The use of aesthetic knowledge in the management of brain injury patients.

A patient's recovery from a brain injury (BI) is unpredictable and requires flexible nursing strategies for each stage of recovery. Empirical knowledge provides a framework for delivering nursing care based on scientific principles. Aesthetic knowledge, including intuition, provides a further opportunity to know and understand BI patients and their responses as they progress along the trajectory of recovery. Incorporating both empirical and aesthetic knowledge into the nursing plan of care for this population affords on opportunity for nurses to help patients and their families negotiate the course of recovery with greater success.