Posted: September 29th, 2024

Personal Philosophy of Nursing Essay

NSG 3007 Week 4 Assignment 2 Personal Philosophy of Nursing.

Nursing was a calling for me. I have always been drawn to the caring and compassionate nature of the profession. At thirteen months my son’s lung collapsed, he was hospitalized for 18 days. This experience had a profound impact on my life and ultimately led me to pursue a career in nursing. As a new mother I had no idea what to do. I was overwhelmed and scared, but the nurses who cared for my son were kind, knowledgeable, and reassuring. It was the care and compassion for his nurse that nursed him back to health. The nurse’s ability to provide emotional support and comfort to my son and our family during a difficult time inspired me to become a nurse.

According to Black the foundation of nursing is its basic concepts, the ideas that are essential to understanding professional practice. These concepts provide a framework for nursing practice and guide our interactions with patients and their families. These concepts are person, environment and health (Black, 2014). Understanding these concepts is crucial for providing holistic care that addresses the physical, emotional, and social needs of patients. There are several philosophies, conceptual frameworks, and middle-range theories that are based on either one or all three of the concepts. Each of these philosophies and theories offers a unique perspective on nursing practice and can inform our approach to patient care.

Nurses have always been aware of the influence of the environment on people, beginning with Florence Nightingale. She recognized the importance of creating a supportive and therapeutic environment that promotes healing and well-being. She understood the elements of a healthful environment in which restoration and preservation of health and prevention of disease and injury was possible (Black, 2014). Nightingale’s work laid the foundation for modern nursing practice and continues to influence our approach to patient care today. So what is the difference between philosophy and conceptual framework? A philosophy provides a broad, overarching perspective on nursing practice, while a conceptual framework offers a more detailed and structured approach to understanding nursing concepts.

Florence Nightingale changed the whole perception of nursing. Her work during the Crimean War and her writings on nursing practice helped to establish nursing as a respected profession. The birth of modern nursing has evolved throughout the 18th and 19th century. This evolution has been shaped by the contributions of many nursing leaders and theorists, including Nightingale. Nightingale was recognized as the first nursing theorist and most commonly known as “The Lady with the Lamp”. Her work continues to inspire and influence nursing practice today.

She initiated her environmental theory beginning in the Crimean war, which focused on environmental factors to improve the health of each patient. This theory emphasizes the importance of creating a supportive and therapeutic environment that promotes healing and well-being. To Nightingale, “healing was a holistic perspective and process of bringing together all aspects of oneself, body, mind and spirit to achieve and maintain integration and balance” (Dossey, Selanders, Beck, Attewell, 2005). This holistic approach to healing is still a cornerstone of nursing practice today. After researching this theory, it best describes the way I view nursing. I believe that nursing is not just about treating physical symptoms, but about caring for the whole person – body, mind, and spirit.

Working in Intensive Care I utilize Nightingale’s environmental theory all the time. I strive to create a supportive and therapeutic environment that promotes healing and well-being for my patients. She described 10 different concepts in caring for a patient. These concepts provide a framework for nursing practice and guide my interactions with patients and their families. Ventilation and warming to me means keeping the air clean and helping maintain a stable body temperature. This is especially important in the ICU, where patients are often critically ill and vulnerable to infection.

Next Nightingale mentions variety which means the need for changes in color and form. I try to incorporate variety into my patients’ care by providing them with different activities and stimuli. Every day the volunteers stop by to see every patient and offer a flower, newspaper and a word search. These small gestures can help to brighten a patient’s day and provide a sense of connection to the outside world. Giving variety helps with boredom for the patients. It also helps to reduce stress and anxiety, which can be major barriers to healing.

Personal cleanliness, nutrition, hope and advice, and bedding are other concepts she addresses in her Environmental Theory. Each of these concepts is important for promoting healing and well-being in patients. Florence Nightingale theory helps with understanding the basic human essential in care for the whole patient. Her theory provides a framework for nursing practice that emphasizes the importance of caring for the whole person – body, mind, and spirit.

According to Black nursing is defined as the provision of health care services, focusing on the maintenance, promotion and restoration of health. This definition emphasizes the importance of nursing in promoting health and well-being, rather than just treating illness. The American Nurses Association definition of nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, facilitation of healing, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations. This definition highlights the many different roles that nurses play in promoting health and well-being.

Everyone’s definition of nursing is a little bit different but they all sum up to the same thing. Nursing is a complex and multifaceted profession that involves caring for patients, promoting health and well-being, and advocating for individuals and communities. To me nursing is defined as the field that facilitates wellness to the health and helps heal the ill and injured. Nursing provides patient care, assess, and educate patients about their conditions. The practice of nursing is based on a specific body of knowledge that is built on theory (Black, 2014).

The foundation of nursing, its bones, is its basic concepts, the ideas that are essential to understanding professional practice. These concepts provide a framework for nursing practice and guide our interactions with patients and their families. These concepts are person, environment and health (Black, 2014). Understanding these concepts is crucial for providing holistic care that addresses the physical, emotional, and social needs of patients.

The term “person” is used to describe each individual man, woman, or child (Black, 2014). This concept emphasizes the importance of treating each patient as a unique individual with their own needs and experiences. In the field of nursing we will care for a variety of cultures, races, genders, sexual orientations, ages, and socioeconomic status. Each patient brings their own unique perspective and experiences to the healthcare encounter.

Every person has the right to be cared for regardless of their background. This is a fundamental principle of nursing practice and is reflected in the American Nurses Association’s Code of Ethics. My motto for caring for people is, treat everyone as if it was your son, daughter, mother, or grandmother. This motto reminds me to always provide care that is compassionate, respectful, and individualized.

While it is the nurse’s job to care for the patient, it’s those persons responsible to learn to care and educate themselves. Patients have a responsibility to take an active role in their own healthcare and to make informed decisions about their care. For example, a patient diagnosed with pancreatitis, who continues to drink 5 beers a day. This patient needs to take responsibility for their own health and make lifestyle changes to manage their condition.

The nurse is limited in assisting the patient, but she can still educate them on the importance of not drinking. Education is a key component of nursing practice and can help patients to make informed decisions about their care. The patient has to take responsibility for his own health. This is an important principle of nursing practice and is reflected in the concept of patient-centered care.

The concept environment includes all the circumstances, influences and conditions that surround and affect individuals, families and groups (Black, 2014). This concept emphasizes the importance of considering the broader social and environmental factors that impact health and well-being. Florence Nightingale understood the elements of a healthful environment in which restoration and preservation of health and prevention of disease and injury were possible (Black, 2014). Nightingale’s work highlighted the importance of creating a supportive and therapeutic environment that promotes healing and well-being.

The environment can be internal and external. Internal factors, such as a patient’s mood or outlook on life, can impact their health and well-being. External factors, such as the physical environment or social support, can also impact health and well-being. The nurse can be a positive influence in helping to make their environment healthier. Nurses can help patients to identify and address environmental factors that may be impacting their health and well-being.

The final concept is health. Health is a complex and multifaceted concept that encompasses physical, emotional, and social well-being. Health is best viewed as a continuum rather than as an absolute state. Each individual’s health status varies from day to day depending on a variety of factors, such as rest, nutrition and stressors (Black, 2014).

To be healthy does not mean that you are free of disease, but completely well physical, mental, and emotional. This definition of health emphasizes the importance of considering the whole person – body, mind, and spirit – when assessing health and well-being. Health not only includes dieting and exercising, but also having a sane mind and being happy. This definition of health highlights the importance of considering the emotional and social aspects of health, as well as the physical aspects.

People, health and environment are the foundation of nursing. Each concept is equally important and they are interdependent. An individual can be healthy in body, but unhealthy in mind and because of the influence of the surrounding environment. A good example would be a non-smoking casino worker, whose environment is surrounded by smoke. This can potentially affect his health in the long run.

“Everything we do, every decision we make, and course of action we take is based on our consciously and unconsciously chosen beliefs, attitudes, and values (Black, 2014). These elements shape our practice. My personal values and beliefs are honesty, kindness, respect, compassion, lifelong learning, persistence, family, benevolence, health promotion, non-judgmental attitude, responsibility, reliability, and teamwork. These values guide my interactions with patients and colleagues. I use these values to make personal decisions and live my everyday life. They are integral to my identity. My personal and professional values and beliefs are congruent. This alignment is essential for authentic practice.

The qualities that make a great nurse show through what is valued. These qualities are evident in daily practice. Being a good nurse with values isn’t turned on and off at the beginning or the end of the shift, it remains with them forever. These values are a constant presence. Not every situation will go as expected, but to remember we are all human and we are not perfect. This understanding fosters resilience and growth. Examine each situation and learn from it. Reflection is key to professional development. The focus of nursing is to ensure patient safety, healing, needs, and empowerment. These goals are central to nursing practice.

In nursing, a failure to communicate can have significant, even dire consequences. Effective communication is crucial for patient safety. Communication does not involve simply being able to talk, but to listen to and engage with another person nonverbally, because much of the way that humans express themselves is through nonverbal communication. This aspect of communication is often overlooked.

Developing a nurse-patient relationship is the key to effective communication. This relationship is foundational to patient care. There are five major elements that must be present for communication to occur: a sender, a message, a receiver, feedback, and a context (Black, 2014). These elements are essential for meaningful interactions. Communication is important in nursing practice for it is said to weave together practice to ensure that care is continuous, consistent, and congruous within and across the practice setting (Johns, 2004). This continuity is vital for patient outcomes.

For me, communication comes naturally, I love to talk with my patients. This passion enhances my practice. I love being able to sit right next to them and listen to their problems, breaking down what’s really going on, and just being there for them. This presence is comforting for patients. Sometimes it’s hard to end the conversation because the patient has so much to tell you. These conversations are valuable for building trust.

Another good form of communication that I have is silence. Silence can be powerful in certain situations. Working in the ICU, I use this form of communication a lot. It allows space for reflection and processing. Lastly, we had to terminally extubate a patient, and I knew after extubation and turning off all the vasopressors, the patient would not last long. This was a difficult moment for everyone involved. I asked all the nurses to come stand around the family and patient. This gesture provided support and solidarity. The patient took his last breath two minutes later. This moment was profound and moving. Doing this spoke volumes without a word being said. The family was very appreciative. Their gratitude was deeply felt.

In conclusion, nursing has evolved because of new opportunities and experiences. This evolution continues to shape the profession. With the help of Florence Nightingale and several other theorists, modern nursing is at its best. Their contributions have been invaluable. People are living longer and are engaged in learning more about their health conditions. This knowledge empowers them to take charge of their health. As nurses, we will continue to do our part to improve the image of the nursing profession through the use of our values and beliefs. These values are the foundation of our practice. Through effective communication, we will continue to improve healthcare standards. This commitment is essential for the future of nursing.

References

Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2021). Philosophies and theories for advanced nursing practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

American Nurses Association. (2005) Code for nurses with interpretive statements. Washington, DC: Author.

Dossey, B. (2010). Florence Nightingale’s Vision for Health and Healing. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 28(4), 221-224. doi:10.1177/0898010110383111

Houser, N. O. (2023). The value of a personal philosophy of citizenship education. The Social Studies, 114(2), 59-66.

Petrovskaya, O. (2023). Technology and nursing. In Routledge Handbook of Philosophy and Nursing (pp. 481-493). Routledge.

Professional Nursing: Concepts & Challenges, 7th Edition. [South University]. Retrieved from https://digitalbookshelf.southuniversity.edu/#/books/978-1-4557-0270-1/

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Tags: Florence Nightingale, Holistic Care, Nursing Environment, Patient Communication, Personal Philosophy of Nursing