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Contributor: Chloe Littzen
August 24th, 2020
Author: Pamela G. Reed, PhD, MSN, MA, RN, FAAN
Year First Published – 1995
Reed, P. G. (1995). A treatise on nursing knowledge development for the 21st century: Beyond postmodernism. Advances in Nursing Science, 17(3), 70-84. https://doi.org/10.1097/00012272-199503000-00008
Updated – 2019
Reed, P. G. (2019). Intermodernism: A philosophical perspective for the development of scientific nursing theory. Advances in Nursing Science, 42(1), 17-27. https://doi.org/10.1097/ans.0000000000000249
Typology
This is a philosophy of nursing science and practice, an epistemological perspective. According to Reed (2018), philosophies of science help us understand how we conceptualize our are problems of study, while underlying how we approach research and theory development.
Brief Description
Originally titled Neomodernism (Reed, 1995, 2006), Intermodernism is heterodox philosophy that exists between modern and postmodern views. According to Reed (2018), Intermodernism bridges limitations associated with just one view, and promotes a middle way that is pluralistic encouraging diversity in thinking. With this expanded perspective, science and practice become co-creaters in knowledge development, and theory is re-imagined where practice is a source and a repository of knowledge.
Major Tenets
Intermodernism has 11 major tenets that spell out the word intermodern. The tenets are as follows (see Reed, 2018 for more details):
1. In-between-ness
2. Nursing
3. Truth
4. Empiricism
5. Reality
6. Methods
7. Openness
8. Discovery
9. Epistemology
10. Romanticism
11. Nightingale
Primary Sources for Intermodernism
Reed, P. G. (1995). A treatise on nursing knowledge development for the 21st century: Beyond postmodernism. Advances in Nursing Science, 17(3), 70-84. https://doi.org/10.1097/00012272-199503000-00008
Reed, P. G. (2006). Commentary on neomodernism and evidence based nursing: Implications for the production of nursing knowledge. Nursing Outlook, 54(1), 36-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2005.01.001
Reed, P. G. (2018). A philosophy of nursing science and practice: Intermodernism. In P. G. Reed & N. B. C. Shearer (Eds.), Nursing knowledge and theory innovation: Advancing the science of practice (2nd ed., pp. 21-46). Springer Publishing Company.
Reed, P. G. (2019). Intermodernism: A philosophical perspective for the development of scientific nursing theory. Advances in Nursing Science, 42(1), 17-27. https://doi.org/10.1097/ans.0000000000000249
Relevant Research with Intermodernism
Intermodernism has been applied in practice, science, and research in the following scholarly work:
Anderson, C. A., & Whall, A. L. (2011). A philosophical analysis of agent-based modeling: A new tool for theory developing in nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 67(4), 904-914. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05545.x
Arslanian-Engoren, C., Hicks, F. D., Whall, A. L., & Algase, D. L. (2005) An ontological view of advanced practice nursing. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice: An International Journal, 19(4), 315-322. https://doi.org/10.1891/rtnp.2005.19.4.315
Bajjani, J. E. (2014). Well-being, self-transcendence, and resilience in parental caregivers of children with cancer. (Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation). The University of Arizona.
Burns, J. (2014). The neomodernism approach: Professional development of baccalaureate level nurses-Influence of the metaparadigm of nursing on professional identity developing among RN-BSN students. Nursing Science Quarterly, 27(1), 86-87. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894318412466734
Crain, D. R. (2015). Adults’ perception of empathy when interacting with a nursing robot or a physically present nurse: A randomized non-inferiority comparison. (Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation). The University of Arizona.
Kinsey, K. (2014). A critical ethnography of the compatibility of a culturally modified dialectical behavior therapy with Native American culture and context. (Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation). The University of Arizona.
Liehr, P., & Smith, M. J. (2007). A neomodernist perspective for researching chronicity. Archives in Psychiatric Nursing, 21(6), 345-346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2007.08.002
Love, R. A. (2015). Resilience in female street prostitutes. (Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation). The University of Arizona.
Nguyen, A. P. (2019). A mixed methods approach to investigate risk perception of developing diabetes in Vietnamese Americans with prediabetes. (Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation). The University of Arizona.
Poole, S. N. (2016). The process young mothers in New Mexico undergo to achieve the healthy people 2020 objective of exclusive breastfeeding for three months. (Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation). The University of Arizona.
Ringo, N. (2019). Exploring higher rates of breastfeeding among civilian military wives: A mixed methods study. (Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation). The University of Arizona.
Shill, T. L. (2020). Self-transcendence and self-care behaviors in emerging adults with type 1 diabetes. (Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation). The University of Arizona.
Sparks, M. C. (2019). Internal and external variables associated with late term preterm infant mothers’ readiness for discharge. (Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation). The University of Arizona.
Terry, H. E. (2018). Critical inquiry into philosophical perspectives underlying nursing research on acute coronary syndrome. (Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation). The University of Arizona.
Thomas, J. S. (2015). Relationships among self-transcendence, illness distress, and health-promoting behaviors in African American women diagnosed with breast cancer. (Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation). The University of Arizona.
Vick, R. M. (2018). Meaning making and dispositional mindfulness among women with breast cancer. (Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation). The University of Arizona.
Walker, S. (2020). Cancer patient perceptions of nurse abandonment at end of life. (Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation). The University of Arizona.
Whall, A. L., & Hicks, F. D. (2002). The unrecognized paradigm shift in nursing: Implications, problems, and possibilities. Nursing Outlook, 50(2), 72-76. https://doi.org/10.1067/mno.2002.121730
Author
Pamela G Reed, MSN, MA, PhD, FAAN is Professor at The University of Arizona College of Nursing in Tucson, Arizona. She was educated at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Reed considers herself a metatheoretician in nursing, and has also conducted research into spirituality, self-transcendence, mental health, and end-of-life caregiving. Her Self-Transcendence Scale and Spiritual Perspective Scale have been widely used by researchers. Dr. Reed enjoys working with doctoral students (PhD and DNP) and teaching philosophy of nursing science, metatheory, and theory development. She has published several books and papers on these and other subjects. Dr. Reed is married with two grown daughters
Last updated: August 28th, 2020