Discussing Personal Nursing Philosophy Values And Beliefs Nursing Essay

The purpose of this paper is to discus my personal philosophy of nursing. I will present a definition of nursing and my values and beliefs of what the primary goals of nursing are. I will also present my personal philosophy of nursing and the reasons why these values are important. Examples of how this philosophy of nursing can direct nursing practice will be presented. A few nursing theorist impacted my philosophy of nursing and the importance of these different nursing theory and theorist will be discussed in the paper. I believe this different nursing theories and my personal philosophy will help during my nursing study and work. I identify my personal values regarding the established nursing paradigms. My paper will include a brief personal history and then describe my personal beliefs towards the paradigms of nursing. By looking at the nursing paradigms, a big picture of caring for patients, their health, and their humanity will be painted.

The four main concepts of nursing (nursing paradigms) include the patient, environment, health, and the nursing profession. This concept makes up my personal philosophy of nursing and it is the main doctrine of the field of nursing.

I as the nursing student view health as a dynamic state of being along a health-illness continuum. It is affected by health beliefs and health behaviors. Health is holistic, encompassing physical, physiological, emotional, spiritual, and social aspect of a person’s life (Chitty&Black, 2007, pg. 322). The nursing profession assists patients in achieving optimal wellness and copes with periods of illness and disability. Professional nurse uses the nursing process which is a basis of scientific nursing practice and requires nurses to analyze data from many sources. As nurse, I’ll make use of my technical, comforting, nurturing skills to help patients achieve optimum health. I’ll make use of my knowledge of complex decision-making skills that are needed to care for patients.

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The environment promotes or interferes with well-being. And the components of the environment are the physical environment (temperature, air, water, etc) and the nonphysical environment (family-parenting, culture- beliefs/values/attitudes, social- support/neighborhood, churches, other groups; community- jobs, housing, schools, and healthcare) (Chitty&Black, 2007, pg. 322). People live in the environment with all the physical and non-physical components all interacting. The two components have a great effect on health status and how a person adapts to these components.

I as the nurse view the person as a unique being who is an example of an open system with subsystems influenced by genetics and environment. The person is motivated by needs, capable of adaptation, seeks homeostasis, and interacts with the environment. When needs are not met, the person is at risk for alterations in health status. Alterations in health status are manifested in the form of disease or illness, the person seeks relief in the form of health care from health professionals (Chitty&Black, 2007, pg. 322).

One of my philosophies of nursing is influenced by Henderson’s and Watson’s theory of nursing. I view and value nursing as having an insight into patient’s needs and situations, seeing the person as a distinct being and treating each person/patient with dignity and respect they deserve. I believe that one of the goals of nursing is to help people attain, retain, and regain health.

Nursing actions focus on the person been cared for, and the blend of art and science of nursing (Taylor, Lillis, Lemone, & Lynn, 2008, pg.3). Nursing is a profession that consists of specialized bodies of knowledge and skills to care for a patient both in health and sickness and in different practice settings (Taylor, Lillis, Lemone, &Lynn, 2008, pg.3) and the knowledge to perform my task well. This knowledge includes my understanding of the nursing process and procedures as well as other practical issues for me to perform my job. This knowledge is only part of the important requirements for nursing. Nursing also involves using skilled application of the different bodies of knowledge to assist patients in reaching maximum function and quality of life.

Caring for sick patients is a critical life event for the sick patient. I as a nurse will assess every patient with the intention of creating specific plan of care for each individual person. I will collaborate with doctors and other healthcare providers of different departments to provide the best plan of care for each patient. I will implement the plan of care by monitoring my patients as well as teaching each of my patients the importance of good health. I will evaluate how effective the plan of care is and make adjustments as appropriate and when necessary if goal is not achieved. One of the aspect of my job as a nurse that will bring me joy is the psychosocial and emotional support I will provide to my patients and their families.

As a nurse, I have to be prepared for the different cultural responses and reactions, and adapt my behavior, if not my information and expertise to the situation. For example, a male from a Muslim culture will have a problem with a female nurse performing his physical. Another example is how some cultures view a nurse as a person of authority and end up not taking part in the plan of care. As a nurse, I will be open to learning the different values of these cultures, to be non-judgmental, respect the person’s culture and be pleasant. Individualize care accordingly to the different cultural backgrounds. Culture is a very significant factor in these situations.

Leninger’s transcultural theory will be put into use in the above situations and taken into consideration if proper care is to be given for each individual patient. According to Leninger, a person’s culture affects every aspects of that person’s existence and failure to recognize and appreciate cultural differences can undermine even the best intentions (Chitty&Black, 2007, pg.342). The rudiments associated with a culture are taught to each person from conception and these teachings influence opinions/judgments/views, feelings, religious beliefs, conducts/manners and how the person connects to the health care environment.

As a nurse, I will practice at a level of autonomy, be in control of decision-making, doctors and other healthcare providers of different departments for collaboration, reliability, liability, and power that have a direct and powerful influence/effect (Sidani, Doran &Mitchell, 2004, pg.5). I will also employ the different nursing theories in doing my job efficiently.

This paper mentioned some philosophies of nursing being used today in nursing practice. Having a personal philosophy of nursing is important for many reasons; it will provide a motivated and working foundation from which I can understand the profession of nursing in an individual and purposeful way. My philosophy implies plenty comprehension of what to do as a nurse. My paper also shows that nursing includes ethics and practical aspects which all combine to the overall picture of the profession. My personal philosophy will provide a basis and foundation for me when I enter the profession and if I decide to further my study. The theories of nursing are all different but they all have the same objective which is providing optimum care for patients.