Embodying nursing openheartedness: an existential perspective

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    In this article, the authors attempt to articulate one view of the nature of nursing openheartedness and its central role for guiding caring in complex nursing situations. To do this, vignettes of everyday nursing life situations are used to illustrate the following three essential dimensions that constitute nursing openheartedness: (a) the infinity of otherness: keeping open the other's difference, (b) embodiment: our shared vulnerable heritage, and (c) practical responsiveness: embracing the value of the objectified gaze and technology. Each of these dimensions is philosophically informed by distinctive insights from the work of Heidegger, Levinas, and Merleau Ponty. Furthermore, guided by Gendlin's contributions regarding the nature of embodied understanding, a writing style that attempts to present the nature of nursing openheartedness as a possible experience rather than as an abstract theory is employed.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)141-149
    Number of pages9
    JournalJournal of holistic nursing : official journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association
    Volume27
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 30 Jan 2009

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Embodying nursing openheartedness: an existential perspective'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this