The ideal and the real: some thoughts on theoretical developments in British nursing

Two types of nursing theory are described: the realistic, whose purpose is to account for the complex reality of nursing; and the idealistic, whose purpose is to describe an idealized world of nursing as it 'ought to be'. It is argued that British nurses have overemphasized the importance of idealistic theory, and that this has retarded the development of our understanding of the real world of nursing. I recommend that the hermeneutical approach, as described by Gadamer (1989) might provide a base from which the balance might be redressed.