Imaging Practice in 2050: King’s Conceptual Framework

Nursing practice based on nursing theories that are empiri-cally supported and evidence-based should logically move for-ward into the future. Even though these theories will need to be expanded to include changes that reflect advances in medically-related science, nursing is nursing—and essential elements of nursing theory-based practice should not 140 Nursing Science Quarterly, 20:2, April 2007 to respond to the life and death situations we are presented with. Nursing theory will guide us. Falkenstern (2003) wrote of her work with families with children with special healthcare needs, My experience with this study has rekindled my passion for nursing. I felt affirmed that in the world of managed health care and educational cutbacks, a movement is growing to recapture the essence and value of nursing. While there is still much to be done for nursing within the political realm of health care, each nurse can control where and how they choose to practice. Especially, I realized that a nurse can experience joy and renewed energy by choosing to practice nursing within health as expanding consciousness. (p. 232) There are many choices before us as we move into the future of nursing practice. As we look at the examples of the HEC praxis described by Takaki, Yang, Endo, and Pharris, we can see that each nurse could have operated out of the current conventional medically-driven practice. Each patient, family, and community was in a precarious and vulnerable position. Like the little bird, it is possible that the patients might have merely survived, but at what cost? How deep would the healing have been? Because the work of these nurses was guided by HEC theory, they invoked a spirit akin to that of the wise elder and all involved were able to fly free. Will this be the future of nursing in 2050? The answer is in our hands