Ethos, Ethics, and Endeavors: New Horizons in Family Nursing

Abstract

This article is an invitation to contemplation and dialogue about the purpose of family nursing. The shared ethos of family nursing is explored as a common ground for endeavours in practice and research. Acomparison of ethical principles relating to research, family nursing practice, and Foucault’s meta-ethical framework is offered. Such examination would suggest a remarkable congruence between family nursing values and Foucault’s meta-ethical framework. The implications of such theoretical deliberations are outlined within the context of contemporary issues at a global level. Further support for the relevance of the implications at national level is presented by drawing on examples of challenges for nursing work with families in primary care in the United Kingdom. This article also raises new questions based on a number of suppositions such as family nursing being conceptualized as relational practice with an integrated approach, unifying ethos, and potential of a new paradigm of care.