Empirical Knowing In Nursing

The Patterns of Knowing are general concepts that aim to provide the body of knowledge which serves as the rationale which defines what the nursing practice is and that is used as a reference in the education of effective nursing practice as a science (Carper, 1978). There are four fundamental levels of knowing: empirical, esthetics, personal, and ethical (Carper, 1978). Empirical is in the traditional sense the science of nursing (Carper, 1978). It is the general laws and theories aim at describing, explaining, and predicting phenomena of special concerns to the discipline of nursing (Carper, 1978). Empirical knowing is developed through research, theories, and models which are consistently being tested, adapted, updated and validated or corrected and disproved through observation and research (Carper, 1978). Empirical knowing is taught through nursing schools at all levels and is expressed in nursing care without prejudice. In clinical rotations, students are taught and encouraged to use critical thinking, this is empirical knowledge.

Esthetic is - I think - the most complicated to explain, yet is simply described as the art of nursing (Carper, 1978). I have yet to find someone …show more content…
Ethics embodies what is right and wrong, what is the nursing responsibility or the ethical codes of nursing (Carper, 1978). It is confronting and resolving conflicting values, norms, interest or principles all involved in the goal of nursing care in relation to the maintenance or restoration of health in assisting patients to achieve a state in which they are independent, i.e. recovered from or coping with their situation (Carper, 1978). It requires the understanding of different philosophical positions regarding what is good or right; a complex form of knowledge (Carper,