What Is a Philosophy of Nursing?
Everyone in the nursing discipline has a unique perspective that has shaped their beliefs, attitudes, values, and assumptions in relation to a person, health, environment, and nursing. Nursing theory is a personal perspective of how the nursing world works relating to metaparadigm concepts. Thus, nursing theories are used to depict and understand nursing paradigms. In nursing, the metaparadigm concepts are noted within the following: person, health, environment, and nursing. Therefore, understanding the concepts within the central interest of the nursing discipline one can articulate their own nursing philosophy by one’s beliefs, values, attitudes, and assumptions and how they are interrelated with critical thinking and clinical practice.
My personal beliefs, attitudes, and values in relation to the nursing metaparadigm of person, health, environment, and nursing strongly interrelate as the meta paradigm phenomena are focused on the practice of nursing thus, the main indicator for my professional discipline. My personal beliefs in relation to the phenomenon of health begin with general wellness connecting to the trio of mind, body, and spirit.
I believe by implementing these core dynamics in one’s life it will create balance by evenely distributing one’s time to the chosen modalities. I believe by neglecting one modality it will cause a negative deviation relating to overall balance thus; leading to diminished health, and wellness. The body can be sustained with proper hydration, nutrition, exercise, yoga, herbs, supplementation, acupuncture, and chiropractic techniques. Furthermore, the body interlinks with the mind as we can maintain our mind by implementing proper rest and sleep hygiene, meditation, stress reduction, and implementing consistent mental exercises on a linear continuum such as progressive learning and reading.
Thirdly, the spirit can be maintained by living out your life’s purpose, finding personal happiness, establishing and maintaining healthy relationships with family and friends, maintaining activities of daily living in addition with instrumental activities of daily living, having a strong sense of religion, and having a sense of connection to something bigger than us relating to the meaning of life.
The following noted above are my core health principles which lead to peak health and wellness in my belief. Furthermore, health to all patients is based on their perspective relating to their acceptable threshold of health and wellness. When assessing patients, the professional nurse must assess and note within the plan of care many aspects that define health to the patient including the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects. Thus, after establishing rapport with the patient, and after the initial assessment the professional nurse must assist their patients to attain peak health, and wellness acceptable to the patient regardless of contrasting perspectives.
The phenomenon of the environment consists of external, internal, and social factors that impact one’s health. Components of the environment involve culture, inter-personal relationships, economics, geographic location, family status and socioeconomic status. The dynamics within the environmental phenomenon can be physical and non-physical facets thus, the nurse must assess the patient to determine if such a phenomenon is assisting with one’s health or interfering with the patients’ health, and wellness on a continuum.
As a professional nurse I will assess the patient’s assumptions, values, and beliefs relating to their perception in congruence with one’s environment. A patient’s internal environment is under continuous homeostasis correlating to one’s internal and external facets. If deviations are occurring and the patient cannot maintain homeostasis the results can negatively influence the internal environment. For instance, Florence Nightingales concepts to the environmental phenomenon relates to external components such as temperature, and mechanical ventilation as to the internal components which are that as water, and food. Thus; if a patient does not receive appropriate hydration the resulting manifestation will lead to an increase risk for electrolyte imbalance and dehydration evidenced by vital signs, physical exam, and laboratory values. Lastly, it is critical for the professional nurse to assess the patient to gather baseline data in relation to the patient’s environment to assess for trends in alterations; if such are noted corrective modalities such as treatment, and education may be offered to the patient to prevent worsening illness(s) and or disease.
Personal phenomena are uniquely distinct to all individuals including myself. Thus, my values, and beliefs in accordance to this concept is to treat each person inside and outside of my nursing practice with kindness, dignity, and respect while encompassing mind, body, and spirit. My goal that I aspire to attain once I begin practicing professional nursing is to help others achieve, retain, and reclaim their health and wellness thru various modalities’ in relation to mind, body, and spirit. Components of the phenomenon of person is to assess the care received and or the perception of one’s care. For instance, professional nurses provide nursing care to patients and the patients perceive the professionalism of the nursing care received. Lastly, I will maintain my patients autonomy to make educated and informed decisions regarding their medical care in addition to refuse care if such warranted as I will also include the patient with their healthcare planning associated with the short, and long term goals that align with their beliefs, values and assumptions to their acceptable quality of life.
The nursing phenomena requires specific education in which its purpose is to promote health and wellness for all individuals as it exists for the care of all persons. The nursing practice is a multifaceted profession emphasizing empirical evidence while incorporating art into a vast amount of differential practical settings. Nursing interrelates with patient care as nursing evaluates what nurses do for each patient by assessing the actions and interventions of nursing.
As a professional nurse, I will have the education, knowledge, and technical abilities to provide the care I consider professional to all patients while doing so in such a way that is detail-oriented involving organization, skilled application, and clinical experience while encompassing critical thinking competencies, and standards. As a professional nurse, I will implement therapeutic interpersonal methods that assess the patient’s perception of person, health, and environment. Furthermore, I will assess my patients expected outcomes and what would they like to accomplish during their medical care to improve their perceived level of an acceptable level of care for there quality of life. In addition, as a professional nurse, I will readily and reliably assess my patients on a continuum to asses for trends that are positive and or negative outcomes that differ from my initial baseline data. Additional values important to the profession of nursing is to always incorporate tour patient when it entails the development of the patient’s care plan, and treatment plan. Lastly, one important belief I will carry out as a professional nurse is to always treat others the way I would want to be treated as a patient and to always act as the patient’s primary advocate to make sure the patient is receiving optimal care and decision making.
My personal philosophy of nursing practice is outlined above relating to the four components of the nursing metaparadigm. Those four components define nursing as it is critical for a professional nurse to assess and reflect on there personal preferences in relation to person, health, environment, and nursing because the core concepts to one individual such as myself differs from person to person. Thus, it is to say assumptions, values, and beliefs differ from person to person in addition. Therefore, personal reflection and non-biased assumptions, and beliefs need to be muted when it comes to patient-centered care thus, the nurse must offer professionalism and address the needs of the patient while gathering objective and subjective assessment data while obtaining the patient’s preferences, and desired outcomes related to the acute and or chronic illness or disease which has led to the patient seeking medical care.
