Reflect upon a patient care encounter from personal practice in which multiple “ways of knowing” were used. Illustrate how each fundamental pattern for nursing knowledge contributed to the care of this patient

Generally, all professionals define themselves by the knowledge they already possess and that which they hope to gain in future. Barbra Carper researched and presented four fundamental patterns of nursing knowledge. These patterns are the basis of the pattern’s concept and syntactic structure. They include; person knowing, Empirical patterns, ethical patterns, and aesthetic knowing patterns (Jackson et al., 2009). As a nursing student, these ways of knowing enhances the learning experience which will then promote better patient care.

In my personal practice, I got the chance of caring for a cancer patient who later developed hospital acquired infections that greatly impacted his outcome. Multiple ways of knowing were used to care for this patient, and over time, his health improved significantly. When this patient was first admitted, he had experienced a recurrence of a tumour after being in remission for a year. During recurrence, the symptoms were quite severe as the patient would experience headaches, pass out and even have nose bleeds.

A week after admission, I realised the symptoms of the patient were becoming worse. Through personal knowing, I was able to make the assumption that the patient may have acquired a hospital related infection. This is because he was having too much phlegm, breathing heavily and becoming even weaker. At this point, I could tell from my past experiences with patients that he could have caught pneumonia especially since his immunity was already compromised from the cancer recurrence (McEwen & Wills, 2014). Hence, personal knowing enabled a quick and swift identification of the symptoms which this patient was experiencing (Jackson et al., 2009). Thus, tests were done and a diagnosis was made on time.

Empirical knowing is the knowledge gained from research and objective facts (Jackson et al., 2009).Through research done by previous scholars and some which I have done personally, I was able to understand that hospital acquired infections are quite common. I was able to employ this type of knowing through an evidence-based practice whereby I referred to the interventions used in patients who had cancer and suffered a hospital acquired illness.

The various interventions used to treat pneumonia for cancer patients were considered, but only the one with the best outcomes was considered. I was able to know that such a patient is highly prone to other infections as well. Hence, while administering treatment; more caution was taken to ensure a sterile and safe environment for the patient.

Finally, I was able to use aesthetic knowing in this patient’s care by considering all the other ways of knowing and developing better understanding of the occurrence (Jackson et al., 2009). Through the personal and empirical knowing, I realised that such infections are quite severe (McEwen & Wills, 2014). Hence, even though they are treatable, it is always better to consider other approaches of prevention.

Thus, from the time of admission, a lot of care must be taken when handling patients. Medical equipment must be sterilized thoroughly, and disposable gloves should only be used once. Many other steps can be taken to ensure a clean environment for patients. This will prevent the spread of infection causing bacteria and viruses that are highly present in such an environment.

In conclusion, the ways of knowing that were involved in this patient’s care enabled me, as a nurse professional, to better understand myself and the nursing discipline. I have become more appreciative of the fact that nursing is more than just a profession, but also an art and science which depends on other concepts. My professional practice has improved significantly as a result of these nursing ways of knowing.