Date of Award

2010-07-01

Degree Name

PhD Nursing

Dissertation Committee

Jane M. Georges, PhD, RN, Chairperson; Susan L. Instone, DNSc, RN; Anita J. Hunter, PhD, RN, FAAN

Keywords

Advanced Practice Nursing, alienation, Critical theory, history, ideology, Nurse Practitioners, nursing, oppression

Abstract

Legitimation of the Nurse Practitioner (NP) and advanced practice nursing is explored using the framework of critical theory and the case study methodology of Yin. Three different cases are analyzed using classic themes of critical theory - oppression, alienation and ideology and false consciousness. Three publishable articles comprise this portfolio. First is "Looking for love (legitimation) in all the wrong places - A critique of Nurse Practitioner effectiveness literature". This article reviews the literature of NP effectiveness and offers an analysis of the failures and problems of these positivistic studies. Article two is "At least some of us are still alive – whatever happened to history? The historical context." The history of nursing and the genesis of the NP role are explored using the themes of oppression and alienated labor and their dialectic relationship to praxis. The third is "Just a nurse - A critical reflection on a nurse's tale." An interview with a NP educated in an early program reveals the inherent ideology and false consciousness which underpin the role of the NP and continues to subvert and derail legitimation of Nurse Practitioners.

Document Type

Dissertation: Open Access

Department

Nursing

Included in

Nursing Commons

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