Integrating patterns of knowing in an undergraduate nursing course

A complex and changing contemporary healthcare system and holistic consideration of patients create a need for nurses who have a sophisticated, broad knowledge base. Empirical, ethical, personal, and aesthetic patterns of knowing provide a meaningful background for course development and offer students the opportunity to understand themselves and their patients through multiple modes of awareness. In this article, the author describes the integration of patterns of knowing into an undergraduate nursing course. Course objectives, content, assignments, and evaluation are discussed. A course such as this one that incorporates scientific knowledge of humans in health and illness, aesthetic perception of human experiences, personal understanding of self and others, and the capacity to make ethical choices enriches student learning about the art and science of nursing.