What’s more reliable, theory or experience?

[blackraven]

Mathew - Theories have been proven by philosophers and scientists throughout history and tested over time. But people tend to trust their own experiences regardless to theories in some cases. That's how accidental new theories have been stumbled on btw and new inventions. On a personal level, I'm going to trust what I experience with my own 2 eyes and ears. I cannot explain some things that I have witnessed in my life, but hold tight to my own experiences just the same.

Blackraven

Originally Posted by blackraven

Mathew - Theories have been proven by philosophers and scientists throughout history and tested over time. But people tend to trust their own experiences regardless to theories in some cases. That's how accidental new theories have been stumbled on btw and new inventions. On a personal level, I'm going to trust what I experience with my own 2 eyes and ears. I cannot explain some things that I have witnessed in my life, but hold tight to my own experiences just the same.

Blackraven

Well same here......some have more trust in theory others experience I'm a hands on person so experience will do me fine.

Love
Mathew

[Xan]

My question is... If you're really hungry would you like a menu and talking about the meaning of food or an actual meal?


Xan

Originally Posted by Mathew

What’s more reliable, theory or experience? Example: If you needed medical assistance who would you prefer, a nurse with little experience but wised up in theory or a nurse who has little wisdom in theory but has plenty of proven experience?

This rest on the assumption that the experience has been beneficial to the patients. Especially in the medical field, experience is better than less mostly because it builds confidence in good practices not for its own sake. Ignorance never beats preparation. It is true that some people have instincts for these types of things, but many lack them and need preparation to be functional.

Most of the nurses in the old days had on the job experience from the ground up, they were just as good if not better in some cases than nurses of today who are university trained.

Most nurses are trained in a heavy practicum model. So I guess most schools agree :-)

I think it is the same with most things including spirituality, is a spiritualist who has mostly only read & experienced very little better than the spiritualist who has read very little but has a lot of experience, which one would you choose to listen too for sound advice?

That sounds like a preference for older teachers to a younger ones?

To me, truth is truth whether through the heart or through the mind, you shall know them by their fruits.

The problem with reading & studying is you have less time experiencing what you’re studying, if one was to experience in all this time of reading & studying as well experience would win out!!....Would that be so I wonder?

Why do you assume it is all so obvious?

Originally Posted by Mathew

What’s more reliable, theory or experience?

It depends.
However, in general, theory helps and sometimes absolutely is required to understand and to accept the lessons from the experience.

Originally Posted by Mathew

Example: If you needed medical assistance who would you prefer, a nurse with little experience but wised up in theory or a nurse who has little wisdom in theory but has plenty of proven experience?

In what situation? Are we talking about bedpan OR drug administration and patient assessment?

Medical assistances and nurses have completely different functions and roles in patient care. I work in the healthcare so I know this subject very well.
It depends on the nurses as well. RNs roles and responsibilities are different from LVNs.

This is asking if experienced nurses are better than newly graduated physicians.

Originally Posted by Mathew

Most of the nurses in the old days had on the job experience from the ground up, they were just as good if not better in some cases than nurses of today who are university trained.

Again, it depends on the nursing roles and each situation/case.

Medical technology, new medications, new procedures, and new treatments along with new discoveries make today's medical care very different from the "olden" days of nursing.

For an example, RNs roles have expanded considerably and it is almost unrecognizable from the olden days.
Today's RNs must be college educated to understand the complexities of today's medical care and to develop the necessary critical thinking skills in order to safely care for patients with the best of knowledge and evidence based practices.
In fact, most hospitals in US require their new RNs to possess minimum 4years degree.

Why?
The researches have consistently showed when nurses are highly educated, the patient outcomes and patient survival rates are substantially higher than when nurses have less than 4years degree.

In addition, advance practice nurses (nurse practitioners) must have minimum of masters degree and this requirement is now moved up to doctorate degree for new nurse practitioners, effective 2014.
Since nurse practitioners are the major primary care providers now days in many areas and in the future, the doctorate degree makes a perfect sense.

Originally Posted by Mathew

I think it is the same with most things including spirituality, is a spiritualist who has mostly only read & experienced very little better than the spiritualist who has read very little but has a lot of experience, which one would you choose to listen too for sound advice?

Do you want to witness spiritualties without any theory?
Go to the jungles of South America or Africa and meet their medicine men.
Go to any primitive culture where they practice spiritualties without any theory but only with their experiences.
You will form a different opinion on this subject.

Originally Posted by Mathew

Of course in both scenarios having theory & experience is better than theory OR experience alone of course!!

I agree with you here.

Originally Posted by Conaeolos

This rest on the assumption that the experience has been beneficial to the patients. Especially in the medical field, experience is better than less mostly because it builds confidence in good practices not for its own sake. Ignorance never beats preparation. It is true that some people have instincts for these types of things, but many lack them and need preparation to be functional.

Most nurses are trained in a heavy practicum model. So I guess most schools agree :-)

That sounds like a preference for older teachers to a younger ones?

To me, truth is truth whether through the heart or through the mind, you shall know them by their fruits.


Why do you assume it is all so obvious?

G'day Conaeolos

With nurses especially in the olden days they learnt the theory through practice, they would be told how to do it & why it's done, it's theory without books so of course it was a lot better but harder to learn this way.

Yes I think a more experienced teacher is more preferable that a younger less experienced teacher but I think that's about to change especially with the indigo kids coming through, it really depends on the awareness no matter one age they are.

Why do you assume it is all so obvious? One personal example: I worked in an industry that required a high education but I, only with my experience, was preferred over the more well educated people because of the results I obtained.

Love
Mathew

Experience answers questions that are not yet asked.
Glory To God

[norseman]

In the Business School where I taught, I was sometimes called The Dinosaur by other lecturers. My "crime" - I was an experienced Industrial Manager rather than a pure academic. That principle applies in most areas of life. Little point in being able to "talk the talk" if you cannot also "walk the walk" !

Originally Posted by Nada

It depends.
However, in general, theory helps and sometimes absolutely is required to understand and to accept the lessons from the experience.



In what situation? Are we talking about bedpan OR drug administration and patient assessment?

Medical assistances and nurses have completely different functions and roles in patient care. I work in the healthcare so I know this subject very well.
It depends on the nurses as well. RNs roles and responsibilities are different from LVNs.

This is asking if experienced nurses are better than newly graduated physicians.



Again, it depends on the nursing roles and each situation/case.

Medical technology, new medications, new procedures, and new treatments along with new discoveries make today's medical care very different from the "olden" days of nursing.

For an example, RNs roles have expanded considerably and it is almost unrecognizable from the olden days.
Today's RNs must be college educated to understand the complexities of today's medical care and to develop the necessary critical thinking skills in order to safely care for patients with the best of knowledge and evidence based practices.
In fact, most hospitals in US require their new RNs to possess minimum 4years degree.

Why?
The researches have consistently showed when nurses are highly educated, the patient outcomes and patient survival rates are substantially higher than when nurses have less than 4years degree.

In addition, advance practice nurses (nurse practitioners) must have minimum of masters degree and this requirement is now moved up to doctorate degree for new nurse practitioners, effective 2014.
Since nurse practitioners are the major primary care providers now days in many areas and in the future, the doctorate degree makes a perfect sense.



Do you want to witness spiritualties without any theory?
Go to the jungles of South America or Africa and meet their medicine men.
Go to any primitive culture where they practice spiritualties without any theory but only with their experiences.
You will form a different opinion on this subject.

I agree with you here.

G'day Nada

I've nown a few nurses in my time, my mother used to work in a hospital & at present I have a client who's 80 0dd who an ex nurse, you learnt by practice including assisting in surgical procedures. I'm not taking it away from nurses of to day I know a few modern day nurses as well, I must have a th9ing about nurses??

I know that rolls of a nurse higher up are more complicated but to a nurse in the olden days it would have looked the same with little theory. I wouldn't tell an olden day nurse that you lost more patients because your dumb.it wasn't actually the case in actual fact by the sounds of it as they showed more care because they weren't up the selves, no job was too small unlike today. I've heard that the nurses of today want do certain jobs below their training, the patient has suffered for this.

Why can't I experience spirituality over here anyway a lot of the practices from the east that aren't theory orientated are being taken on in the west so I don't know what you are talking about here????...They need to be written down for us to understand because we haven't got the one on one teacher like they have in the East!!

Are you a nurse Nada?

Love
Mathew

Originally Posted by Toolite

Experience answers questions that are not yet asked.
Glory To God

I never looked at th8is way but yes your right!!