A Critical Lens on the Instrumentation of Caring in Nursing Theory

In Brief Critical Social Theory (CST) is a methodology that enables the researcher to examine the pressures and constraints in any society, posing the following questions: What is the false consciousness, the gaps and the silences as well as restraining, historical and mindlessly accepted norms. This CST lens is applied to Sumner's theory The Moral Construct of Caring in Nursing as Communicative Action and its instrumentation. The pilot testing data are discussed using Fontana's CST process: critique, context, politics, emancipatory intent, democratic structures, dialectic analysis, and reflexivity. Ideal communication in the nurse-patient relationship is bidirectional, multifaceted, complex, and difficult to achieve. Critical social theory is applied to Sumner's theory, A Moral Construct of Caring as Communicative Action, and its instrumentation. The pilot testing data are discussed by utilizing Fontana's critical social theory process: critique, context, politics, emancipatory intent, democratic structures, dialectic analysis, and reflexivity.