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In this article based on a literary study, the form of knowledge named familiarity knowledge is examined. Although rooted in the philosophical tradition of Wittgenstein and Polanyi, the development of familiarity knowledge is tied in with clinical practice and particular patients and contexts while paying attention to the framework factors influencing the setting as a whole as well as with theoretical knowledge relevant to the situation at hand. Palliative care makes a backdrop for some of the discussion. Familiarity knowledge can never be context free and attends to that which is unique in every nurse-patient relationship. Both assertive and familiarity knowledge are needed to care for dying patients in a competent, sensitive, and truly caring manner. Mentors need to help students synthesize assertive knowledge and familiarity knowledge during their clinical studies to enrich both kinds of knowledge and deepen their understanding. Student nurses expertly mentored and tutored while caring for dying patients living at home become, for instance, less apprehensive about facing dying patients than students not so mentored. Nurses need to understand the complexity of nursing care to be able to see the uniqueness of the situation and approach the individual patient on the bases of experience and insight.
Keywords: familiarity knowledge; clinical practice; student nurses; palliative care; mentoring; patient-nurse relationship
In this article, we wish to examine the form of knowledge which in Norwegian has become known as fortrolighetskunnskap,1 a concept coined by the Norwegian philosopher Johannessen (1984). We cannot find a truly equivalent concept in English and will therefore, for the purpose of this article, name it "familiarity knowledge." This concept falls within the sphere of clinical knowledge but transcends this because it is more holistic in nature, is developed in particular contexts, and requires maturity and experience in the person (or nurse) who is the knower (Josefsson, 1988).
Familiarity knowledge is frequently reflected in health care education (Benner, 1991; Johansson, 2006; Stevens & Tighe Doerr, 1997; Tucker, 2004) through the use of clinical examples. Familiarity knowledge is developed through a close relationship between patient and nurse. It is for instance through patients we learn what it is like to be ill-knowledge necessary to meet ill patients' various kinds of needs. A focus on familiarity knowledge will have positive implications both...