Professional 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)

I define my philosophy of nursing within the three nursing domains of person, health, and environment. My goal is to communicate the importance of nursing as a knowledge-based career, depending not only on the nurse fulfilling her role but also on the patient’s compliance. A patient must learn to provide self-care at home in the same capacity as the nurse would provide care in the clinical setting. I discuss various subjects within nursing. I explain why I want to be a nurse, what I believe a nurse’s role is, the different domains of nursing, and where I believe nursing will be in the future. My philosophy demonstrates the interdependence of the nursing domains. You cannot fully evaluate a person without evaluating their health,

Professional nursing practice has been developing for several centuries. Nursing as a profession can be traced back to the early Christian era. Since then the perception of nursing practice has changed significantly. “Nursing is caring, commitment, and dedication to meeting the functional health needs of all people” (Craven &

When it comes to a nursing philosophy, every nurse has their own values, beliefs, and ideals that are different and unique from others. It presents a great challenge when incorporating these ideas into a professional practice. “Professional values are standards for actions accepted by the practitioner and professional group that provide a framework influencing the behavior of the group.” (“Professional Values: The Case for RN-BSN Completion Education,” 2008, p.1). Identifying which values are most important will have a huge

The art of human caring is one of the most essential parts of the nursing profession. Caring is not something that you learn to do, but something that is within you. In nursing, it is important to know what kind of nurse you want to be as well as the care you intend to provide to your patients. The patient is the center of nursing, and it is your responsibility to make sure they are receiving the best care that they can receive. One of the most important things is to be able to set aside personal beliefs and morals in order to provide patient centered care. The way that you approach and care for a patient is either going to make or break the effect of the care you will be implementing to the patient.

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.

Patient-centered care refers to the view that patients and their family members are partners in developing a care plan. This stems from the belief that the patient is in control and that the care provided is rooted in respect that addresses the patient’s personal needs and values (Barnsteiner & Sherwood, 2012). Creating a partnership with a patient that allows them to grasp the goals and methods of their plan of care and includes them in the decision-making process can prevent errors from occurring. This gives the patient the opportunity to correct any

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 theory allows the nursing profession to define and differentiate nursing care practice from other professional disciplines. The work of Patricia Benner has been crucial in setting a stage to standardize education and career progression for the nursing profession. The nursing care practice has been changing exponentially since the development of the theory From Novice to Expert. It has enabled facilities across the nation to achieve a higher level of patient care due to its ability to identify the needs of each of the stages of a professional nurse’s career progression.

The beginning of a new graduate nurses career rarely begins easily, there seems to be a distinct disconnect between the fantasy of what it means to be a nurse and the reality of bedside nursing. Nursing school seems to feed into this disconnection, in that it does not prepare the new graduate registered nurse (NGRN) for their professional practice. What nursing school does is give the NGRN the basics, a peak into what is to come. The NGRN has to find out for themselves what the true meaning of being a nurse is and if it fits their preconceived ideas.

The healthcare industry has intensely advanced throughout the world, in turn changing the principles that incorporate the practice and culture of nursing practice. Altering the model of care to a patient-centered mode signifies an organizational culture shift and requires the participation of executives at the senior level (Cliff, 2012). To practice this care to provide the best care possible, it goes beyond the nurse to all healthcare professionals and senior leadership. The days of patients and nurses following a physician’s order without favor to care has now loaned themselves to more of an interdisciplinary approach to practice. Though, it is encouraged that the patient makes decisions for themselves, after receiving the proper education and information on their condition. Part of the patient-centered care is to be the patients’ advocate, by letting them know you are there for them when they are unable to speak and advocate for themselves and what is in their best interest. That goes in hand with educating them on “self-management of care, health literacy, patient, and family education through nurse-patient communication and interaction (Finkelman & Kenner, 2016, p. 271).”

The greatest aspect about nursing is that it is never going to be just a job and is even more than a merely profession. Instead, it is a belief system or way of life and not a discipline that can simply be practiced then abandoned to the dictates of a time clock. To simply say that “I love people” or want to “help people get better” does not demonstrate the drive behind this feeling. Articulating my philosophy is not an easy task, to better explain my philosophy of nursing, I am going to use some values that I have learned. These tools truly explain how I feel and what has motivated me to pursue nursing as a career.

Patient centered care is defined as “the practice of caring for patients (and their families) in ways that are meaningful and valuable to the individual patient, which includes listening to, informing and involving patients in their care” (Grenier and Knebel, 2003). Five challenges presented in patient centered care are patient obstacles, physician and practice obstacles, facility obstacles, community obstacles, and health literacy.

Patient-centered care encompasses ideas, skills, and attitudes that promote greater patient empowerment, responsibility, and prioritizing patients’ needs and experience of healthcare in influencing how care is delivered (Lorig, 2012). Patient-centered care focuses on individualizing care to meet the health care needs of individual patients but also encourages patient’s to be active participants in their own care. Important aspects of patient-centered care that focuses on the patient’s experience include cultural competency, involvement, and continuity of care.

In order to critically examine the concepts central to the discipline of nursing it is important to clarify my understanding of what constitutes a discipline. Nursing literature has led me to understand that a discipline can be, in simple terms, thought of as a field of study with a unique perspective which gives rise to the nature and scope of inquiry of that field and therefore leads to a specialized body of knowledge (Parker, M & Smith, M, 2010). In attempt to cement nursing’s place in the professional world and in an effort to distinguish it from other disciplines it seems imperative that nursing itself agree on the discipline’s most significant concepts. Through early course readings it