Introduction: According to Polit and Hungler (1997) paradigm is a "way of looking at natural phenomena that encompasses a set of philosophical assumptions and that guides one's approach to inquiry" (pg. 463). Metaparadigm, on the other hand, "is a statement or group of statements identifying its relevant phenomena" (Fawcett, 1984, pg. 84). The metaparadigm has four central concepts to the discipline of nursing and they are interrelated although they have different meanings. They are: * Person, * Environment, * Health, and * Nursing (…showed first 75 words of 1926 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1926 total…of Care: Towards Partnership in Nursing, Lincoln University Press with Daphne Brasell Associates Ltd, London. Fawcett, J, (1984) The Metaparadigm of Nursing: Present Status and Future Refinements. Images: The journal of Nursing Scholarship, Vol. XVI, No. 3, pg. 84 - 7. Fawcett, J, (1984) Analysis and evaluation of conceptual models of nursing, F. A Davis Company, Philadelphia. USA Nursing Knowledge Consensus Conference, 1998, Consensus Statement on Emerging Nursing Knowledge, A value-Based Position Paper Linking Nursing knowledge and Practice Outcomes, Boston, Massachusetts