Authors: Pamela G. Reed PhD, RN, FAAN, Nelma B. Crawford Shearer PhD, RN, FAAN

Year First Published – 2011; current edition 2017

Major Concepts

• Balances theoretical and philosophical ideas with practical perspectives
  Includes concrete strategies for knowledge development
• Explicates the shared and distinct roles of DNP and PhD nurses in knowledge development
• Introduces “intermodernism” to support practice-based theory and knowledge development
• Introduces “Interludes” whereby readers can examine specific strategies of knowledge development

Brief Description 

This esteemed text for graduate-level nursing students focuses on the science and philosophy of nursing knowledge development, with a special emphasis on theory as a tool in developing practice-relevant knowledge. It is distinguished by its focus on practical applications of theory for scholarly, evidence-based approaches. The second edition features important updates and a reorganization of information to better highlight the roles of theory and the major philosophical perspectives in knowledge development. It also introduces two new chapters: The DNP Project: Translating Research Into Knowledge for Practice, and Generating Knowledge in Practice. Summary Points and Questions for Reflection at the end of each chapter help to reinforce knowledge.

The text offers a comprehensive overview of the philosophy and history of science, the structures of nursing knowledge, and a path for knowledge development. It is unique in its reach beyond the traditional views about theory in nursing. It advocates equipping practitioners as well as other nurses with the tools to make theory more relevant to their own practice and to inspire confidence to be active participants in building knowledge for nursing. The text will help students become aware of their own philosophical and theoretical ideas and knowledge embedded in their practice and to learn strategies for developing theory-based knowledge—strategies that are practice relevant and practice based.
–  from Springer website

Book Editions

Reed, P. G., & Shearer, N. B. C. (2017). Nursing Knowledge and Theory Innovation: Advancing the Science of Practice (2nd ed.). Springer Publishing Company.

Reed, P. G., & Shearer, N. B. C. (2011). Nursing Knowledge and Theory Innovation: Advancing the Science of Practice (1st ed.). Springer Publishing Company.

Authors

Pamela G. Reed

Dr. Reed is Professor at The University of Arizona College of Nursing. Her research, practice, and scholarship include focuses on well-being and mental health across the lifespan, nursing metatheory and philosophy, and ethics and spirituality in end-of-life nursing care. Dr. Reed’s Self-Transcendence Theory is published in several nursing theory textbooks and articles, and has been used widely in research and practice. In addition, her Spiritual Perspective Scale and Self-Transcendence Scale have been used by researchers around the world. Dr. Reed teaches philosophy, metatheory, and middle range nursing theory development to doctoral nursing students in DNP and PhD academic programs, and she has received numerous awards for outstanding teaching. In addition to her many publications, she along with co-author Nelma Shearer, has published three editions of Perspectives in Nursing Theory. Dr. Reed is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.  (from Springer Publishing)

Nelma B. C. Shearer

Nelma B. C. Shearer, PhD, RN, FAAN is Associate Professor Emeritas and former Director of the Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence at Arizona State University College of Nursing and Health Innovation. She is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. During her career, Dr. Shearer focused extensively on developing, testing, and disseminating a community-based intervention for older adults derived from her theory of Health Empowerment. Her work has been published in both research and clinical practice journals as part of her ongoing commitment to clinical practice issues and the development of clinically relevant theory for practice. Dr. Shearer’s theory-based health empowerment intervention has been cited in publications both nationally and internationally. Dr. Shearer has also received numerous awards for her outstanding scholarship, teaching, and research. (from Springer Publishing)