Positivism Epistemology Critique in Nursing Students Education

The use of positivist epistemology in patient care education requires perceptibility, experienceability, and testability of care dimensions. This is while the nursing student, in his work area, is in contact with a person who has intangible dimensions. Dimensions that may not have external perspectives for a person's experiences. The purpose of the present study is to criticize the role of positivist epistemology in the education of nursing students.

The present study is a narrative review that by searching the key words including positivism, Philosophy, Nursing, Education in PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Ovid, Wiley, Web of Science, Magiran and SIDs databases and in domestic and foreign journals was done from 2000 to 2023.

The positivism epistemology as a philosophical approach, is widely seen in the education of nursing students. This is while undergraduate and graduate students are not familiar with this philosophical approach; and it has no place in their educational curriculum. On the other hand, one of the main disadvantages of using this approach alone in the education of nursing students is that this philosophical approach deliberately pays attention to the physiological dimension of persons and does not pay special attention to other aspects of them; including the mental-psychological and spiritual dimension due to its abstractness and intangibility.

Considering the multiple use of this philosophical approach in examining and evaluating the physiological dimension in patients, although it seems necessary that nursing students in the bachelor's and master's degree should be familiar with the basics of this philosophical approach. But on the other hand, their familiarity with other Philosophical approach is a necessity to evaluate and manage the non-physiological aspects of patients.