Philosophy Of Nursing Influence A Nurse's Practice

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)

Developing a personal philosophy of nursing and patient care is essential to the development of every nurse. The development of a personal philosophy begins in nursing school. Nurses incorporate our personal beliefs within our nursing practice and as we grow and mature as nurses and human beings our philosophy changes. Exposure to new beliefs, cultural differences, and researching the views of a variety of nursing theorists assist nurses in developing an expanding their own philosophy with the culture of care.

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).

“Philosophies of nursing are statements of beliefs about nursing and expressions of values in nursing that are used as bases for thinking and acting. Most philosophies are built on a foundation of beliefs about people, environment, health, and nursing” (Chitty & Black, p. 298). By using person, environment, health, and nursing as a guideline to achieve the ultimate goals of nursing; I will discuss my personal philosophy and how these factors are used in 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.

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.

A definition of a Philosophy is “when someone contemplates, or wonders, about something that serves as the blueprints or guides that incorporates each individual’s value and belief system.” (Chitty & Black, 2007, p. 318) Personal Philosophy of Nursing is the core values and beliefs that a nurse upholds when taking care of another human being. It is the belief that each individual no matter what disease, race, or economic status they have will get treated with the highest regards to compassion, integrity, and respect that they deserve.

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 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.

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.

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

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

Philosophy has influenced the development of nursing. Philosophy of Nursing promotes the application of nursing knowledge and helps develop nursing theory and knowledge. Nursing theories and philosophies of nursing influence each other. Nurses designed Philosophy of nursing to explain the beliefs, role, and interaction with patients. Philosophy is the application of one 's knowledge to different situations that occurs when practicing as a nurse. It changes the identities, belief systems, and practices of nurses. Philosophies and experiences guide nurses in their professional decision making. (Marchuk, 2014). To be able to articulate a personal philosophy of nursing and identify the philosophical influences, nurses must have basic understanding past contribution to the theories and philosophies that have helped shaped nursing today. Knowledge development and different methods have played a huge part in nursing 's history.

A philosophy is created to find truth and meaning. It requires evaluation and use of critical thinking as to why one’s nursing practice matters. The history of philosophy and theories allows me to evaluate my personal nursing philosophy. I believe that each person is their own individual. My way of practicing nursing is by using compassion, listening to my patients and trying to understand them. It is not just the body or the disease but rather the holistic nature of the patient. I believe that nursing deals with promotion of health and prevention of disease. Lifelong education, research and evidence based practice are all utilized in my profession of nursing and are all concepts important to my nursing care.