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Understanding nursing: the usefulness of a philosophical perspective *
Author(s) -
Rocha Semiramis M. M.,
Lima Regina A. G.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
nursing philosophy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.367
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1466-769X
pISSN - 1466-7681
DOI - 10.1046/j.1466-769x.2000.00015.x
Subject(s) - health care , rationality , perspective (graphical) , action (physics) , privilege (computing) , dominance (genetics) , epistemology , sociology , psychology , nursing , work (physics) , engineering ethics , medicine , computer science , political science , mechanical engineering , philosophy , biochemistry , physics , chemistry , computer security , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , law , gene , engineering
The work of nursing involves both treatment orientated action and care orientated action, but there exists a ‘treatment–care’ dichotomy that is structured by social factors and views of knowledge that privilege scientific, instrumental rationality. It is a claim of this paper that there is a need to establish connections between ‘treatment’ and ‘care’. The study of work processes in the healthcare field make it possible for nursing to recognize the technical and social separation of work, the separation between manual and intellectual work, the dominance of medicine among healthcare professionals, and other relations of power within institutions. The authors believe that Habermas' theory of communicative action offers an alternative view, one suitable for transforming healthcare practices and helping nurses build new responses to healthcare needs.