Barbara Carper wrote an article on the four fundamental patterns of knowing. These four patterns; empirics, esthetics, personal, and ethics are essential for the teaching and learning of nursing. According to Carper 1978, the “four fundamental patterns of knowing have been identified from an analysis of the conceptual and syntactical structure of nursing knowledge” (p. 23).
The first way of knowing is empirics, the science of nursing. The pattern empirical is factual, descriptive, and aimed at developing abstract and theoretical explanations. The known of empirics can be observed or experienced through senses such as the smell of a room, what patient’s problem is, or knowing what diagnostic options there would be for a patient. Empirics can be read from or book or has facts and numbers to show further detail of the known. The empirical knowledge can be systematically organized by using the factors; describe, explain, predict, measureable, verifiable and valid (Personal Communication, November 3, 2016). When I am a nurse I will be observing the details of how the patient looks, is acting and I will make sure I look over their lab reports.
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This way of knowing is expressed through actions, bearings, conduct, and interactions of the nurse in relation to the patients or other people. The art of nursing is crucial to what nurses do and who they are. (Personal Communication, November 3, 2016) “Art of nursing was closely associated with an imitative learning style and the acquisition of knowledge by accumulation of unrationalized experiences” (Carper, 1978, p. 25-26). Actions taken by the nurse to provide the patient with what he or she needs to recover or to cope with their situation is the art of nursing, esthetics. When I am a nurse, I will make sure I take the extra step such as opening the blinds in the patient’s window or making sure the patient is not too cold or too warm before leaving their