Nursology.net blogging team!
Chloe is a founding member of the
Nursing Theory Collective and
currently a PhD Student at the University of Arizona (Tuscon)
I. Introduction
In June of this year, a blog post was shared on Nursology.net by the Nursing Theory Collective, a group of scholars and students with a mission to advance the discipline of nursing/nursology through equitable and rigorous knowledge development using innovative nursing theory in all settings of practice, education, research, and policy. (Visit that post here). We are using the term nursing/nursology as at this moment in time as we continue to have discourse on the exact word choice we will use to characterize ourselves as a collective.
To review, the Nursing Theory Collective was formed after the landmark conference, “Nursing Theory: A 50 Year Perspective Past and Future”, on March 21-22, 2019 at Case Western Reserve University. Since May, the group has met monthly to further discuss pivotal issues related to nursing theory and the identity of nursing/nursology, define their mission and vision statement, and to establish action items to drive their vision forward. Currently, the Nursing Theory Collective has 45 members from around the world including Canada, China, Colombia, and the United States, promoting a global perspective of nursing and nursing theory.
To promote global connectivity, the Nursing Theory Collective created a WhatsApp (https://www.whatsapp.com) group for an easily accessible format that members in other countries can easily connect via their smartphones. In this WhatsApp group, members discuss pertinent issues related to nursing theory and the identity of nursing, sharing articles, actions in progress, or reminders for actions that evolved from previous meetings. Our meetings have been hosted via Zoom Video Conferencing (https://zoom.us) which enables access to participate in most countries, and has allowed us to record all meetings for future reference. A shared Google Drive was also created, enabling all members to have access previous document, to assist in the development of future action items, and to collaborate in real time.
II. Updates
To date, the meetings for our collective have revolved around discussions on actions items that can be taken to move the discipline of nursing and nursing theory into the future. In order to accomplish our collective goals, we have been working to define our mission, vision and values, and establishing logical action plans in the forms of scholarly writing and policy letters. In the following paragraphs, you will find a brief synopsis of all the action items that are in progress or completed.
Mission, Vision, and Values. We have been working diligently on defining our mission, vision, and values as a collective. We recognize that this is a work in progress. We have been inspired by the vast body of prior nursing knowledge and theory work in the United States and abroad, as well as our individual philosophies of nursing. Guiding our mission, vision, and values is a concise definition of nursing theory first advanced by a working group of international nurse theorists, who proposed that nursing theory is simply “a description of what is going on” (Petrovskya, Purvis, & Bjornsdottir, 2019, p.2). Petrovskya, Purvis, and Bjornsdottir’s (2019), elegant definition, adopted from Rolland Munro, invites nurses to engage ideas beyond the theoretical paradigms most familiar to nurses educated in the United States. As this is an ongoing and open process, we invite you into the discussion and to add to our mission, vision, and values.
King Conference. In June 2019, the Nursing Theory Collective submitted an abstract that was accepted to the upcoming King Theory Conference in Washington, D.C. (King International Nursing Group, 2019). The topic of our abstract is, “Driving the Future of Nursing: A Collective Approach to Nursing Theory.” We look forward to being a part of this landmark conference. We plan to arrange a meeting of the Nursing Theory Collective at the King conference, and we welcome all members and non-members to join us for important discussions in driving nursing and nursing theory into the future. We will post details about the time and place for this get together as the date gets closer. One action item of this in-person meeting at the King Conference will be to continue the debate surrounding the adoption of the term nursology to characterize ourselves.
III. Collaborative Efforts
As we are a collective, we understand the importance of branching out and collaborating with individuals and groups to enable us to accomplish our mission and vision. To date, collaborative efforts have been placed into two categories: 1) Nursology, and 2) policy items related to nursing education and the future of nursing. Below is a brief synopsis of both of these efforts.
Nursology. In 2015, Dr. Jacqueline Fawcett presented a case for changing the name of nursing to nursology (Fawcett et al., 2015). A variety of nursing scholars have echoed support for this change, but others have been questioning how this impacts on the discipline as we know it (Parse, 2019). To be mindful of all members views, we held an anonymous survey in June – July 2019 to adopt the term Nursology in our name, mission, vision and values. A total of eighteen votes were received, with 11 (61.1%) in support of adopting Nursology, and 7 (38.9%) in opposition. Members also had the option to write-in anonymously a rationale for their vote, and a variety of comments were received. For example, one member who was in support of the adoption asked “if there was an opposition for the collective to have an open discussion as to why this was.” Concerns that were raised by members in opposition included the marginalization of practicing and non-academic nurses, the validity and legitimacy of the term, and the belief that Nursology should be a term reserved for higher degrees in nursing such as the PhD. Supporters of the adoption argued that the term Nursology, while radical, would improve the strength of the identity of nursing, and has powerful implications for the general public and legislation.
Prior to the results being discussed, Dr. Fawcett kindly agreed to participate in our meeting where we discussed the adoption of the term Nursology, as well as the rationale for members in support or opposition. With this discussion, members had opportunities to further voice their opinion, and ask important questions related to the term and its meaning. For example, one member asked for whom the title nursologist should be reserved. Dr. Fawcett and other members designated the adoption of the term nursologist for all members, who have passed their licensing examination and are a registered nurse. At the end of the meeting, it was proposed as the group was undecided to adopt the term nursology into the mission, vision, and values, but also include nursing. We thank Dr. Fawcett for her involvement, and plan to keep the Nursology group updated as we move forward. Our next discussion on this topic will be in November at the King Conference in Washington, D.C.
Policy Items. In July, two members of the Nursing Theory Collective participated in a Zoom meeting with board members from the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation (AHNCC, 2019). The purpose of this meeting was to begin a discussion and collaborate on a campaign to express the need for nursing theory to be a core part of the current educational essentials, as they are being revised by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). Action items from this meeting included the development of two letters focused on the educational essentials, as well as the revising of the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). To date, the letter to the AACN has been completed and is pending to be emailed out to key members of the essentials committee. After this, we plan to submit this letter for publication to spread the word of this important change that may impact the future of nursing. Our next step will be devising the letter the the NCSBN, we invite anyone who is interested in participating in developing this important letter. We thank the AHNCC for collaborating with us on this important project, and support them in their work as they promote a more holistic space for nurses to practice globally.
IV. Future Efforts
While we have a significant to-do list as follow up from previous efforts, we continue to strive towards future actions in order to drive our vision for nursing and nursing theory into the future. We intend to remain vigilant about the AACN essentials, the NCSBN revision of the NCLEX, and will continue our activism aimed toward promotion of nursing theory at all levels of education. Our future actions include continuing our monthly meetings to have open discourse on the topic on nursing and nursing theory, we invite all members and non-members alike to participate. Additionally, we plan to write and submit manuscripts focused on demystifying nursing theory for practicing nurses and the educational environment. We welcome any and all ideas on how we can move forward with our goals, and hope that you would consider being a part of this movement.
V. Conclusion and Invitation – Join us!
The next meeting for the Nursing Theory Collective is August 27th, at 2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. We encourage all nurses and students, regardless of setting, experience, or educational level, to join us by contacting clittzen@email.arizona.edu to participate. If you are interested in joining the WhatsApp group, please email us to let us know and we will add you promptly. We also have a twitter handle, @NursingTheoryCo, and you are welcome to follow us as we plan future social media events. We plan to continue to update the community here on Nursology.net to keep everyone informed, as well as promote a movement of inclusivity to drive nursing and nursing theory into the future.
With gratitude,
The Nursing Theory Collective
References
American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation. (2019). About AHNCC. Retrieved from https://www.ahncc.org/about-ahncc/
Fawcett, J., Aronowitz, T., AbuFannouneh, A., Al Usta, M., Fraley, H. E., Howlett, M. S. L., . . . Zhang, Y. (2015). Thoughts about the name of our discipline. Nursing Science Quarterly, 28(4), 330-333. doi: 10.1177/0894318415599224
King International Nursing Group. (2019). Events. Retrieved from https://kingnursing.org/content.aspx?page_id=4002&club_id=459369&item_id=976945
The Nursing Theory Collective. (2019, June 18). Moving Towards the Next Fifty Years Together [Blog post]. Retreived from https://nursology.net/2019/06/18/moving-towards-the-next-fifty-years-together/
Parse, R. R. (2019). Nursology: What’s in a name? Nursing Science Quarterly, 32(2). doi: 10.1177/0894318419831619
Petrovskaya, O., Purkis, M. E., & Bjornsdottir, K. (2019). Revisiting “Intelligent Nursing”: Olga Petrovskaya in conversation with Mary Ellen Purkis and Kristin Bjornsdottir. Nursing Philosophy, 20(3), e12259. doi: 10.1111/nup.12259.