In defense of genuine ignorance: supporting vitality and relevance in graduate curricula.
Genuine ignorance, defined by John Dewey as curiosity and openmindedness in opposition to repetition of catch phrases and familiar propositions, is nurtured in graduate nursing curricula in which the educational process is congruent with course content. Preparation for advanced practice in the mental health environment of the foreseeable future required abandonment of the familiar medical model in favor of conceptual models consistent with current thinking in psychiatric nursing and exposure to current problems (homelessness, family violence, AIDS) and current problem solving strategies (brief treatment, family preservation). Involvement in practice-based research and operationalizing new perspectives on familiar clinical problems, are suggested as strategies for developing the advanced practitioner. Two of the authors, former graduate students, describe the impact of changed perspectives and research activity on their own practice.
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Peter
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Fischer
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D003479:Curriculum; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D010687:Philosophy, Nursing; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing / Q000193:education*