Toward an understanding of art in nursing

The art of nursing is a term on which there is little definitional agreement. Nursing includes both artistic and scientific traditions; at times, the balance between these two approaches is an uneasy one. An examination of aesthetics offers a perspective to ground practice in nursing art through John Dewey's philosophy of art as experience. Differences and similarities between science, art, and craft are examined. Nursing art is defined as helping patients create coherence in lives threatened by illness and change.