Personal Philosophy of Nursing

Personal Philosophy of Nursing

            Beyond the influence of my uncle who is a successful and experienced nurse, I realized after repeated self-assessment tests that I love bringing happiness to families and individuals. I always have an urge to comfort and support people who are suffering physically, emotionally and psychologically. I always yearn to get opportunities to save lives. I chose the nursing profession since it provides me with the opportunity to fulfill the above interests and responsibilities. This paper contains my nursing philosophy.

Core and Focus of Nursing

In my view, the core of nursing is to combine and apply all the necessary knowledge, techniques, and skills in the promotion of health and overall wellbeing of individuals, groups, and communities. The focus of nursing is to provide patients with the highest possible quality of care. The core of nursing is demonstrated through research, the establishment of channels and facilities for care and treatment of patients, and a combination of knowledge from different disciplines that are eventually applied in the process of improving and maintaining good health. The focus is demonstrated by adopting strategies and practices meant to meet the needs of the patients holistically.

Personal Vision of Nursing

My vision of nursing is to become one of a renowned nurse due to a remarkable contribution to the provision of quality care and facilitation of the progression of the profession. I subscribe to the school of thought of Florence Nightingale and Jean Watson in views about how nurses can be able to provide the best care to the patients. Their opinions are embedded in the metaparadigm concepts of nursing, person, environment, and health.

My beliefs are similar to the views of Nightingale and Watson on the metaparadigm of ‘person.’ The theorists argue that every patient has unique, multiple needs of soul, body, and mind (Summerell, 2015). The metaparadigm concept of health states that the best patient outcomes can only be met through addressing the physical, spiritual, and psychological needs of the patients.

Further, the metaparadigm concept of nursing stipulates that to understand the spiritual, physical and psychological needs of the patients, nurses must develop a close relationship with the patients that is based on trust (Arnone & Fitzsimons, 2015).  Last, the metaparadigm concept of environment states that the nurses, in collaboration with the other health professionals, should cultivate an environment in which the patients feel safe and comfortable, and that improves working morale. The four metaparadigms play a major role in enhancing my ability to succeed in the nursing profession through adhering to the views of the theorists.

Personal Philosophy of Nursing and My Patients

In my nursing career, I believe that my patients are and will always be my priority. Thus, much of my efforts in my career will always be channeled toward establishing the best ways to offer the highest quality. The metaparadigm concept of health supports the fact that for a health professional to understand the needs of a patient fully, they must develop a trusting relationship with them (Summerell, 2015). In line with that notion, I believe that the starting point in dealing with the patients is developing trust and a close relationship with them. When dealing with my patients, I will always strive to adhere to all the necessary ethical and professional guidelines, principles, and values. As I do so, I will always prevent and avoid causing harm to the patients.

Personal Philosophy of Nursing and My Patient’s Family

I believe that to meet the needs of the patients holistically, it is vital to work in collaboration with the family members of the patients whenever it is necessary. I respect the inputs of the family members that facilitate the process of attaining the goals of treatment and care. In the description of the metaparadigm concept of “person,” Nightingal explains that the family members sometimes provide the emotional and spiritual support that patients need. In some cases, health professionals may not be able to fill the gap of the family members (Arnone & Fitzsimons, 2015). Thus, I believe that I should always encourage and support the family members in fulfilling their part to meet the needs of patients holistically.

Personal Philosophy of Nursing and My Health Care Professional Colleagues

Corroborating with other healthcare professionals makes one of the main components in my philosophy. As Foss et al. (2015) explain, healthcare professionals, including nurses and physicians, should embrace teamwork to achieve optimal performance. In my view, teamwork leads to an environment that supports overall improvement in the performance of the health professionals and the whole organization. I acknowledge the importance of such corroboration in facilitating the smooth delivery of services and in meeting all the essential needs of the patients.  I believe in upholding respect when interacting with colleagues and be part of finding solutions whenever there is a need. Since I embrace long-life learning ideas, I think that I can get more knowledge and skills from experienced colleagues as long as I cultivate positive relationships.

Personal Philosophy of Nursing and My Own Health

I believe that every person’s output is directly related to the physical, spiritual, and psychological health. Providing high-quality care to the patients can be very difficult when a nurse is ill or has mental or spiritual problems (Arnone & Fitzsimons, 2015). In some cases, poor health can lead to poor treatment of the patient, hence escalating their health problems. In this regard, I believe that before providing services to the patients, I should be sure that I have good health in all human aspects. To maintain good health, I adopt a lifestyle that supports the optimal performance of my health, including eating a balanced diet.

Conclusion

In conclusion, nursing is my best choice for a career since it gives me the opportunity to fulfill my life interests. The core and focus of nursing, in general, is to ultimately improve and maintain good health among individuals, communities, and groups. My vision is to become competent in all critical aspects of the nursing profession. I believe in using my knowledge and skills to satisfy the needs of patients. I believe the outcomes are enhanced through corroborating with family members of patients and healthcare professionals and maintaining good personal health. I believe that my philosophy will guide me to success, although I will be improving it when necessary.

References

Arnone, J.M. & Fitzsimons, V. (2015). Plato, Nightingale, and Nursing: Can You Hear Me

Now?. International Journal of Nursing Knowledge, 26(4), 156-162: doi: 10.1111/2047-3095.12059

Foss D., A., McDermott, S., Kinney, G., & Triner, T. (2015). Caring Science: Transforming the

Ethic of Caring-Healing Practice, Environment, and Culture within an Integrated Care Delivery System. The Permanente journal, 19(4), e136–e142. https://doi.org/10.7812/tpp/15-042

Summerell, P. (2015). EB133 Jean Watson’s Caritas Processes: A Model for Transforming the

Nursing Practice Environment. Critical Care Nurse, 35(2), e66-e67.