Antecedents from Adjunctive Disciplines: Creation of Nursing Theory

Abstract

The development of nursing theory has been accompanied by a con certed effort to provide schemata for the analysis and evaluation of theories. In the literature, the meaning of terms used in the process is vigorously debated, and much attention is devoted to strategies appro priate for theory construction. In the search for concepts unique to nursing science, contributions from other disciplines are considered borrowed and the "concepts" considered central to nursing are person, environment, health, and nursing itself. It is postulated that these "con cepts" are the commonplaces essential for any discussion of nursing, wherever it is practiced. It is further suggested that nursing cannot stand apart within a body of knowledge that it shares with other disciplines concerned with health care. Adjunctive concepts are antecedent to all nursing theory, and analysis of theory should be dedicated to identifying the adjunctive sources, determining whether such usage is warranted and correct, and shifting the focus to the substantive content of the theory itself. Theory that misuses antecendent concepts, however cor rectly the construction has followed prescribed strategies, should be critiqued on the accuracy with which it reflects the phenomena of nurs ing.