Deck 18: The Evolution of Nursing Science

Question 1

Historically, nursing preparation was referred to as "training," and many nurses educated through the 1970s still use this term to refer to their education. Why is this terminology particularly problematic in light of the advances made in nursing science in the last 30 years?

A) On-the-job apprenticeships are no longer as prevalent as they were up through the late 1970s and early 1980s.
B) It places emphasis on nurses' abilities to perform tasks rather than reason through and understand the purpose of their actions.
C) Most modern nurses pursue Master's level education beyond their practice-based Bachelor's education.
D) The last 30 years have seen nursing education move away from physician-taught courses in hospitals to professor-taught courses at universities.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

During the 1960s, why did nursing scholars heavily emphasize a focus on the theoretical development of nursing as its own, independent discipline?

A) To support doctoral education for nurses that was discipline specific
B) To prove that the logical positivist approach was a poor fit for the discipline
C) To encourage and enhance the continued development of nursing science
D) To promote research by nurses in all fields, not merely nursing science

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which argument best supports the idea of nursing as a professional discipline rather than an academic discipline?

A) "Nursing is an applied science. Its practice component places an emphasis on the delivery of service by nurses rather than the development of academic knowledge."
B) "Nursing is a discipline with unique substance. It borrows very little from other disciplines and, as a result, is beyond the realm of most academic programs in the sciences that acknowledge idea sharing across disciplines."
C) "Nursing is a concept with a lengthy unofficial history. Individuals have been providing nursing care to others since the Crusades, and this professional provision of services predates formal education in the field."
D) "Nursing is a relative newcomer to advanced education. For many years, nurses were educated or trained only at a Bachelor's level, and advanced practice therefore has its roots in the profession itself rather than in academia."

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which statement best describes the role that logical positivism plays in modern philosophical thought about nursing science and science in general?

A) It remains at the forefront of the understanding of science and dictates the ways in which scientific research is performed.
B) It works in concert with humanistic philosophies of science, with the opposing ideologies functioning as a system of philosophical checks and balances.
C) It no longer holds sway over the sciences, but its influence is so deeply ingrained in the field that it continues to impact modern ideas about science.
D) It has been completely discredited by postmodern philosophers and is regarded as a flawed relic of past scientific thinking.

Question 5

During the 1960s and 1970s, the theory movement in nursing sought to "prove" that nursing was a science by applying strict logical positivist philosophy to the discipline. Why was this application problematic from a philosophical standpoint?

A) It placed too great an emphasis on the art of nursing and left itself open to criticism by the postmodern school of philosophy.
B) It ignored the humanistic and social aspects of providing quality care and focused on the hard science involved.
C) It took too long to develop and by the time it came to fruition the logical positivist perspective had fallen out of favor with most scientific disciplines.
D) It was later disproved by feminist philosophers who unequivocally demonstrated that the logical positivist view was heavily biased against women and minorities.

Question 6

Which statement most accurately encapsulates Thomas Kuhn's proposed philosophy of science?

A) Science philosophy should address both the conceptual and empirical problems of science and serve as merely a problem-solving activity.
B) Science philosophy should focus on concept clarification and concept analysis based on theory development and synthesis.
C) Science philosophy should resolve conceptual problems in science without being limited to the development of theories.
D) Science philosophy should examine the process of science, rather than the product of science, according to a disciplinary matrix known as a paradigm.

Question 7

Which philosophy is not part of the larger philosophical tradition known as postmodernism?

A) Historicism
B) Hermeneutics
C) Critical social theory
D) Feminism

Question 8

Which statement best describes the theoretical basis behind the postmodern understanding of knowledge?

A) Knowledge is a series of classical "truths" that are colored by gender biases, and it gives rise to the theory of masculine superiority.
B) Knowledge in any field is determined through the discovery of a universal truth, and that truth is applicable to all questions that arise.
C) Knowledge and the knower are inseparable, and class and gender have significant influence on what is considered knowledge.
D) Knowledge is developed through observation of the natural world, and can be best applied to hard science.

Question 9

The consensus statement crafted at the Knowledge Consensus Conference in Boston in 1998 addressed the following areas except:

A) The nature of the human person
B) The role of nursing theory
C) The nature of the nurse as an individual
D) The links of each area of understanding to nursing practice

Question 10

In which area is there a need for increased attention?

A) Acceptance of pluralism
B) Linking feminism to modern trends
C) Increasing empirical orientation in conceptual work
D) Theory development