ABSTRACTThe provision of safe, sensitive health care in this technologic age requires a balancing of the art and science in nurse‐midwifery. The rationale for building a scientific base and the framework for developing knowledge unique to nurse‐midwifery are examined within the context of paradigms or conceptual models. Practical applications of conceptual models in the continued growth of nurse‐midwifery research, education, and clinical practice are pres