Year 0; September 2008
008
Vol. 0; Núm. 0
h ttp://w
ttp://www.o
ww.ome.es/ 01_01.cfm?id=359
Direct
irector
or::
or
Antoni o Arribas Cachá
E ditors
ditors::
José María Santamaría García
L ourdes Jiménez Rodríguez,
odríguez, P h D
(E ditor Manager Inter national V ersion)
ersion )
Associate E ditors
ditors::
Carmen Sellán S oto,
oto, P h D
Jorge L uis Gómez González,
onzález, P h D
León Atilano González Sotos,
otos , P h D
E ditorial A ssi
ssistants
stants::
stants
Isabel Encina Blanc o Fernández
ernández
(Manager I nter nationalsh
nationalsh V ersion)
ersion)
Ricard o Borrego de la Osa
José Luis Aréjula T orres
 Copyright 2008 – FUDEN.
(Foundation for Nursing Development)
evelopment)
M ethodology Department.
epartment .
Cuesta de Santo Domingo, 6. 28013 MADRID
(SPAIN).
(SPAIN).
http://www.ome.es/
I S S N: (in
(i n process)
process)
And this is the beginning of a journey…
A journey which settles a path which was traced many years ago by
people who preceded us in the Reason of C are C onceptualization
onceptualization . Those
Those
people established why caring a re like it is, why it works as it does and
why it is expressed the way it does by human beings.
This publication, born within the M ethodology D epartment of the
Foundation for Nursing Development is supported by the Computer
Computer
Science
Science Depa rtment of Alcala
lcala University. It is the backg round, within the
scientific context, which provides evidence of the achieved advances in
C onceptualization.
onceptualization. To conceptualize
conceptualize means, according to the Real
Aca demia de la Lengua Española:
spañola: “to form a concept or concepts and
specially to interpret in a conceptual way”, expressed thoughts in words
which make people’s understanding of care.
This C onceptualization is the last step to achieve the Acquisition of a
pa rticular knowledge as it is settled on an
an initial knowledge
knowledge Extraction
from documentary sources and in a later E duction using experts’
understanding of C are, in other words, using Nu rses’ knowledge.
knowledge.
The journey will leave a way which can be, long or short, wide or
narrow, flat or sloping, but after
after all it will be a route: a future footpath
for which the Scientific
Scientific Knowledge
Knowledge about C are will flow.
International Version of “t
“the Language
nguage of C are”
…A journey through the different
Conceptualizations about the Reason of
Care.
The action of Conceptualizing, as
we have said, is understood as “the
establishment
establishment of concepts”, where this
concepts can be the inferred ideas from
specific instants which build the base of
human knowledge. Therefore, the
chosen concept to start this journey
towards
towards the knowledge is: Caring.
...What does Care mean? Which is
the reality
reality it refers to? Which idea does
support it?...
As we can see at any dictionary,
and according to the definition of the
“Real Academia de la Lengua Española”
and as it is described at the book
“Apuntes sobre el cuidado: por qué y
cómo es”
es”], the definition of Care is just
an academic definition, of course it is
right, but it barely outlines the deep idea
behind the concept of Care.
M ethodology Department
Vol. 0; Núm 0
Because of this, to define the
concept with scientific rigor we need to
resort to the provided definitions by the
discipline in charge of its study: Nursing.
Many thinkers have devoted their
research efforts to develop the concept
of Care. But perhaps the most significant
work comes from Marie Françoise
Collière, who stands out from the rest
because she achieved a wide success
inside the academic world... Her
definition increases the field of
Knowledge
Knowledge of Care.
So, she opened the way.... and now
PhD´s knowledge will nourish this
section of the publication.
In the same way, this route will be
built with new knowledge under
construction:
construction: PhD students will submit
Doctoral Thesis focused on the study of
Care, the submission will be guaranteed
by their PhD Director.
P ág: 2
International Version of “t
“the Language
nguage of C are”
Vol. 0; Núm 0
Prepare manuscripts according
the pattern for
“the Language of Care”
(A vailable on line)
M ethodology Department
P ág: 3
International Version of “t
“the Language
nguage of C are”
…A
journey which will follow Master
Meleis’ footsteps at [“
[“El progreso del
pensamiento teórico de la disciplina Enfermera”
Enfermera”.
A road in which the most important agents,
who are the welfare ones… take part in the
development of a Knowledge Base.
It may be convenient to explain the idea
of the concept “Kn
Knowledge Base about C are”.
“Knowledge
This idea is expressed in
in the book
“Apuntes sobre el cuidado: por qué es y cómo es”
es”
and it says that Knowledge
Knowledge Base in the field of
C are “… would explain how it is and why it is
developed and expressed in different ways.. .”,
and this would allow its Conceptualization.
Conceptualization.
So, the objective of this section is to
share the results of welfare nurses’ participation
on the Conceptualization of Care: in the
creation of its Knowledge Base.
A
common
synonym
of
C onceptualization is Ontology, and it is based
on Gruber’s definition
definition in 1993 where he explains
that an ontology represents “…a formal, explicit
specification of a shared conceptualization".
Vol. 0; Núm 0
o
o
o
Formal: it makes reference
reference to the need of
a formal language to represent the
model.
Expli
xplicit: it makes reference to the need
of specifying the different concepts and
its relations.
Shared:
hared: it makes reference that the
Conceptualization lights on an accepted
knowledge.
The first two
two characteristics are included
C.E .N .E.S
(Standardized
Nursing
inside
Knowledge)
Knowledge) project, but the last characteristic
establishes the bases of this section nature.
This process, known as E duction, is an open
process to continuous participation, to
reflection,
reflection, and nowa days it is articulated by
means of activities which are coordinated from
O.M .E (Observatory of Nursing Methodology) in
order to explore the roads that could be
walked…
This
definition
understands
the
C onceptualization as an abstract model where
the significant concepts are identified and their
thei r
characteristics can be inferred:
M ethodology Department
P ág: 4
International Version of “t
“the Language
nguage of C are”
Vol. 0; Núm 0
As every journey,
journey, this one also has a beginning: Ann Marriner Tomey,
in “M
“Modelos y Teorías de Enfermería”, says that Deduction road establishes
the truth.
So Deduction addresses the truth to conflict in relation with which is
false, creating new certainty from true premises. These true premises are
called Axioms, this means, as it is said by R.A.E. “A selfself-evident or universally
recognized truth; a maxim”.
For this reason, these axioms are considered by R.A.E. as “…the
“…the
fundamental initial stages, to start the building of a Theory”. Because of
this, this section tries to collect these axioms in the field of Care.
These A xioms already exist: some of them are written and published
inside the Conceptual Models, other are in the expert’s mind whose eyes
have grown at the clinic and the rest of A xioms still lies hidden, waiting
for someone that finds and uses them.
http:/ /www.ome.es/01_01.cfm?id=359
 Copyright 2008 – FUDEN.
( Foundati on for Nursing D evelopment)
Departamento de Metodología.
Cuesta de Santo Domingo, 6. 28013 MADRID (SPAIN).
(SPAIN).
ISSN: (in process)
process)
M ethodology Department
P ág: 5