TECHNOLOGICAL

COMPETENCY AS CARING IN
NURSING: OVERVIEW OF A
MODERN MODEL FOR
PRACTICE

Ferris State University

NURS501
Kelli Benson
Heather Deal
Thomas Kane
Hazel Lim
 Objectives
• To explain an overview of Dr. Rozzano Locsin’s Theory of Technological
Competence as Caring in Nursing

• To describe how the theory defines the nursing metaparadigm concepts

• To discuss an abbreviated analysis of the theory

• To explain the results of a study which incorporates Locsin’s theory

• To illustrate the practical application of Dr. Locsin’s theory to present and

future nursing practice

• To discuss the link between nursing theory and practice

Overview

“Technological competency as
caring in nursing is a
conceptual model that
presents the link between
technology and caring in
nursing as coexisting
harmoniously” (Locsin, 2005,
p. 6).
 Metaparadigm Concepts

• Nursing
• “Nurses value technological competency as an expression of caring in
nursing” (Locsin, 2013).

• Health
• Humanity is preserved by technology
• “An experience that is often expressed in terms of wellness and illness,
and may occur in the presence or absence of disease” (Nursing Scope and
Standards of Practice, 2010, p. 65)
 Metaparadigm Concepts

• Environment
• Environment as the technological world in which we live

• Person
• Patients seen as “participants in their care rather than object of nurse
care” (Locsin, 2013).
• Describes persons as human beings who are whole and complete in any
moment (Locsin, 2005)
 Analysis

• Accuracy

• Simplicity

• Scope
 Analysis

• Acceptance

• Socio-cultural Utility
KNOWING THE
OCCASION OF A
PEACEFUL DEATH IN
INTENSIVE CARE UNITS
IN THAILAND
Kongsuwan, W., Locsin, R., &
Schoenhofer, S. (2011).
Nursing and Health Sciences, 13, 41-46.
Description of the Article
• “The purpose of this study was to describe how nurses know the
occasion of a peaceful death” (Kongsuwan, Locsin, & Schoenhofer, 2011,
p.41.)

• The study is qualitative

• Four areas of patient knowing are identified in the study:

 Visual Knowing

 Technological Knowing

 Intuitive Knowing

 Relational Knowing
How is the theory reflected in this research?

• Know who is the person not what is the person (Locsin, 2005)
• Caring through technological competency is used to know a person
in their wholeness (Locsin, 2005)
• The nurse, with all of the technological expertise, accepts the
patient fully as a human being (Locsin, 2005)
How would the study have been different
without the framework of Locsin’s theory?

• Locsin’s framework is needed to incorporate knowing of the

patient in their wholeness during the dying process

• Patient and family experiences may not have been as positive

• Without Locsin’s theory as a framework, the results may been

purely anecdotal or data based from the use of technology
 Practical Application
• May have more practical use in highly technological areas of
nursing:
• Emergency Departments
• Labor and Delivery
• Intensive Care Units
• Surgery

Labor and Delivery Example:

What is the link between theory and practice?

• Nursing theories can provide a basis for practice for nurses by

guiding nurses in their:
• Organization, analysis and understanding of patient data
• Decisions about nursing interventions
• Planning of patient care
• Prediction of outcomes of care
• Evaluation of patient outcomes
(Tomey & Alligood, 2002)
Theory and practice cont’d
• Use of nursing theory may also provide direction for future research

• “The scientific body of nursing knowledge is growing…and it is

every nurses’ responsibility to facilitate the use of nursing
knowledge in practice” (LoBiondo-Wood & Haber, 2006, p.442)
 References

American Nurses Association. (2010). Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice.

Silver Spring, MD: Nursebooks.org.
Dudley-Brown, S. L. (1997). The evaluation of nursing theory: a method for our
madness. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 34(1), 76-83.
Kongsuwan, W., Locsin, R., & Schoenhofer, S. (2011). Knowing the occasion of a
peaceful death in intensive care units in Thailand. Nursing and Health
Sciences, 13, 41-46.
LoBiondo-Wood, G. & Haber, J. (2006). Nursing research: Methods and critical
appraisal for evidence-based practice. St. Louis, MO: Mosby.
Locsin, R. C. (2005). Technological competency as caring in nursing: A model
for practice. Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau International.
Locsin, R. C. (2013). Technological competency as caring in nursing: Maintaining
humanity in a high-tech world of nursing. Journal of Nursing and Health
Sciences, 7(1).
Locsin, R., Barnard, A., Tanioka, T., & Campling, A. (2006). Appreciating caring
through technological competency: Nursing practice in a technological world.
International Journal for Human Caring, 10(2), 46.
Locsin, R., & Purnell, M. (2007). Rapture and suffering with technology in nursing. International Journal for
Human Caring, 11(1), 38-43.
Tomey, A. & Alligood, M. (2002). Nursing theorists and their work (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO:
Mosby.