2.5: The Connection Between Nursing Theory Practice and Research

Research ignites nursing knowledge. The structure of nursing knowledge is composed of metaparadigm concepts, philosophical positions, conceptual models, nursing theories, and nursing indicators [12]. These structural components guide research which helps in further defining practice. Implementation of evidence-based practice serves as the impetus for further research thereby refining our nursing scientific basis for practice. Nursing philosophy is “a statement of foundational and universal assumptions, beliefs, and principles about the nature of knowledge and thought (epistemology) and about the nature of the entities represented in the metaparadigm (i.e., nursing practice and human health processes [ontology])” ([13], p. 76).

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