Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 17, 2026

Using Learning Outcome Measures to assess Doctoral Nursing Education
Published on: June 21, 2010
Nursing's Scientific Method
1Mary Curry Narayan is a founding member and an advisor at the International Home Care Nurses Organization (www.ihcno.org). Contact author: marycnarayan@gmail.com. The author has disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
Abstract:
The nursing process, developed by nursing theorist Ida Jean Orlando, has guided nurses for more than 65 years. Yet as nursing's responsibilities and evidence-based knowledge evolves, so should the nursing process. This article offers four recommendations to enhance the process: (1) changing "nursing process" to "nursing's scientific method"; (2) adding "relationship building" and "communication" to the method; (3) renaming "nursing diagnosis" and "outcome identification" to "problems/strengths identification" and "goals"; and (4) emphasizing that nursing's scientific method is a critical thinking methodology. These changes would better promote critical thinking, patient-centeredness, effectiveness of nursing care, and patient safety and engagement. Evidence and research are cited to support these recommendations.
Related Concept Videos
The Scientific Method in Nursing Process
When using research findings to change practice, one must understand the process used to guide a study. The scientific method is a systematic, step-by-step process that supports the data's validity, reliability, and generalizability. As a result, findings can be...
Fundamentals of Nursing Process I
Patient-centered Care
Fundamentals of Nursing Process II
Nursing Interventions II: Selecting and Classifying the Nursing Interventions
Theoretical Foundations of Nursing Practice
Theories provide a perspective to assess patients' conditions and organize data and methods. They also assist in analyzing and interpreting information. They represent a...

