Discipline-Specific Knowledge

In order to have a clear picture of nursing’s contribution to science and healthcare in the interdisciplinary arena, one must first be clear on the scientific basis of the discipline and be able to communicate the nursing perspective to health professionals and recipients of care. A quick literature search on the concept of discipline-specific knowledge points to social work, medicine, nursing, the arts, and education as fields where there is still considerable discussion on the topic. Some fields like social work and nursing have had to justify their existence as a profession.

In the increasingly complex and political healthcare arena, nursing care should be designed and led by nurses who are expert in nursing knowledge and nursing leadership. Most care (especially hospital care) takes place in nursing settings, making the communication of the conceptual framework for practice the responsibility of the nurse. Ideally, nursing might provide the leadership and advocacy so that the interprofessional team in fact addresses the issues most important to the recipient of healthcare.

In this dialogue, Dr. Janie Butts and Dr. Karen Rich interviewed Dr. Jacqueline Fawcett about her views related to discipline-specific knowledge and nursing’s future. Dr. Fawcett has been a pioneer in nursing science development. She is an internationally recognized authority on nursing and nursing science in relation to conceptual models of nursing, nursing theory development, and evaluation. She is currently professor and chair of the Nursing Department at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

Fawcett articulated the metaparadigm of nursing as comprising four concepts—human beings, environment, health, and nursing. She has published books about nursing conceptual models (paradigms) and theories since 1984. This dialogue with Dr. Butts and Dr. Rich reflects a probing scholarly interaction that one might have with one’s teacher or mentor. It is imperative in advancing the discipline by discussing the parameters of the discipline and practice.

In this dialogue, Fawcett clearly articulates her view of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports (2003, 2011) calling for overlapping roles in interdisciplinary care teams in practice, which the IOM refers to as futuristic, and Fawcett views as the death of nursing. Her concern, and the concern of other nurse scientists (Alligood, 2011; Porter, 2010) who promote theory-guided practice and research, relates to the preservation of nursing science and the discipline of nursing. Additionally, Fawcett’s concerns identify the unique contribution that nursing has to offer in the healthcare arena. These three scholars make a strong statement that as a discipline, nursing needs to move with caution into the interdisciplinary practice arena.

Dr. Janie Butts is a Professor in the School of Nursing at The University of Southern Mississippi. Recently, Dr. Butts and Dr. Rich co-edited Philosophies and Theories for Advanced Nursing Practice. Dr. Butts and Dr. Rich co-authored Nursing Ethics: Across the Curriculum and Into Practice, which soon will be published in its third edition. Dr. Butts’ expertise areas are ethics, bioethics, theory, student-based teaching and learning in nursing education, and end-of-life ethical issues, especially adult sibling loss research.

Dr. Karen Rich is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at The University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Rich’s special interests are ethics, public health, and developing innovative strategies to prepare nursing students for a successful and satisfying career. This dialogue raises important issues for the future of nursing in a time of an interesting mandate from the Institute of Medicine (2011).