Nursing Philosophy And Theories Of Nursing

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 author’s personal philosophy in practice is to provide holistic care to my patients and their families. This author feels that encompassing the whole family or the patients support framework in the plan of care is the best approach to returning the patient to their optimum state of health. It is important to this author to evaluate the all of the aspects of the patient’s lives that they will share. It is important to evaluate the patient’s learning style,

designed to guide the practice of nursing” (Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing, 2012). Nursing theories can help patients, managers and other healthcare professionals to recognize what and how much that nurses do contribute to the healthcare field. I never did realize how important theories in nursing practice could be until I became a nursing student myself. Nurses use theories in their everyday practice, but never think about them as being

Belief is the reflection of values that guides one to plan and set goals in their personal and professional Life. With this in mind, and that caring is the essence of nursing practice, my career path goals were outlined and focused on concept of education , health and care. My perspectives and beliefs about nursing as a profession have been gradually developed throughout the years by the influence of many, mentorship, education and by long years of clinical experience.

Nursing theories have been a fundamental tool used to explain, guide and improve the practice of nursing. Theorists have contributed enormously to the growth of nursing as a profession. The four grand theorists I chose are Virginia Henderson, Peplau, Myra Levine and Jean Watson. These theorists have contributed tremendously in the field of nursing through their theories, and research. One thing the theorists have in common is that they are patient centered. They are all concerned on ways we can improve our responsibility to the patients, their families and the environment. They have different ideas but they are all aiming towards achieving the same goal, which is patient satisfaction and safety. Their differences are in their areas of

Everyone’s values and beliefs about the profession of nursing are all different. The four concepts of nursing are interrelated and all mean something different to every person, too. Throughout this paper, I will be reflecting on my values and beliefs about nursing through the four concepts while comparing them to a nursing theorist with views that are most similar to my own.

What is nursing, what does nursing mean to me? After much thought I have put together

Nursing is a unique profession which is built upon theories that guide everyday nursing practice. According to Taylor, Lillis, & Lynn (2015), “Nursing theory differentiates nursing from other disciplines and activities in that it serves the purposes of describing, explaining, predicting, and controlling desired outcomes of nursing care practices” (p. 27). Many nurses may unknowingly apply a theory or a combination thereof, along with critical thinking to get the best outcome for a patient. Theories are used in practice today because they have been supported by research and help the profession uphold its boundaries. Most nursing theories consist of four concepts which are the patient, the environment, health, and nursing. Each patient is at the center of focus and they have the right to determine what care will be given to them using informed

Personal theory and philosophies are important for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) to help care for patients and their career. According to the American Nurses Association (ANA, 2010) an “APRNs are registered nurses (RN) who have acquired advanced specialized clinical knowledge and skills to provide health care” (p. 112). APRN is a general term used to describe certified registered nurse anesthetist, certified nurse midwife, clinical nurse specialist, and nurse practitioners (NP) (ANA, 2010). For the purpose of this paper and my personal theory and philosophy, I will focus on the NP as the APRN. NPs are able to perform comprehensive assessments and promote health and prevention of illness and injuries (ANA, 2010). The ANA’s concepts of health promotion and disease prevention have helped shape my personal theory and aided in identifying a theory for my future practice as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP). The best theory to guide my practice will be Nola J. Pender’s health promotion model (HPM). By using Pender’s HPM, it will allow me to identify each patient as an individual with different needs for health promotion and disease management.

A nursing philosophy is the thoughts and beliefs about the job of a nurse based on one’s values. My values that have formed over the years have influenced me to purse a forever career as a nurse. I grew up in a small town Smithfield, Pennsylvania with my parents and younger brother. My community consisted of close relationships between the residents. Every one helped and cared for one another when needed. The practices of my community guided me to want to become a nurse. I want to continue to care for my community and give back to them by treating their illnesses and providing them with better health care. I am particularly interested in caring for pediatric patients. My goal is to try to provide every infant a chance to live their beautiful life created for them by God. While doing this, the primary focus of being a nurse will be to accommodate my patients and allow them to become a healthy person again.

Philosophy is a set of ideas, values, and beliefs behind what a person does (Merriam- Webster Dictionary, 2015). All nurses have beliefs about what nursing is and is not. It is important to stay true to one’s personal, moral, and ethical values at all times. Nurses are morally and ethically responsible for their patients, decisions, and actions (Lindh, Barbosa, Berg, & Severinsson, 2010). Every nurse brings something different to healthcare because they have different philosophies and/or believe in different nursing theories that guide their practice.

The nurse still relies heavy on general guidelines and are only beginning to see recurring patterns in their clinical practice. The competent nurse is stage three in this model. The nurse at this stage has more confidence in their clinical judgment as a practitioner. There able to formulate a plan that will help to achieve efficiency and organization in their practice. The proficient nurse is the four stage in this model. In this stage the nurse is able to connect the pieces together to develop a whole concept of the situation. Nurses at this stage are also able to formulate a long-term treatment plan based on past experiences. These treatment goals can be modified in response to changes in patient condition. The expert nurse is stage five in this model. The expert nurse has a large amount of clinical experience upon which to draw a quick conclusion from. Nurses at this stage are able to focus in on the problem without delaying with flawed diagnoses. The nurse’s intuitively is also a factor at this stage of the model with the use of their experience or

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.

Nursing is a unique profession which is built upon theories that guide everyday nursing practice. According to Taylor, Lillis, & Lynn (2015), “Nursing theory differentiates nursing from other disciplines and activities in that it serves the purposes of describing, explaining, predicting, and controlling desired outcomes of nursing care practices” (p. 27). Many nurses may unknowingly apply a theory or a combination thereof, along with critical thinking to get the best outcome for a patient. Theories are used in practice today because they have been supported by research and help the profession uphold its boundaries. Most nursing theories consist of four concepts which are the patient, the environment, health, and nursing. Each patient is at the center of focus and they have the right to determine what care will be given to them using informed

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.