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Biomedical subjects

W R Cowling

Publications and source records attributed to W R Cowling.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Healing as appreciating wholeness.

The "clinicalization" of human experience by the health care disciplines has been instrumental in denying important facets of human life and not fully accounting for the essence and wholeness of experience. A unitary conceptualization of healing as appreciating wholeness is proposed. Appreciating is actualized through a praxis approach used for research and practice--unitary pattern appreciation--created to bring the theoretical principles of unitary science into practical reality. It is essentially a praxis for exploration of the wholeness within human/environmental pattern. Healing is conceptualized as the realization, knowledge, and appreciation of the inherent wholeness in life that elucidates prospects of clarified understanding and opportunities for action. The essential features of the process of pattern appreciation are a synoptic stance toward pattern information, a participatory engagement with people in the exploration of wholeness, and the transformative nature of the process that illuminates the possibilities in wholeness. A case demonstrates the nature of the unitary pattern appreciation process and its healing qualities.

Art Therapy↗
PubMed1993

Unitary knowing in nursing practice.

The purpose of this article is to elaborate the unitary knowing perspective which was derived from using the science of unitary human beings in practice and considering phenomena within a unitary picture of reality. The systems perspective and the unitary perspective are contrasted as structures for understanding human phenomena in the realm of practice. A model of practice is offered which encompasses the use of experience, perceptions, and expressions as the source of pattern information. The features of unitary knowing involving construction and derivation are presented within the context of unitary pattern nursing.

Holistic Health↗
PubMed1991

Therapeutic group work with depressed elderly.

This article presents several approaches to therapeutic group work with the elderly, drawing from experience in designing and implementing several group interventions for frail nursing home residents. What is important to recognize is that the common preconception that the elderly, in general, and the frail, in particular, cannot participate in therapy and groups is a misconception at least, if not a prejudice.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Changes in resident mix in nursing homes: cognitive and sensory data from a (redesigned) sampling plan.

In planning and implementing a study, we unintentionally and serendipitously obtained data about changes in resident mix over a 2.8-yr. period. We screened residents of a 184-bed nursing home for cognition and sensorium in October 1984 to assess sampling feasibility for a grant proposal in preparation. At that time, 65.2% of the residents met the sampling criteria. However, in July/August 1987, after award of funding, only 5.4% of residents of the same nursing home met the cognitive and sensory criteria. We were forced to recruit from an additional six nursing homes, in which only 9.3% of residents met the sampling criteria.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

A template for unitary pattern-based nursing practice.

Unitary pattern-based practice is one creative approach to nursing intervention based on the conceptual and theoretical perspective of the Science of Unitary Human Beings. Considerations for practice were derived from the major concepts and theoretical tenets of the framework. Continued clarification and operationalization of the conceptual features in practice is warranted. A template for nursing practice with specified constituents provides a mechanism for implementing practice strategies. Processes of pattern appraisal, deliberative mutual patterning, health patterning, and evaluation were elaborated for the consideration of clinical scholars. Debate and dialogue on these issues is anticipated to further explicate the practice potential of this conceptual system.

Cognition↗
PubMed1990

The nursing shortage: dynamics and solutions. A research perspective.

The nursing shortage continues to be described as a crisis. Attempts to delineate the nature and scope of the problem and its impact on all aspects of health care from the individual human to the organizational and societal levels have been direct and comprehensive. A growing body of facts and perceptions has led to some specific recommendations for action. The potential for elaborating and explicating a base of scientific knowledge is powerful. The view expressed in this article is that a body of knowledge that can guide action to remedy the shortage problem requires directing knowledge development to serve the purposes of nursing and its constituents, clarifying and creating conceptual and theoretic perspectives, and giving attention to critical methodologic analysis of the current and emerging research programs in this domain. Knowledge directions will be guided by the goals and aims of nursing. Conceptual and theoretic perspectives derived from the phenomena of concern and congruent with knowledge development directions will provide a base for organizing and interpreting the growing body of facts. Finally, the understanding of research as modes of engagement will supply a means to analyze critically the methodologic approaches and the consequences of knowledge development in the domain of the nursing shortage inquiry.

Health Services Research↗
PubMed1986

Health concerns of aging men.

The older man's significant health concerns have relevant implications for practice. The identification of and discussion about the issues of health, retirement, dependency, and sexuality of the older man represent a good beginning to understanding the health concerns of the aging man; however, it is only a beginning. There still remains a critical need for additional studies to elucidate other sex-related differences in aging as well as to clarify how these differences affect the lifestyles and the health care of both older men and women.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Transforming academic nursing: from balance through integration to coherence.

Academic institutions continue to be challenged to enhance their productivity in the face of diminishing resources. Escalating demands on full-time faculty must come from a fundamental transformation in the focus and, hence, design of that work. This article presents a model of a mission transformed from the current representation of the tripartite activities involved with teaching, research, and service to a new representation of the inherent holism of that work. This transformation moves the academy's mission to a single, integrative focus on knowledge work. When the essence of the academy's unique mission is expressed as knowledge work, the unity of knowledge development, dissemination, and application can be actualized in the work lives of a community of scholars. A fuller realization of the inherently holistic nature of this knowledge work is seen as a transformation to coherence at the levels of university, unit, and scholar. Coherence within the academic lives of individuals, the collective community of scholars, and the broader organization is the essential feature for the long-term success of the institution and the career of a scholar.

Efficiency, Organizational↗