Existential Phenomenology and the Practice of Caring / 간호행정학회지

PURPOSE: This study was done to provide fundamental ontological understanding of caring and inquiring into the possibility of a caring practice in nursing based on existential phenomenology. METHODS: According to Heidegger's existential phenomenology, caring has been interpreted as a fundamental ontological basis for caring practice in nursing. Further, based on Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology, the meaning of the lived experience of illness and the way of caring practice have been described from the aspect of the existential involvement in the embodied life world. RESULTS: Heidegger's phenomenology provided ontological thinking about caring, which is understood in a basic way as the possibility of human existence and dwelling in oneself in the confrontation of the illness experience. Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology offered a meaning of human existence according to bodily intention and situated freedom in the life world. This perspective of embodiment enables nurses to understand bodily experiences of patients and recovery of their bodily capacity in responding to the situation in caring practice. CONCLUSION: Existential phenomenology gives insight into fundamental reflection for caring attitude and practice in nursing. Existential phenomenological nursing research can provide descriptions and meaning of the lived experience of illness and a way of coping with the crisis of human existence in caring practice.

An Ethical Appraisal of Informed Consent in the Clinical Setting / 성인간호학회지

PURPOSE: This study attempted to analyze problems of informed consent in the clinical setting and appraise ethical aspects inherent in such issues in order to boost awareness of informed consent and its implementation among healthcare professionals. METHODS: Study methods included identifying ethical meanings of informed consent in the clinical setting based on the principal ethics, and exploring the process of informed consent utilizing communicative ethics and feminine care ethics RESULTS: The ethical basis of informed consent encompasses not only respect for autonomy but also prohibiting malice, practicing beneficience, and establishing justice. These principles, however, are limited in illustrating the ethical aspects of communicative ethics and care ethics that are entailed in informed consent within clinical settings. The ethical meaning of informed consent involves a communicative and caring process between healthcare professionals, patients, and family built on mutual respect. CONCLUSION: Healthcare professionals must fully understand the ethical meanings of informed consent and in turn respect and protect the clients' right to know and making decisions. Nurses especially, must take on the role of mediator and advocate throughout the process of obtaining informed consent, and practice ethical caring by facilitating communication grounded in mutual understanding among the physician, patient, and family members.

The Lived Experience of Caregivers of Chronic Renal Failure Patient / 성인간호학회지

PURPOSE: The research aims to understand the lived experience of the caregivers of chronic renal failure(CRF) patients and its essential meaning. The results of the study can be used as basic materials for developing comprehensive intervention methods of care givers of CRF patients. METHOD: The research used van Manen's hermeneutic and phenomenological research methods in order to describe the lived experience and to understand its meaning. It concentrates on the understanding the essence of experience and consists of existential survey, hermeneutic and phenomenological reflection and hermeneutic writings. Participants in this research were five women care givers of CRF patients who had hemolysis at C university hospital in a metropolitan city, the period of data collection was from July 27 to Sep. 4, 2004 and major data of results in the following 5 essential themes. 'sole responsibility for the patient enduring everything', 'creating their own field', 'heavy and painful life without hope of their private life', 'wishing not to be inherited and consoling each other'. CONCLUSION: The above findings point out that the experience of care givers of CRF patient affected and changed all parts of an individual life and his or her family life. Therefore, it suggests that total family nursing care must be considered in order to provide the holistic caring for CRF patients and their care givers.

Exploring the Nature of Caring in Hwa-Byung: Transpersonal Caring-Healing Model / 간호학회지

Hwa-Byung(HB) has been categorized as a Korean culture-bound syndrome that is prevalent in married women of low socioeconomic status. PURPOSE: The Purpose of the study was to search for the essence of HB and a caring-healing process of HB. Then the research result discusses whether the Transpersonal Caring-Healing Model has been congruent with it. METHOD: Case examples resulted from in-depth telephone counseling over a period of time at the Women's Hot Line with a client who is a housewife with HB. The counseling content was analyzed through Giorgi's method of descriptive phenomenology. RESULT: The core meaning of the essence of HB was 'injustice'; and essential themes were 'lack of reciprocity', 'infidelity' 'suppressed aggression and powerlessness' and 'need for recognition'. The core meaning of the essence of the caring-healing process was 'caring-healing experience(maintaining a trust relationship)'; and essential themes were 'active listening', 'empathy' and 'forming a therapeutic relationship'. According to Watson, 'active listening', 'empathy' and 'forming a therapeutic relationship' were identified as intentionality, intersubjectivity and transpersonal. CONCLUSION: Transpersonal caring can release inner power and strength and help the person to gain a sense of inner harmony. Transpersonal caring is as important to healing as are conventional treatment approaches and even more powerful in the long run.

A Philosophical Inquiry into Caring in Nursing: Based on Ricoeur's Narrative Ethics / 간호학회지

PURPOSE: This paper was aimed to inquire into Ricoeur's self -hermeneutics and narrative ethics, and apply it to personal identity constituting caring and care ethics in the practice of nursing. Its purpose is to provide a philosophical foundation for caring in nursing. METHOD: According to Ricoeur's narrative identity, ontological caring was interpreted as personal identity constituting caring. His ethics were described as care ethics, which contributed to preserving and promoting the personal dignity of the client, as self in search for the good life in the nursing practice. RESULTS: Narrative understanding of the client pointed to the ontological role of care in the constitution of personal identity. From an ethical aspect of the narrative, respect for personal identity and personal dignity of the client was crucial to an ethical caring attitude, promoting self-esteem in the nursing practice. CONCLUSION: This paper suggested that Ricoeur's ethics could provide a philosophical basis for understanding ontological and ethical caring in nursing. This contributed to protection of the client from the threat of personal identity, as well as respecting their personal dignity.

Postmodernism and the Issue of Nursing / 간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to illustrate the main stream of postmodernism which has influenced theory and research in the nursing science, and then to consider the meaning and value ofwhat the postmodern perspective has meant to nursing science in the 21st century. METHOD: Derrida and Foucaults philosophical thoughts that characterized postmodernism through the interpretation of their major literature was studied. Based on their philosophy, it was shownhow Derrida's idea could be applied in deconstructing the core paradigm in modern nursing science. In terms of Foucault's post-structuralism, reinterpretation of the nursing science in relation to power/knowledge was completed. RESULT: Postmodernism created multiple and diverse paradigms of nursing theory as well as nursing research. This was accomplished by deconstructing the modernism of nursing science which was based on the positivism and medical-cure centralism. Specifically, the post-structuralist perspective revealed issuesaround the relationship of power and knowledge, which dominated and produced modern nursing science. Contemporary nursing science accepts pluralism and needs no unitary meta-paradigm, which can reintegrate multiple and diverse paradigms. CONCLUSION: In considering the issue of nursing science in postmodernism, it can be summarized as follows: the postmodern thinking discovers and reveals diverse and potential nursing values which were veiled by the domination of western modern nursing science. These were motivated to create nursing knowledge by conversation in interpersonal relationships, which can contribute to practical utilities for the caring-healing situation.

A Critical Interpretation of Aesthetical Approach to Nursing / 간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to interpretate Caper's view of the aesthetical approach to nursing, to discover problems of her arguments, and to ultimately expand the horizon of the aesthetical thinking of nursing. METHOD: By means of the critical interpretation of Caper's paper, problems of her arguments were discovered. This then was suggested was the proper way of the aesthetical approach to nursing. RESULT: Carper's arguments of aesthetics were seen to be confused, regarding the pattern of the nursing art and the relationship between aesthetical knowing and practical art, and to have no the nursing's perspective as moral art. The proper paradigm for the distinct thinking of the nursing aesthetics could be offered here through applying some aesthetical theories as follows; a mode of aesthetical knowing could be characterized as emphatical awareness in relationship between nurse and client, and a practical art of nursing understood as moral art in sense of the expression of the human dignity. CONCLUSION: This study suggested fundamental theme for the proper aesthetical approach to nursing in view of the aesthetical knowing and the practical art. The horizon of the aesthetical thinking in nursing can be expended through the inquiry into aesthetical theories which offer theoretical the base for nursing as an art.

An Aesthetical Thinking in Phenomenological Research of Nursing Science / 성인간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to illuminate the relation between the aesthetics and qualitative nursing research, and especially to consider the aesthetical characteristics of phenomenological nursing research which may reflect works of art. METHOD: Based on Heidegger, Merleau-ponty and Gadamer' philosophical aesthetics, this study shows how aesthetical thought can be is applied to artistic creation and aesthetical criticism in the phenomenological research of nursing. RESULT: The result of aesthetical characteristics of phenomenological nursing research were as follows: 1) Poetical thought of the client's experience as the living is revealed as poetic expressions in forms of listening gazing, reflection and metaphor. 2) Literature works, paintings, poetry and fiction used as sources of lived-experience help to awaken insight into the essence of lived-experience. 3) Aesthetical evaluation of phenomenological product as art is related to the harmony as a whole, especially to the ability to do vicarious lived-experience of the client. CONCLUSION: In order to produce creative phenomenological works in nursing research, two suggestions are made: aesthetical thought and poetic language in phenomenological reflective writing which enables researchers to transmit the essence of the lived-experience.

Aesthetical-ethical Paradigm of Care Ethics in Nursing / 간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study was to find aesthetical-ethical paradigm of care ethics by understanding the unique moral character of care as an art and to suggest the optimal direction of nursing ethics. METHOD: This study used meaning-heuristic and -interpretive methods of hermeneutics based on philosophical aesthetic theory; Baumgarten's aesthetics, Schiller's theory of aesthetical education and Kant's theory of aesthetical judgement. RESULT: The concept of care implied aesthetical and ethical character; caring as an art was related to moral feeling based on human dignity und emotional communication in interpersonal-relationship. Caring as an art was interpreted as a moral ideal for the promotion of the humanity und the interaction in personal-relationship according to nursing theories. Philosophical aesthetics could provide the theoretical base for the interpretation of caring as an art. The proper paradigm of care ethics in nursing could be found in character-trait ethics and communication ethics according to the philosophical aesthetics. CONCLUSION: This study could show aesthetical-ethical paradigm of care ethics in nursing by the heuristic interpretation of caring as an art according to the philosophical aesthetics.