Contributor: Savina O. SchoenhoferCo-developer of the theory of Nursing As Caring Source: ChatGPT A study of Norwegian nurse educators’ perceptions of the meaning of nursing theories at the baccalaureate level, recently published in the Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences (Kvande et al., 2026) prompted me to ask the question that titles these reflections. That focus … Continue reading Norwegian Nurse Educators Recognize that Nursing Theories are of Vital Importance…Do You?
Professional Issues
Speaking “Nursology” into the Dictionary: Why Everyday Usage Matters
Nursology is our discipline's name - and the more we use that word out loud, in print, and online, the more likely it is to appear in everyday references people turn to online, including general dictionaries such as Merriam‑Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary. Nursing philosopher Joyce Paterson first coined the term "nursology" in 1971, … Continue reading Speaking “Nursology” into the Dictionary: Why Everyday Usage Matters
How the Burnout Crisis is Hurting Nurse Leaders
Contributor - Obidigwe Adaora Victoria, RN Burnout leads to turnover, says Claire Zangerle, CEO of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership. And she should know. As a chief nurse executive, she’s been working at Ground Zero. While chatting with Chief Healthcare Executive, Zangerle didn’t sugarcoat the issue. She calls it a problem because that’s exactly … Continue reading How the Burnout Crisis is Hurting Nurse Leaders
Too Young, Too Female, Too Anxious: A Peace and Power Nursing Reflection
Contributor - Jodi Clee Kennedy, MSN, RN, AGACNPTWU PhD Student I opened my eyes at 7:00 a.m. to a heart rate of 130 beats per minute. I had committed to a dress rehearsal at noon for my Active Older Adult group at the YMCA. I couldn’t miss it. For three weeks leading up to the … Continue reading Too Young, Too Female, Too Anxious: A Peace and Power Nursing Reflection
Artificial Intelligence: Utopia or Dystopia?
Guest Contributor: Fengyan DengPhD in Nursing student, Texas Woman's University Nursology.net Blogs on AI Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been penetrating almost every aspect of human life, though without conscious awareness. Examples can span from personal experiences using Google Maps/chatbots for customer service to various industries. One industry example is humanoid robots undertaking human tasks to … Continue reading Artificial Intelligence: Utopia or Dystopia?
Why I Will Not let Nursing Lose Caring
Contributor - Mariana Lori Jurist, BSN, RNPhD Student, FAU College of Nursing Caring, to me, is not an approach. It’s the reason I became a nurse, and the reason I stay one. I have learned that if I am not careful, the word caring can get treated like a soft add-on, something nice that sits … Continue reading Why I Will Not let Nursing Lose Caring
Research and Publication as the Living Language of Nursing: A Reflection on Carper’s Patterns of Knowing and Barrett’s Knowing Participation in Change
Guest Contributor: Aissatou GueyePhD Student, Connell School of Nursing, Boston College Early in my nurse practitioner (NP) career, I remember sitting with a patient long after the visit was supposed to end. The chart was complete. The orders were in. By every measurable standard, the work was done. And yet something essential was still unfolding … Continue reading Research and Publication as the Living Language of Nursing: A Reflection on Carper’s Patterns of Knowing and Barrett’s Knowing Participation in Change
Nursing, Immigration, and Peace & Power
Contributor - Patricia Isela Regalado, MSN, RN, CNE, RCFE Administrator They say nursing is a profession you can trust. Acts of caring, advocacy, and dignity have been woven into the fabric of nursing since the start of our profession. As nurses, we have prided ourselves on holding ourselves to high moral, ethical, and humanitarian standards. … Continue reading Nursing, Immigration, and Peace & Power
Action Defending Democracy: Overdue Reckoning on Racism in Nursing – March 28, April 4, 18 & 25
Co-contributors - Lucinda Canty, Christina Nyirati Over the past year, the Nursology.net team members have developed a thread of blogs focused on Action Defending Democracy. The "Overdue Reckoning" discussions provide a way for nurses to come together and engage in emancipatory action! These actions are fundamental to our ethical duty as nurses, and to emancipatory … Continue reading Action Defending Democracy: Overdue Reckoning on Racism in Nursing – March 28, April 4, 18 & 25
Gertrude Torres (July 18, 1933 – July 24, 2016) – Guardian of Our Discipline
Guardian of the Discipline I first learned of Dr. Gertrude Torres’ work when she and Helen Yura published a report of their study of analysis of the conceptual frameworks of several nursology [nursing] baccalaureate programs that were accredited by the National League for Nursing. The analysis revealed four major concepts--man, society, health, and nursing (Yura … Continue reading Gertrude Torres (July 18, 1933 – July 24, 2016) – Guardian of Our Discipline
Russell–Fawcett Model and Local Governance for Community Health Nursing Praxis
Guest Contributor: Ann M. StalterCommunity/Public Health Nurse Educator Local governments make decisions daily that shape the health and well-being of communities, yet nurses rarely serve on the boards and councils where these decisions occur. The absence of nurses in such political spaces is significant because they comprise the largest sector of the health care workforce … Continue reading Russell–Fawcett Model and Local Governance for Community Health Nursing Praxis
Collaborative Care as an Essential Health Benefit (EHB)
Contributor - Kathleen Donaher-Keough, PhD, RN Why This Matters to Nursing Source From a nursing policy perspective in the United States, defining collaborative care as an Essential Health Benefit (EHB) aligns reimbursement, workforce utilization, and quality outcomes with what nurses already do every day: coordinate, assess, educate, and sustain care across settings and time. Primary … Continue reading Collaborative Care as an Essential Health Benefit (EHB)
Reflections on Person versus Patient Centered Care
Guest Contributor: Cassidy J. OhnstadDNP (psychiatric mental health) student, University of Wyoming Person-centered care (PCC) is a valuable approach to holistic, individualized care that contrasts with the current cookie-cutter model of healthcare. Unlike patient-centered care, which often focuses narrowly on illness and treatment, PCC recognizes the person as a whole being with unique experiences, values, … Continue reading Reflections on Person versus Patient Centered Care
Nursing Voices in the US Immigrant Crisis
Alex Pretti, ICU nurse assassinated by ICE on January 24, 2026 At our January Nursology.net Advisory Team Zoom meeting, we heard from a colleague who lives and works in the great city of Minneapolis. She spoke of the suffering in her neighborhood, where people are being terrorized by atrocities committed against Brown people and others. … Continue reading Nursing Voices in the US Immigrant Crisis
The Nurse as Broken Glass
Contributor - Rachell NguyenAesthetic Knowing Broken into many scattered pieces,The nurse lies shattered and broken.Light temporarily dims, sound decreases,Similar to death, unspoken. Yet, behold, the glass can be mended full,Tougher and more durable than ever,The nurse stands up from torment’s pull,Wiser, stronger, even more clever. The glass still has its beauty and brightness,Even through pain, … Continue reading The Nurse as Broken Glass
Restoring the Bridge Between Nursing Theory and Clinical Practice: A Call to Rebalance
Contributor - Aissatou GueyePhD student, Boston College Connell School of Nursing “When nurses cross freely between the two shores of theory and practice, knowledge becomes wisdom, and practice becomes an act of artistry and consciousness.” In nursing classrooms, we speak of caring as both art and science—an integration of empirical evidence, aesthetic knowing, personal presence, … Continue reading Restoring the Bridge Between Nursing Theory and Clinical Practice: A Call to Rebalance
Teaching Community Health Nursing Innovatively with Nursology Knowledge–Pender and Watson
Guest Contributor: Jennifer M. HackelAdjunct Professor of Nursing, University of Southern Maine Teaching Community Health Nursing to undergraduate students during the pandemic offered this professor a good opportunity to ground them in nursology. The clinical placement for my section of eight students was immersing them in the community where I live -- a rural unbridged … Continue reading Teaching Community Health Nursing Innovatively with Nursology Knowledge–Pender and Watson
Health Literacy: Patient Empowerment in Outpatient Surgery and the Role of the Nurse.
Guest Contributor: Marta Patrícia Marques LameirasMasters student in Medical-Surgical Nursing at the Catholic University of Portugal School of Nursing in Lisbon Thought: "Education, whatever it may be, is always a theory of knowledge put into practice." Paulo Freire Health literacy is a fundamental pillar for patient empowerment, especially in outpatient surgery contexts, where hospitalisation time … Continue reading Health Literacy: Patient Empowerment in Outpatient Surgery and the Role of the Nurse.
Theory to guide our thinking, theory to guide our nursing work
Contributor - Miriam Hirschfeld, DNSc, RN In my prior life, teaching in Tel-Aviv University’s nursing master’s program I volunteered to teach a course on nursing theory. I had two objectives, the first was a decision to learn these theories in some depth, the second to honor my revered teacher at UCSF, Dr. Afaf Meleis. Many … Continue reading Theory to guide our thinking, theory to guide our nursing work
Intentional Practice is Universal Caring
Contributor - Shauna Lee Aranton, MSN, APRN,FNP-BC I recently participated in a guest lecture given by Dr. Jacqueline Fawcett, as part of a PhD nursing course at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. During her lecture, Dr. Fawcett asked my classmates and me to think about a concept to replace “caring” as a descriptor for … Continue reading Intentional Practice is Universal Caring