Last month, on November 14th and 15th, nurses from all over the world gathered to discuss nursing theory and the future of nursing at a landmark conference at George Washington University in Washington D.C. Hosted by the King International Nursing Group, the theme of the conference was “Nursing theories: Moving forward through collaboration, application and innovation.” Present at the conference included members of various scholarly groups in nursing such as the International Consortium of Parse Scholars, Leininger Culture Care, the Neuman Systems Model Trustees Group, Orem International Society, Roy Adaptation Association, Society for the Advancement of Modeling and Role Modeling, Society of Rogerian Scholars, the Transcultural Nursing Society, the University of Connecticut School of Nursing, the Watson Caring Science Institute, and the Nursing Theory Collective.
The above collage depicts different moments during the panel presentation at the King Collaborative Conference. On the bottom from left to right is Jacqueline Fawcett, Callista Roy, and Marlaine Smith.
On the first day of the conference, a representative member of each of these scholarly groups presented on the nursing theory central to their organization. Each oriented their discussion toward the future of nursing as a discipline. Awareness of our habitual silos slowly emerged as each of these scholars presented, revealing our tendencies as nurse theorists – nursologists – to work in isolation. These voices were put into dialogue in a panel, convened to discuss the future of nursing theory and the discipline as we know it. From this discussion, panelists and attendees alike unanimously agreed that the future of the discipline required that we identify common ground and work collaboratively from our shared values grounded in nursing while recognizing and honoring our differences. The panel discussion concluded with a call to find unity in our diversity and recognize the strengths inherent in divergent perspectives.
The Nursology Theory Collective at their first in-person meeting on November 15th, 2019.
The next day, the Nursing Theory Collective had their first in-person meeting. In light of the pivotal discussion that had occurred on the previous day, representatives from different scholarly groups were in attendance to participate. One of the main agenda items for the first in-person meeting was revisiting the adoption of the term “nursology” in the group’s name, mission, vision, and values, in place of the term nursing. Achieving consensus through lively discussion on the politics and peculiarities of the term, the Collective ultimately determined that “nursology” was best suited for navigating the future of the discipline. As such, the Nursing Theory Collective has now been renamed the Nursology Theory Collective. It is our hope with this adoption that we can become more inclusive for all scholars and practitioners alike, breaking down walls towards a unified future for the discipline.
Inspired by our shared space and time at the King Conference, looking towards the future, the Nursology Theory Collective intends to continue to advocate for the future of our discipline through practice, research, education, and policy. We hope to foster an inclusive home for nursologists from all perspectives. We ask you, as important voices in our discipline, what issues are most important to you? Though you may not attend our meetings, we value diversity, discourse, and dissensus. We want to hear from you about the future you envision for nursing. What are the theory, practice, education, policy issues you see as critical to our future? We want to hear from you, and we invite you to our next meeting on Monday, December 16th from 1:00 – 2:30 PM MST. If you wish to participate, please contact us via email at nursingtheorycollective@gmail.com.
Please continue the conversation from the King Conference below in the comments, we look forward to hearing from you!
With gratitude,
The Nursology Theory Collective
The Nursology Theory Collective at their first in-person meeting on November 15th, 2019.