Disparagement of the nursing process: the new dogma?

The nursing process has achieved predominance, if not pre-eminence, in nursing. Concurrent with critical scholarly evaluation of the philosophical foundations of nursing, vigorous critiques of the nursing process have emerged. The critiques are wide-ranging and varied, and question the philosophical commitments, stage of development, components, focus and consequences of using the nursing process. However, the arguments are marred by dualistic dichotomous thinking and a lack of definitional clarity. The critiques fail to discriminate between questions arising from the administrative implementation of the nursing process and questions regarding its theoretical value. Clarification of the definition, description and purpose of the nursing process is essential to rigorous critique and to further development. Given the pervasive use of the nursing process and the need for process theory in nursing, it seems most productive to develop the nursing process more fully and in congruence with contemporary philosophies of nursing.