According to Butts and Rich, philosophy of science is a perspective of the way one views the world. In the case of advanced practice nurses it is the way we may interact with the patient, family or group (2015, p.3). My philosophy or belief of nursing includes the promotion of health through routine health screens, prevention of illness, and the care of ill, disabled and dying persons. I have experienced these complexities on a daily basis via working as a staff nurse in a hospital. Nursing is a rewarding and exciting career. Every day the situations are different and each day we make a difference in our patient lives. The nurse philosopher I relate to is Dr. Patricia Benner. She developed the model for the stages of clinical competence. Her model is a useful framework for assessing nurses’ needs at different stages of professional growth. Her model progresses through five stages from: novice, to advanced beginner, competent, proficient to expert level. According to Nursing Theory (2016), novice level is the nursing student who is just beginning and cannot predict what might happen in a particular patient situation. The advanced beginner is a new nurse on their first job who has a little more experience that enable them to recognize recurrent, meaningful components of a situation. Competent nurse lacks speed and flexibility of the proficient nurse, but have some mastery to recognize patterns in a situation. The proficient nurse sees the situation as a whole rather than
In order to explore my philosophy it is important that I be aware of how I would define nursing. “Definitions of nursing, like nursing itself, are dynamic; nursing is constantly evolving to meet new needs and take account of new knowledge.”(Clark, 2003, add p. # for direct quote)
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.
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.
A nursing philosophy coincides with self-awareness. Nursing philosophies are developed by each individual nurse regarding the nursing practice and are important in understanding what is fundamentally important to each nurse, along with their values and beliefs. Self-awareness, in short, is knowledge of one 's self, feelings, motives, and desires. In order for nurses to develop their own nursing philosophy they must first have a good sense of self-awareness. As a future nurse it is important that I recognize my own self-awareness so I can continue to build onto my beliefs and values of the nursing profession and gain a better understanding of what is fundamentally important to me as a nurse. In this paper I will discuss why I chose the nursing profession, my beliefs and values, and what I feel is fundamentally important in the nursing profession.
The journey to development of my personal philosophy of nursing quite possibly began in my preteen and teenage years. It was brought about from experiences I had when I was doing missions work in Mexico. While these missions left quite an impact upon me, it did not end there. Time, age, experience and education also played critical roles in development of my personal nursing philosophy. These factors have helped my nursing philosophy grow and has allowed me to refine it. The purpose of this paper is to identify according to my views, what nursing is, my perspective of nursing, values and beliefs about nursing, ascertain two principles or rules that guide my nursing practice, and finally a reflection and conclusion.
Nursing is based on caring in nursing. Compassion and concern for protecting and enhancing the
Nursing philosophy is defined as a nurse or students thought of what they believe to be true about the nature of the profession of nursing and to provide a base for nursing practice. (2016, para.1) The nursing field continues to develop into a professional scope of practice and nurses continue to work to develop a high standard for the profession. The values and skills that nurses’ learn as they care for patients continue to develop into rules and regulations for future nurses. As a nurse it is important to create the best environment for patients, family members and co-workers. After graduating from high school I obtained my STNA and then began my college career in the health field as a physical therapy major. This past year I transitioned to nursing after seeing how much more I am able to work directly with patients. The reasoning behind my nursing philosophy is that I have gained knowledge and love for the profession through working as a certified nurses aide for the last four years. The love for helping others and the ability to help individuals during their times of need has grown on me and developed into a passion. Through education and work experiences my philosophy will transform overtime. Currently, I believe in a nursing philosophy that states strong principals that encompass empathy, compassion, and respect towards patients and their families. In addition, nurses must stay abreast of developing health care trends, be critical thinkers and
A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step, a Chinese proverb that I have come to live by through my journey of nursing. I never thought in a millions years that I would have become a nurse. When I was younger nursing was the only profession my mother pushed. It was as if everyone in our family had to be a nurse. Honestly, I think I rebelled from the thought of being a nurse simply because it was my mothers desire for my life. I went from wanting to become a lawyer, to a therapist, to a pharmacist, to even a radiology tech. Ultimately; nursing became the clear path that God wanted for me. Interestingly enough I have come to realize my personal
To understand nursing philosophy, you must first understand what nursing means to you as an individual. To me nursing as well as nursing philosophy involves providing individualized holistic care to a patient, family, community, or even one’s own self. Holistic care is providing care involving the mind, body, spirit, and environment.
My personal philosophy of nursing is based on my understanding and knowledge of medicine combined with practical, compassionate patient based care that culturally respects each patient while at the same time fulfilling their healthcare needs. My philosophy focuses just not on delivering patient based
In the fall of 1862, a war raged between the union and confederate forces at the Battle of Antietam. More than 130,000 soldiers fought, more than 22,000 were wounded. On the battlefront was a woman, Ms. Clara Barton, nicknamed the “Angel of the Battlefield”. Ms. Barton observed the strain of frontline battle, namely hunger, sickness, and wounds and once said “I may be compelled to face danger, but never fear it, and while our soldiers can stand and fight, I can stand and feed and nurse them”. (CITATION) It is this same dedication to nursing and our armed forces that drives my philosophy of nursing.
Developing a nursing philosophy is important to a nurse as it serves as a guide and is the foundation for personal nursing practice. Following a personal nursing philosophy can enhance your nursing career, make you a better nurse and improve patient outcomes. However, it is difficult to choose one nursing theorist, as there are viewpoints from several theorists that align with my personal theories. Choosing one theory is not only difficult, it is possible to change a theory during your nursing career or draw from various theories while working with patients and their families depending on the situation. Consequently, nurses are taught the foundation of multiple theorist and there does not seem to be one correct model. It is a matter of finding one that fits your
The profession of nursing has matured from the time of Florence Nightingale. Nursing has gone from just treating dying soldiers on the battlefield to helping guide people through their entire lives from birth to death. The maturation of nursing has led to changes in nursing philosophy and allowed for practitioners of Nursing to meld these philosophies together to form their own philosophy. In this paper I will explain my philosophy of nursing and compare it to Virginia Henderson 's definition of nursing along with discussing some of the changes to Nurse philosophy I will also discuss some of the difficulties to being a patient advocate.