Nursing Students' Perceptions of Nursing Metaparadigms: A Phenomenological Study

BACKGROUND: The paradigm is a vital concept steering the development of a scientific discipline. Paradigms that shape the education, research, and practice steps of a discipline are defined as metaparadigms. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the perception of nursing students regarding metaparadigms in nursing at Akdeniz University in Antalya, Turkey. METHODS: This was designed as a descriptive phenomenological study, and data were collected from 13 fourth-year students who were chosen via a purposeful sampling method and interviewed face-to-face using a semistructured format. Data were analyzed using the data analysis steps of Giorgi, who is an expert in descriptive phenomenological studies. RESULTS: Most of the participants in this study associated nursing with humanism. Some of the participants stated that a fundamental building block of the nursing profession is conscience, whereas others stated that nursing is a way to touch people's lives and is now regarded as a professional practice. It has been reported that students have difficulties identifying metaparadigms in nursing and that they believe that human beings have the potential to widen their horizons with wisdom and social skills. According to the participants, the health metaparadigm refers to the harmony between human beings and their environment and to the autonomy of the individual. Moreover, the participants emphasized the well-being of individuals. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The participants in this study characterized humans with well-being, transcendence, adaptation and interaction skills with their environment, and harmony beyond physiological mechanisms, which was considered to be promising for the perception of future nurses. It is recommended for nursing educators to enable their students to raise their professional awareness and to internalize professional values.