Being human: transdisciplinarity in nursing

Timmons, Stephen; Edgley, Alison; Meal, Andy; Narayanasamy, Aru

Abstract

Nursing as an academic discipline typically draws on a wide range of other disciplines. There is debate about whether this is a sound basis for the discipline, or whether nursing needs to develop a distinctive body of knowledge. The concept of transdisciplinarity, though little discussed in nursing, is of considerable value in understanding nursing as an academic discipline, and provides a possible resolution to the debate above. In order to get a better understanding of what transdisciplinarity might mean in a nursing context, we conducted a qualitative interview-based study of faculty in a UK school of nursing. The debate about nursing’s status as a discipline was reproduced by the interviewees. Despite these differences, a degree of consensus emerged about the concept of nursing as a transdisciplinary discipline. Transdisciplinarity in nursing offers an overarching approach that is applicable to a broader range of disciplines. This approach offers the possibility of moving beyond some of the major debates in nursing as an academic discipline. This broad and pragmatic approach grounds nursing knowledge in nursing practice, which means that as a transdisciplinary discipline it does not overstate its claims to knowledge, but instead explicitly acknowledges tacit and ‘craftsmanship’-type forms of knowledge.

Citation

Timmons, S., Edgley, A., Meal, A., & Narayanasamy, A. (2016). Being human: transdisciplinarity in nursing. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 40(4), 526-542. doi:10.1080/0309877X.2014.984601

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 18, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Jan 12, 2015
• Publication Date: Aug 31, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jul 16, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 8, 2019
• Print ISSN: 0309-877X
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 40
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 526-542
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2014.984601
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1097058
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0309877X.2014.984601