Each student is expected to write his/her philosophy of professional nursing. Readings assigned during the first half of the course as well as references from professional nursing literature will help you to formulate some of your beliefs. It may be helpful to review the philosophies and theories of contemporary nursing theorists prior to writing this paper.
Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to help students explore and identify their feelings and personal views about the profession of nursing and demonstrate ability to think critically in expressing a philosophy.
Method: Each student will compose a paper (body of the paper not to exceed 3 pages in length) reflecting the student’s philosophical perspective of professional nursing. The philosophy should express ideas about each of the following components: people or clients, environment, health and nursing. Views expressed should be clear, concise, thoughtful, and supported by current literature.
References should be cited in the paper as well as in the reference list according to APA 7th ed. format. This assignment is worth 75 points toward the final course grade total.
Nursing Philosophy
Student’s Name
Department, University
Course Code: Name of Course
Instructor’s Name
Due Date
Nursing Philosophy
I believe nurses should provide holistic and culturally sensitive care to all patients by utilizing nursing education and hands-on experience. Achieving the best patient health outcome should be the core aspect that inspires nurses. Therefore, these professionals should adopt a value-based care framework that focuses on patient health outcomes rather than the quantity of care provided to clients. As a nurse, I believe I am responsible for understanding patients at physical, scientific, and emotional levels. The four metaparadigms concepts that ensure holistic patient care include people or clients, environment, health, and nursing.
I believe the nursing profession revolves around caring for clients or people. The paradigm of people also entails the patient’s family and friends. Besides meeting patients’ physical needs, nurses should consider their emotional, spiritual, and social needs. I believe Watson’s Theory of Human Caring is useful in interpreting this metaparadigm concept. Watson argued that each patent has unique needs that nurses should strive to meet through individualized and patient-centered care (Branch et al., 2016). According to her, each person has the dimensions of body, mind, and soul that nurses must be cognizant of to provide holistic care (Nikfarid et al., 2018). In this regard, healing cannot be fully achieved if any of the dimensions above is omitted. I believe nurses should understand and value each patient and maintain their dignity to facilitate healing. For instance, a nurse can spend quality time with patients who have suffered chronic illnesses to make them feel valued and less vulnerable. Therefore, the nursing practice should incorporate Watson’s theory to ensure patient-centered care.
Nurses need not only to focus on the clients or people but also on their environment. I believe interactions between the patients and their surroundings or people around them, including those in their social networks, can either enhance or impede recovery. Notably, clients are part of large communities with varying features capable of influencing wellbeing. Therefore, I believe that nurses should understand the patient’s environment as it can potentially influence health. Florence Nightingale used her Environmental Theory to show the influence of the environment on the recovery process, thereby laying the foundation for the metaparadigm of the environment (Branch et al., 2016). She identified essential environmental factors that promote the patient’s wellbeing and healing process, including cleanliness, ventilation, pure water, lighting, efficient drainage, and nutritious food (Gilbert, 2020). Therefore, I believe we as nurses should ensure that patients stay in environments that promote healing both in healthcare facilities and in their homes. For instance, open windows ensure entry of fresh are and adequate natural lighting. Watson also believes that the environment contributes significantly to the nursing process. Besides patients, the environment can also impact nurses’ morale and thus their effectiveness in care. Therefore, I believe providing a comfortable environment for patients should be among the top priorities of healthcare facilities.
Nurses provide care to enhance patients’ health and their quality of life. According to Watson, health is achieved when there is harmony in the mind, body, and soul (Nikfarid et al., 2028). Healing entails the improvement of patients’ state to regain wholeness. Therefore, I believe nurses should structure their care around mind, body, and soul dimensions to achieve the best patient outcomes. This involves ensuring a balance of cognitive, physical, and spiritual self (Alharbi & Baker, 2020). For instance, a patient may seem in good physical health but have a mental disorder such as depression. Therefore, nursing assessments, including those of illness and mental state, are important aspects of health. Subsequently, care plans should vary depending on each patient’s unique needs. Furthermore, I believe disease prevention is useful for enhancing patients’ wellbeing. For example, the COVID-19 vaccination boosts immunity, thus reducing hospitalization and death rates. Therefore, I believe nursing care is supposed to help improve patients’ health.
Nursing entails using knowledge learned in school and through experience to enhance patients’ wellbeing. Therefore, nurses should apply evidence-based practice and appropriate nursing theories in practice. The ability to establish emotional connections with patients and show them compassion is also part of the nursing practice. Watson stresses that a good nurse-patient relationship can enhance treatment outcomes and follow-up (Branch et al., 2016). Patients are likely to feel comfortable and safe when nurses establish good relations with them. Dorothea Orem’s Theory of Self-Care shows the role of nursing in the healing process (Branch et al., 2016). In this regard, nurses should teach patients their roles in the healing process. I believe family members and friends of patients can help in self-care efforts outside the hospital.
In conclusion, nurses should be compassionate with patients since this is a caring profession. Each patient is unique, with different cultural backgrounds and belief systems. This necessitates individualized care plans to meet the specific needs of different patients. As identified by Nightingale, a conducive environment is useful in promoting the healing process. Since much depends on the ability of a nurse to make clients feel comfortable, I believe these professionals should attain the skills useful in creating good relationships with patients. Besides, interprofessional relationships can help enhance coordinated and patient-centered care.
References
Alharbi, K. M., & Baker, O. G. (2020). Jean Watson’s Middle Range Theory of Human Caring: A critique. Int. J. Adbanced Multidiscip. Sci. Res, 3, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.31426/ijamsr.2020.3.1.3011
Branch, C., Deak, H., Hiner, C., & Holzwart, T. (2016). Four Nursing Metaparadigms. IU South Bend Undergraduate Research Journal, 16, 123-132.
Gilbert, H. A. (2020). Florence Nightingale’s Environmental Theory and Its Influence on Contemporary Infection Control. Collegian, 27(6), 626-633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2020.09.006
Nikfarid, L., Hekmat, N., Vedad, A., & Rajabi, A. (2018). The Main Nursing Metaparadigm Concepts in Human Caring Theory and Persian Mysticism: A comparative Study. Journal of medical ethics and history of medicine, 11, 6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6150916/