Parse's theory as a model for practice: the cutting edge

If nursing practice is the performing art of the science of nursing, then practice is guided by nursing theory and cannot be considered separately from it. Nursing theory based practice is the cutting edge of the discipline. Practice methods reflect the beliefs and values of the theories from which they evolve. Nurses' values and beliefs about human beings and health are incarnated in the way they practice. This article presents Parse's theory of human becoming as a model for practice; explicates the beliefs, values, and ethic of the practice method; analyzes the logical coherence of theory and method; illustrates the pragmatics of the method, and gives evidence of its soundness. The theory-research-practice triad developed by Parse articulates a paradigmatic view of the discipline as a whole with a view of the human being as a living unity freely choosing personal meanings in life situations. Parse's practice methodology provides nurses with a way of practicing with a focus on the quality of life as it is humanly lived. It is presented here as the practice component of an emergent theory-research-practice tradition on the cutting edge of nursing science.