Philosophy has a complicated relationship with nursing practice. Selected concepts from Hans-Georg Gadamer's Truth and Method specifically prejudice, conversation, and language are articulated. An exemplar involving nursing practice at an outpatient clinic for women seeking pre- and postbreast cancer care is offered to explicate these concepts. We considered the fit of Gadamer's philosophy, particularly the concept of conversation, within a public health nursing practice context in home and community settings of the client/family and offered tentative conclusions. To extend the discussion of the relationship between philosophy and nursing practice, we posed questions developed to provide deeper insight into this complicated relationship.
Keywords: Gadamer; breast cancer; culture of nursing practice; hermeneutics; interprofessional practice conflicts; meta-conversations; philosophy in clinical nursing; valuing conversations as care.
© 2022 The Authors. Nursing Inquiry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.