Nursing : My Philosophy And Philosophy Of Nursing

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.

anything thrown your way, yet sympathetic enough to be understanding of it. There is so much

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Throughout the first year Foundations of Professional Nursing course, I have gained a better understand of nursing and thus my perspective on nursing has developed a lot. After learning about the different concepts and theories in nursing, I feel I understand the role of nurses better and it makes me proud to have chosen this profession. I have also realized how much the concepts I have learned this year have affected my perspective on nursing and have helped shape me into becoming a nurse. In addition, I have been able to develop a personal philosophy of nursing. This paper will examine the importance of a sub- concept to nursing, reflect on my personal journey of development as a nurse and discuss my personal philosophy of nursing.

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.”

This paper explores my personal nursing philosophy that I will convey in my career of nursing. It is my belief that nursing is a commitment to public service and a desire to help those in need. Nursing is a discipline of knowledge acquired both through formal education and through life experiences. The sum of these parts continues to refine my nursing practice. Nursing is focused on the delivery of quality individualized patient care, that meets each patient needs holistically as opposed to treating an illness. My nursing philosophy incorporates the knowledge of medicine as well as compassionate care that respects each patient dignity and values. I believe that the collaboration among healthcare professionals promotes quality patient care and is a crucial aspect of nursing. I also believe in nursing that strives to maintain a healthy community through health promotion.

My personal philosophy of healthcare is something that I want to perfect, and change to make sure, I look to it at times when I might doubt myself or even question why I want to be a registered nurse in the first place. The American Nursing Association defines nursing as the “Abilities to protect, promote, and prevent injury and illness, alleviate suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of families, individuals, communities, and populations” (American Nurses Association, 2014). However, nursing is a lot more than these points that were stated above and in this paper I will be discussing my personal philosophy as a future registered nurse. A belief that I will incorporate, in my philosophy of healthcare are as follows: striving to be the

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

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.

My philosophy of nursing practice is being kind to others. I use my knowledge and skills to help people. I also respect patients’ preferences, values and choices even though they differ from mine. I will try to understand and show empathy to my patients through seeing them beyond their illness and provide holistic and culturally sensitive care. Nursing is not just a job that looks after the sickness, rather, it is about the humanity, about being a human for another human.