Philosophy of Nursing

Author: Evans, Subject: Nursing, Type: Essay, Number of pages: 3

Introduction

Nursing philosophy is the driving component towards one’s desire to become a nurse. It is very crucial because it is our natural interest towards adopting the truth. What we perceive in the nursing profession as truth is what propels us towards serving our clients on a daily basis. It includes our ethical principles towards nursing as a profession as well as our values. The personal philosophies aid in clarifying our stand on who we are as well as our personal stand and relationships with our patients. The core purpose is to enable us to practice well and in a wise manner (Paley, 2014).

My Belief on What It Means to Be a Human Being

Our perception towards the human being forms the core purpose of our nursing practice because nursing is majorly a human practice. In the most fundamental way, nursing is a nourishing process that includes the nurse and a sick person. In my philosophy of nursing, I define the human being as a rational person that exhibit two different realities, a biophysical reality of the body and a psycho-spiritual reality of the spirit and the mind. The word human being, therefore, forms our inherent dignity and worth accorded to every human being.

My Belief on the Environment

The environment is a concept that is multilayered and includes all the concepts that affect a person socially, physically and mentally. Someone’s environment can can be affected by the social interactions, family, and the geological locations. As nurses, it is important that we become aware of the cultural disparities when giving care to the customers with the understanding that our perception of what is acceptable culturally might not be acceptable to our customers. Ultimately, the healthcare environment is what we give our customers, and it’s the job of the nurse to make sure that the client fits comfortably to the environment. The environment can promote illness and health. Most people function within the environment in which they have inhibited. Every individual is unique in his or her own way with dignity and worth with the capacity to change. Human beings exist in an environment that is very competitive and one that can be affected by the social, physical and the cultural factors. The current environment is characterized by the social and the physical components. The environment is a concern shaped by the transfer of the health risks and the national borders.

What Professional Nursing Ought to Be

In my philosophy, professional nursing is based on individual definitions and the professional organization. Accountability, compassion, and professionalism form a great part in the strive towards professional nursing (Buerhaus, et al., 2015). Nurses must be held to quite high standards by the society as well as the physicians and the other nurses. Self-regulation in the nursing profession calls for personal accountability. Every individual in the profession is required to take an ownership of his or her knowledge base with regards to the professional practice. It is the requirement of every individual to demonstrate a level of personal autonomy and control that adhere within the environment will conforming to the rules and the guidelines that are crucial to the profession. Florence Nightingale in her theory was quoted to say that she will never allow self-limiting beliefs, low-self-esteem or the negativity from others to deter her from becoming the person she was meant to be (McEwen, 2014).

Professional nursing also calls for compassion, tenacity, and understanding. It needs the provision of quality care with utmost patience and respect for the lives of the clients. The relationship between the nurse and the patient should be one that is centered on respect and autonomy of the patient needs. Professionalism should also be upheld through helping others. The nursing code of ethics calls for the nurses to uphold the patient confidentiality and not to engage in activities that are aimed at affecting the relationship between the nurse and the patient (Epstein, & Turner, 2015).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the philosophy of nursing is what draws us together in order for us to uphold our wish as nurses. The key driver for my practice as a nurse is my patient, and this is my guiding rule that I lay emphasis on. Respect for the human dignity and upholding an environment that centers itself on the welfare of the patients is very crucial towards establishing an environment that is centered towards professional nursing.

References

Buerhaus, P. I., DesRoches, C. M., Dittus, R., & Donelan, K. (2015). Practice characteristics of primary care nurse practitioners and physicians. Nursing Outlook, 63(2), 144-153.

Epstein, B., & Turner, M. (2015). The nursing code of ethics: Its value, its history. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 20(2).

McEwen, M. (2014). Theoretical frameworks for research. Nursing Research: Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice, 75.

Paley, J. (2014). Cognition and the compassion deficit: the social psychology of helping behaviour in nursing. Nursing Philosophy, 15(4), 274-287.

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