UCLA School of Nursing
UCLA Center for the Health Sciences
Los Angeles
N202 Philosophy of Nursing Science
Course Number and Title
N202 Philosophy of Nursing Science
Number of Credits
4 Credits Lecture/Seminar: 4 hours
Course Description
This course is designed to explore concepts of importance to the philosophy of science as context
for understanding the philosophy of nursing science. Therefore, the course addresses genealogies
of thought that underpin epistemological assumptions about knowledge and knowledge
development in relation to the discipline of nursing, methods of inquiry (quantitative and
qualitative), and scientific reasoning. Finally, contemporary schools of thought (modern and
post-modern) will be analyzed in relation to nursing research, nursing practice, and the role of
the nurse scientist as a leader in relation to policy development in the greater health care milieu.
Placement of Course
This is a required course in the first year of doctoral study in nursing.
Prerequisites
Doctoral standing or consent of the instructor.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this seminar, students will be able to:
1. Critically evaluate the philosophical foundations of scientific knowledge in relation to the
history of philosophy, science, and nursing science, with implications for contemporary
leadership, policy, cultural competence, and ethical decision-making in the discipline of nursing
(Critical thinking, Professional role development as nurse scientist).
2. Generate analyses of research-based scholarship in the context of historical, contemporary,
traditional, and critical debates in epistemology, science, and nursing science. (Critical thinking,
Cultural competence, Professional role development as nurse scientist).
3. Analyze the limitations of unexamined philosophical assumptions and associated sociocultural or political leanings as well as the benefits of philosophical clarity related to genealogies
of thought that influence research and research methodologies (quantitative and qualitative),
theory, practice, policy, and leadership in nursing science (Critical thinking, Cultural
Competence, Research activity, Professional role development as nurse scientist).
4. Distinguish key attributes of the “intrinsically social activity” of science within a community
of scientific scholars and analyze the influence of these attributes on how research is funded,
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how scientific results are shared, how leadership in the profession of nursing is developed, and
how health policy is created, adapted, or enforced. (Critical thinking, Cultural competence,
Professional role development as nurse scientist).
5. Evaluate the economic, political, and moral implications of knowledge development in
nursing science in relation to epistemology, subjectivity, scientific reasoning, and competing
paradigms. (Critical thinking, Cultural competence, Professional role development as nurse
scientist).
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