Philosophical and Contextual Issues in Nursing Theory Development Concerning Technological Competency as Caring in Nursing

Theory development in nursing has been contentious so that issues about theory as knowledge base and counterpart of practice, and theory as the foundation of nursing as a discipline of knowledge and practice profession have facilitated the seeming ambiguity hindering theoretical contributions integral to human health and well-being. Nursing science continues to generate discussions about its development particularly grounding its practice as a legitimate component of human health care. The aims of this paper are (a) to describe three contemporary issues regarding theory construction and development in nursing, and (b) to advance a theory of nursing that can reconcile these issues. Content analysis following a review of literature revealed ontological, epistemological, and contextual issues on nursing theory development and theory-based practice perspective. The middle, range theory of Technological Competency as Caring in Nursing is advanced as integral to pursuing the reconciliation of theory development and practice engagements within the Universal Technological Domain in nursing and the health sciences.