Date of Award
Fall 12-2013
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Nursing
Committee Chair
Janie Butts
Committee Chair Department
Nursing
Committee Member 2
Kay Lundy
Committee Member 2 Department
Nursing
Committee Member 3
Sarah Lauterbach
Committee Member 3 Department
Nursing
Committee Member 4
Bonnie Harbaugh
Committee Member 4 Department
Nursing
Committee Member 5
Karen Rich
Committee Member 5 Department
Nursing
Abstract
Research and literature on nursing students living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in higher education is deficient in supporting the needs of a growing population. The aim of this study sought to uncover the essence of nursing students’ experiences through a hermeneutic phenomenological approach and promote deeper understanding of the meaning of lifeworld experiences through the lens of critical social theory (CST). CST sustains freedom from ideological restraints to allow exploration into individual experiences. The voices of student participants provide the medium for articulating meaning. An integrative approach using van Manen’s (1990) and Munhall’s (2012) methods guided this study.
Research data was obtained from six student participants enrolled in an associate degree nursing program and a baccalaureate-nursing program located in the southeastern U.S. Findings revealed how student participants became aware of their differences in filtering distractions when compared to other nursing students. Student participants experienced ontological anxiety with an innate desire to be like others when they discovered they could not ignore their differences. The perception of stigma associated with ADHD and the desire to succeed in nursing school guided student participants into becoming-authentic by facilitating unique experimental methods of coping with their differences. Becoming-authentic ultimately guided student participants into recognizing their own uniqueness in Being. Research findings uncovered the fundamental need to embrace understanding of adults living with ADHD in the nursing profession and institutions of higher learning. The study illuminated meaning through an artistic approach and validated hermeneutic phenomenology through its scientific approach. The art and science of nursing practice discovered in this study implicates the need to further research and the development of support systems.
Copyright
2013, Sheryl Lynn Allen
Recommended Citation
Allen, Sheryl Lynn, "The Journey to Becoming-Authentic from the Voices of Nursing Students Living with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder" (2013). Dissertations. 213.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/213