Nursing, Philosophy, and Science

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

17^th Annual International Philosophy of Nursing Conference
in association with the
International Philosophy of Nursing Society

September 7^th, 8^th and 9^th, 2013

The Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing
Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Genes, Neurons, and Nurses:
Implications of 21^st Century Science for Nursing Care

The biological knowledge base for health care practice has expanded dramatically.   Genetics and neuroscience, in particular, have motivated ambitious efforts toward biobehavioral integration and translational medicine.  The 17^th International Philosophy of Nursing Conference will explore the relationship between 21^st century knowledge of the human body and nursing care.   How should biological models be integrated into nursing knowledge and practice, especially given nursing’s concern with the psychological, emotional, and social dimensions of health?  Does understanding of genetic or neurological mechanisms change how we should think about “evidence-based practice”?  What are the political implications and presuppositions of mechanistic models of disease processes?  And what are the ethical issues that arise out managing the vast amounts of data about both populations and individuals?  What challenges does this biological knowledge base present for patient communication and education? Should it change the way we think about the nurse’s role, nursing education, and the shape of the discipline of nursing?

Plenary Speakers

Robyn Bluhm
Old Dominion University (US)
“The (Dis)unity of Nursing Science”

Katie Featherstone
Cardiff University (England)
“The Individual, The Family, And The Clinic: Making Sense Of Genetic Risk”

Michael Yeo
Laurentian University (Canada)
“New Horizons in the Body of Knowledge: Does Knowing More Mean Caring Less?”

John Paley
University of Sterling (Scotland)
“Empathy, Self-Knowledge And Cognitive Science The Empirical Challenge To Nursing’s Moral Psychology”

Abstract Submission Instructions

Abstracts of papers are invited for concurrent sessions. Abstracts may be on the conference theme or on any philosophical aspect of health and health care. Presenters should plan to speak for 20 minutes to allow time for discussion.

Abstracts should be emailed to IPONS2013@emory.edu.  In order to support blind review, please send the abstract as an attachment (MS Word, or another common word processor format).  In this document, please include only:

• Title of paper
• 250 word abstract.

In the body of the email, please include:

• Title of the paper
• Name and title of presenter/s
• Institutional affiliation
• Contact address, phone number and email address
• Any audio visual aid requirements, e.g. overhead projector, Powerpoint.

Abstracts are being accepted on a rolling basis, with a deadline of August 3, 2013.  Please direct queries to Mark Risjord (mark.risjord@emory.edu).

The conference will be held at the Emory University Conference Center in Atlanta Georgia.  Registration and hotel information are available on the IPONS website.

For more information about the International Philosophy of Nursing Society, see our website: www.ipons.co.uk

Nursing in the 21^st Century.

The 16^th International Philosophy of Nursing Conference will be held on 10^th – 12^th September 2012 at the University of Leeds, UK. The theme for this year’s conference, held in association with the International Philosophy of Nursing Society (IPONS), is ‘Nursing in the 21^st Century’.

The practice of nursing has changed in response to a number of external and internal drivers such as government policy, Professional Regulatory Body requirements, the impact of globalisation and the current economic upheaval.  Advanced practitioners with far reaching skills are a feature of modern nursing and, in some countries, there is a substantial increase in the number of non qualified assistant practitioners. Programmes that prepare students to become registered practitioners are mostly at undergraduate level and in some instances post graduate level, and it is not uncommon for practising nurses to hold Masters Degrees and Doctorates. But what are the effects of these and other changes on what might be thought of as the traditional values of nursing such as caring, maintaining dignity and individualised care?

Papers presented at the 16th International Philosophy of Nursing Conference seek to address the meaning of nursing in the 21^st century.  We will discuss what is understood by the practice of nursing in the 21^st century, how we may describe nursing in 2012, and explore what the future holds.

Further information on plenary speakers, and how to submit abstracts for concurrent sessions, will be available in the very near future.