A conceptual model of the academic discipline nursing science.

At their annual meeting during 1987, the heads of the Departments of Nursing at South African Universities discussed the sub-division of Nursing Science. They identified the following problems in this regard: (1) There was no consensus amongst nursing leaders about which sub-disciplines make up the academic disciplines of nursing. (2) This made it difficult to communicate with agencies outside the • ursing profession, such as the Committee Sr University Heads or the Department of Education and Training in a way that lent legitimacy to the discipline. (3) Some of the titles traditionally used in describing certain sub-disciplines were conceptually unsatisfactory. (4) In the present climate of rationalisation in academic institutions some of the traditional titles lent themselves to misinterpretation by members of other academic disciplines, and threatened the continued existence of these sub-disciplines as part of nursing science. A subcommittee was appointed to address these problems and at their 1988 meeting the total group accepted the following model for the discipline of nursing science. Nursing Science consists of sub­ disciplines which can be subdivided into three groups; core disciplines (kernvakke), ^^^M "actice disciplines (praktykkunde vakke), '^ • ^ P l d clinical disciplines (kliniese vakke). These categories include the following sub­ disciplines: