My Nursing Philosophy

This paper explores the personal nursing philosophy I plan to convey in my personal career. This philosophy is going to be described in my own terms to explain what being a nurse means to me. I believe that there are a number of factors that are important to be successful in the nursing field. I believe that being a nurse it takes commitment to accountability, professionalism, and compassion for the ill. I will explain each one of these in my paper and what they mean to me.

This paper brings up my personal nursing philosophy that I am planning to deliver in my nursing career. I believe that nursing is more than merely as a profession, it also involves my medical knowledge combined it with a commitment to quality nursing care with compassion, respect, dignity, and advocacy for each patient. I believe that the interdisciplinary care and collaboration in the medical field are crucial elements that lead to a healthy relationship among healthcare professionals in promoting quality patient care that is individualized to each patient’s needs.

I have read and understand the plagiarism policy as outlined in the syllabus and the sections in the Catalog relating to the IWU Honesty/Cheating Policy. By affixing this statement to the title page of my paper, I certify that I have not cheated or plagiarized in the process of completing this assignment. If it is found that cheating and/or plagiarism did take place in the writing of this paper, I understand the possible consequences of the act/s, which could include expulsion from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Every individual typically holds a personal philosophy about life which includes beliefs and values that help shape our choices and lead us to specific life path or in a certain direction. Very similarly every nurse has a philosophy about nursing and their career. Every nurse has guidelines that they choose to follow and motives for why certain choices are made. In order to develop a philosophy of nursing a nurse must reflect on the characteristics that they abide by and by which they base their nursing care. A nursing philosophy defines the motives behind why the nurse puts their heart and soul into their career. A personal nursing philosophy produces an individual viewpoint for nursing care, research, and education (Hood, 2014). In order to have a personal philosophy or a nursing philosophy, a nurse needs to understand themselves. Not one philosophy is permanent, right, or wrong and a personal philosophy is subject to change at any time (Hood, 2014).

The development of a philosophy related to the profession of nursing is important in that it provides a framework for the nurse to base his/her work on. Philosophy is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means”. In other words, philosophies are based on beliefs and assumptions with an overall goal of obtaining an objective which states the nurse’s purpose in the profession. In my undergraduate nursing program I was exposed to multiple nursing concepts that guided my practice. Coupled with my ten years of experience in the nursing field, I was enabled to formulate my own framework or guide to nursing. The paradigm which resonates with me the most is the interactive-integrative perspective as it views practice “as having multiple, interrelated parts in relation to a specific context.” (Newman, Sime, & Corcoran-Perry, 1991, p.38). My framework includes three main components: the client, the professional nurse, and the nurse-client relationship.

The purpose of this assignment is to enable the student, myself, to rediscover his or her personal philosophy of nursing as it exists upon the completion of the baccalaureate nursing program. Throughout the semesters, the view I had on what nursing meant to me has grown deeper, but one thing has stayed the same; my philosophy. In my philosophy project from the very first semester, I stated that nursing involves many different parts that all come together to make one great final end product, just like cookies. I compared nursing parts and all the different items nurses bring into the field, to being similar to the ingredients used to make cookies. I still believe that nursing is comprised of many different parts that all come together in order to give the best patient care possible. The personal philosophy paper now is an extension on that first semester’s assignment, to show the growth and development I have had while in this nursing program. It will explore what my personal definition of nursing is, the purpose of nursing, what assumptions in nursing there are, and will conclude with the principles of nursing.

In order to decide on an accurate and well-described definition of what nursing is I sought multiple sources and decided upon two that I feel are representative of nursing. The American Nurses Association (ANA, 2015) declares, “Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations.” As defined by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2015)

A nursing philosophy is concepts or values that a nurse embraces within his/her practice and allows these concepts and values to shape the way he/she practices nursing and drives the purpose of their nursing care. It is important for each nurse to develop his/her philosophy of nursing to be a purpose driven nurse. Each nurse will have his/her own nurse philosophy because each believes differently. Nursing philosophies might come from different understandings but still point to one thing. They point towards the benefit and for the good of the client. Nursing philosophies can have several key concepts that are used in nursing models that include: client, health, environment and nursing.

For as long as I can remember, or since the first time I met a nurse, I knew that was what I wanted to do. I have always held a great deal of respect for those who care for others in their time of need, and sacrifice their own emotional health to be strong for someone else, when they could not be strong for themselves. For several years my fear of being unsuccessful held me back from pursuing this dream, until I decided to finally take the first step and become a certified nursing assistant, and enroll at Clinton Community College to begin my journey to becoming a registered nurse. In the summer of 2014 I had decided to take control of my life and pursue my dream of working in the field of healthcare.

When my grandmother was dying of cancer in hospice, I had no intentions of becoming a nurse. Consistently, I repositioned her because she was in pain. Dutifully, I opened her windows because she loved the sunlight. Respectfully, I rubbed lotion on her skin because it made her comfortable. Devotedly, I prayed with her because her faith was strong, and she was ready to be reunited with my grandfather. Wistfully, I held her hand as she took her last breath, and told her it was okay to go. Afterwards, when the hospice nurses had told me that I would make a great nurse and I should consider nursing as a career, I politely said “No, thank you, nursing is not for me.”

It is important to understand that nursing is not only about helping the sick but it is also about helping the healthy individual. A nurse can do that by preventing any illness, which he or she can do by educating the population. It takes a special person to be a nurse, but it is a very rewarding career. It is a great feeling to know that you made a difference in the patient or even the patient’s family member’s lives. By receiving a master’s degree the nurse is able to give the patient more current and quality care. The patient’s family trusts you with the loved one’s life, it is a humbling experience, but it can also be nerve-racking.

I knew I could be a nurse when I watched blood ooze from my brother’s face. His eyes dripping tears, and body shaking from being scared, he did not know what to do. I however, did not flinch once when I wiped the blood off his small face and hands. He was just two and I remember thinking how I had to fix him. I had to make sure his nose, his forehead, and the of side of his face was okay. I did not think twice about touching blood, or how his whole nose was black and blue. In that moment I was selfless. I chose nursing because I am capable of putting others before me. I am selfless enough to understand what it means to be a nurse, and have to be a mother, a daughter, and a whole family in a patient’s time of need. I am independent, and strong enough to deal with challenges and make the right decisions. In my soul I know I am meant to help people and fix their hurting and sadness. I chose being a nurse, because I am

For the purpose of the paper, famous philosophies and a personal nursing philosophy is presented, including the personal definitions of the four phenomena of nursing namely person, environment, health, and nursing. The said philosophy will then be compared to other professionally-acclaimed philosophies. Included in the discussion is the importance of a nurse’s role in providing health care to persons, family, and the society and how it is able to address problems in the face of cultural and spiritual differences.

My love for nursing started as a young kid growing up and watching my aunt care passionately for the sick and the less privileged for many years. I somehow picked interest in the profession and that ultimately led me to choose nursing as a career. First I think in order to identify my personal nursing philosophy I have to define nursing. Although nursing can mean different things to different people, The American nursing association defined nursing as “the protection, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations” (ANA,2012). I believe that personal philosophy of nursing is important to the professional nurse and to me in particular because it demonstrates the principals and personal values that will be evident throughout my nursing career.

In life it is hard to know if the career chosen is the perfect fit. How does one know if he or she is going towards the right profession? Once I learned more about nursing and became a CNA I knew nursing was a good fit for myself. In this paper I will first, explain what brought me to the nursing profession then, the values of nursing and how they relate to my personal values and lastly, my personal goals and how they relate to nursing.