knowing: the art of
nursing
Expressed through:
Actions, bearing, conduct, attitudes, narrative
and interaction
Knowing what to do without conscious
deliberation
Involves:
Deep appreciation of the meaning of a situation
Moves beyond the surface of a situation
Often shared without conscious exchange of
words
Transformative art/acts
Brings together all the elements of a nursing
care situation to create a meaningful whole
Aesthetic knowing
Perceiving the nature of a clinical
situation and interpreting this
information

To respond with skilled action

It uses the nurses intuition and empathy

Isbased on the skill of the nurse in a

given situation
Empirics: the science of nursing
Based on the assumption that what is known
is accessible through the physical senses:
seeing, touching and hearing.
Reality exists and truths about it can be
understood
A pattern of knowing that draws on traditional
ideas of science
Expressed in practice as scientific competence
Competent action grounded in scientific
knowledge including theories and formal
description
Involves conscious problem solving and logical
reasoning
Nursing theory
Empirical knowing
Positivist science
Knowledge is systematically
organised into general laws and
theories

Source of this knowledge

Research
Theory
Fundamental patterns of
knowing
Empiric

Emancipatory
Ethical Personal

Aesthetic
Methods of turning knowing
into knowledge
Problem based learning
An instructional method in which students work in small
groups
Used to gain knowledge and acquire problem-solving skills.
Clinical Supervision
An exchange between practicing professionals to enable
the development of professional knowledge and skills
Structured reflection on practice
Johns (1994) model of structured reflection used Carpers
fundamental patterns of knowing
Section 5 of the model considers learning gained from the
experience. It asks how has this experience changed my
ways of knowing?
Empirics/ Aesthetics/Ethics/Personal
REFERENCES
Carper.,B.A. Fundametal
patterns of knowing in Nursing

http://samples.jbpub.com/978076
3765705/65705_CH03_V1xx.pdf