Nursing Philosophy

Aims & Scope

Nursing Philosophy provides a forum for discussion of philosophical issues in nursing.

These focus on questions relating to the nature of nursing and to the phenomena of key relevance to it.

For example, any understanding of what nursing is presupposes some conception of just what nurses are trying to do when they nurse.

But what are the ends of nursing?

Are they to promote health, prevent disease, promote well-being, enhance autonomy, relieve suffering, or some combination of these?

How are these ends are to be met?

What kind of knowledge is needed in order to nurse?

Practical, theoretical, aesthetic, moral, political, 'intuitive' or some other?

Papers that explore other aspects of philosophical enquiry and analysis of relevance to nursing (and any other healthcare or social care activity) are also welcome and might include, but not be limited to, critical discussions of the work of nurse theorists who have advanced philosophical claims (e.g., Benner, Benner and Wrubel, Carper, Schrok, Watson, Parse and so on) as well as critical engagement with philosophers (e.g., Heidegger, Husserl, Kuhn, Polanyi, Taylor, MacIntyre and so on) whose work informs health care in general and nursing in particular.

View Aims & Scope

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Metrics & Ranking

Impact Factor

Year	Value
2025	2.5
2024	2.60

SJR (SCImago Journal Rank)

Year	Value
2024	0.938

Quartile

Year	Value
2024	Q1

h-index

Year	Value
2024	44

Journal Rank

Year	Value
2024	5368

Journal Citation Indicator

Year	Value
2024	363

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Abstracting & Indexing

Journal is indexed in leading academic databases, ensuring global visibility and accessibility of our peer-reviewed research.

• Scopus
• Google Scholar
• Web of Science
• Medline

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Subjects & Keywords

Journal’s research areas, covering key disciplines and specialized sub-topics in Medicine and Nursing, designed to support cutting-edge academic discovery.

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Most Cited Articles

The Most Cited Articles section features the journal's most impactful research, based on citation counts. These articles have been referenced frequently by other researchers, indicating their significant contribution to their respective fields.

• The roles of embodiment, emotion and lifeworld for rationality and agency in nursing practice

  Citation: 160

  Authors: Patricia

• What makes a nurse today? A debate on the nursing professional identity and its need for change

  Citation: 136

  Authors: Margreet, Jasperina

• Professional knowledge and the epistemology of reflective practice

  Citation: 129

  Authors: Elizabeth Anne

• Moving beyond clarity: towards a thin, vague, and useful understanding of spirituality in nursing care

  Citation: 129

  Authors: John, Stephen

• Cultural safety and the challenges of translating critically oriented knowledge in practice

  Citation: 121

  Authors: Annette J., Colleen, Victoria, Sheryl, M. Judith, Sabrina

• Rationing of nursing care, a deviation from holistic nursing: A systematic review

  Citation: 120

  Authors: Lata, Avudaiappan, Anitha

• Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in Nursing: Ethics of Caring as a Guide to Dividing Tasks Between AI and Humans

  Citation: 118

  Authors: Felicia, Amitabha

• Integrity and moral residue: nurses as participants in a moral community

  Citation: 104

  Authors: Lorraine B.

• Abductive reasoning and qualitative research

  Citation: 104

  Authors: Martin

• Towards a strong virtue ethics for nursing practice

  Citation: 97

  Authors: Alan E.

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