A contemporary nurse theorist, Patricia Benner, describes that clinical practice excellence should be based on perceptual awareness, sensitivity, and cognitive skills, among other things. I genuinely believe that the synthesis of empirical science and the art of caring makes nursing distinct from other health professions. To rely on empirical data when dealing with human physiology and scientific outcomes requires accuracy. However, in order for nursing interventions to achieve their best outcomes, care must be accompanied by genuine empathy and compassion. This requires one to be well-grounded in the humanistic/holistic attitudes of the profession.
Having been immersed in nursing practice for years, I realized the value of understanding situations and human conditions with ‘special lenses’. Generating clinical judgments drawn from a synthesis of contrasting perspectives has been shown to yield the best outcomes. Valuable insights drawn from engaging in the convergence of these seemingly opposing perspectives have presented me with new realizations, opened up unique options, and presented exciting possibilities in the nursing dimension.
At present, embracing this trajectory approach of blending dialectic perspectives provides a lens through which I see my role in nursing practice and nursing education evolve, with a sense of clarity and purpose. This adaptive mode of being careful and precise on one hand, and showing empathy and understanding at the same time, create an operative balance that I believe is a critical element in the formative process of students in the BSN program.
I realized that this deliberative analysis-synthesis way of thinking gradually develops from a learned process when tasked to make clinical judgments given varied challenging scenarios. This highlights the importance of embedding guided case study practice within a well-rounded, enriched curriculum, complemented with actually related practice experiences, steered by devoted teachers and mentors who are equipped with a strong grasp of broad-based experiences.
Guiding student nurses early in their preparatory levels by normalizing to the standards of thinking and deep learning, then further refining thinking habits by fostering and raising the level of student ownership in their learning, would be the focus of Levels 1 & 2. All these will be done concurrently with the delivery of foundational science-based concepts and principles through traditional didactic instruction. As the students begin to immerse themselves in related clinical experiences, they are provided with activities in actual patient care situations, where making clinical judgments is practiced. Classroom lessons structured within virtual case studies, challenging them to think through carefully, critically, and creatively with compassion, can reinforce this whole-brain training.
