Ways of Knowing in Nursing; Spiritual Knowing

Abstract

Nursing is a practice and research based discipline with its specific philosophy and theory. Knowledge specific to nursing discipline is created with research methods used by natural sciences and social sciences in line with contemporary nursing understanding. In nursing practices, scientific knowledge began to be used with Florence Nightingale and nurses made use of different ways of knowing in order to provide holistic care to individuals. The ways of knowing that nurses use in their practices are defined as empirical, aesthetic, ethical, personal and liberating knowing. In nursing practices, empirical knowing create evidence specific to science through research; knowing aesthetics reflects the creativity of the nurse, that is, her artistic side; ethical knowing constitutes the moral aspect of nursing; personal knowing helps the emergence of individualism in nursing care and liberating knowing offers nurses the ability to act as advocates. However, unlike other ways of knowing, spiritual knowing is described as individuals’ perception and appreciation of experiences with their non-material spiritual qualities. Spiritual knowing helps nurses to recognize individuals’ spiritual needs. Thus, nurses develop spiritual care practices and provide spiritual care by using spiritual knowing during nursing practices. In this review, it is aimed to explain spiritual knowing, which is a new concept in nursing, and to use it in nursing education, research and practice, and to lay the groundwork for future research on spiritual knowing. © 2022, Dokuz Eylul University. All rights reserved.