Concept Synthesis on Personal Nursing Philosophy

In nursing, concepts refer to abstracts used to explain mental images from the individual’s incidences (Bousso, Poles & Monteiro Cruz, 2013). On the other hand, theories are made from exploring the correlation between two concepts. The primary aim of this paper is to explore ideas where situations will be reviewed to demonstrate theoretical application. The exercise will assist me in shaping my philosophy when it comes to my future nurse practitioner career. My name is Artem, and I live in Tampa, Florida. Since my childhood, my greatest ambition has been caring for the people. Even when playing with my friends, I was the one taking care of them that had few issues. Many years later, I pursued nursing, and my goal of caring for people came true. I have been in healthcare for 25 years. I currently work in a Skilled Nursing Facility as a Unit Manager. I started in healthcare as a CNA. Later, I pursued LVN and then an RN. 

Over the 25 years, I have experienced in many nursing roles and responsibilities. I have experience as a Staff Development, MDS, ADON, and DON. In the recent past, I felt that I wanted to commit to professional development, and I thought of pursuing this course. My expectations from this course and my interests are towards understanding theories and applying them effectively in nursing practice. I also have an interest in EBP, which I use at my current job to provide good quality of care. Objectives I hope to achieve are the progress nursing has made in theory development. My career aspiration is to attain a Nurse Practitioner career. I also want to specialize in Psych and then eventually teach at a University. My ultimate goal is to get skilled in providing safe, quality care for future patients. 

Nursing Metaparadigms

Throughout history, the nursing profession has used four main nursing metaparadigms. In Bender & Freeman (2015) work, the profession’s metaparadigms include 

1. Person

2. Health

3. Nursing work

4. Environment. 

The four describe the basis of profession’s knowledge, theory, and practice. In working towards improving health care value and safety, nurses implement their care model that involves interactions with patients, patient’s wellbeing, care practice, as well as the environment (Bender & Freeman, 2015). The below part explores the four main metaparadigms.

Person

The nursing metaparadigms involve the person that requires nursing care. According to Butts (2018), such persons include family, community, and the patient’s environment. Additional ones include an individual’s wellbeing and processes used towards the nursing practice. In his work, Marchuk (2014) argued that the provision of nursing care should be patient-centered. In my nursing practice, the “person” requiring attention represents patients and their loved ones, and I intend to implement patient-centered care with them. Most of my patients tend to have distinctive needs, and I believe that it is essential to embrace the requirements regardless of their beliefs and customs (Nelson, 2018). When providing care for my person metaparadigms, I intend to develop a therapeutic relationship with them. With such a gesture, I want my patients and the loved ones to understand that I am a reliable professional that has the best intentions to see them well.

Health

In his work, Thompson (2017) defines health as a patient’s perspective of health. In this case, healthiness is relative to what an individual considers healthy or unhealthy. The two metaparadigms (health and people) are related to the sense that nurses relate to the patient’s wellbeing. Nursing care should incorporate health-related topics and patient concerns. Such works toward the provision of extensive care to patients. In many ways, nurses largely contribute to the patient’s outcomes. 

Nursing Practice

Nursing refers to an act of implementing the nursing knowledge and skills towards caring for a patient. As stated at the beginning of the paper, one of my childhood goals was to care for people. In this case, having a balanced and trusting nurse-patient relationship is imperative. According to Marchuk (2014), nursing practice assists nurses in accessing, diagnosing, and effective treatment. Individualized patient care is required since various patients have different needs, behaviors, and genes, among other distinctive elements. In my nursing practice, I tend to implement many interventions. Such interventions include pain management and comfort to patients, goal setting, and education provision, among others. The two main concepts of my practices include compassionate and collaborative care and implementing competency whenever dealing with patients.

Environment

The final metaparadigm, in this case, is the environment. The environment incorporates the setting where nursing care takes place. Such places include public, private setting as well as community hospitals. Thompson (2017) work divides the environment into three categories: inner, outer, and social factors. Exterior factors comprise the patient’s way of life, genes, and intellectual/psychological states.

In contrast, the outer (external) environment includes location and patient’s economics. The external environment narrowing has continued over the years. Nowadays, nursing care has significantly changed to the hospital setting (Bender & Feldman, 2015). In nursing practice, focusing on all environments is crucial.

Metaparadigms Interrelationships

The four metaparadigms are imperative in nursing care models. For a nurse to develop an individualized care plan, all four aspects should be acknowledged. The main goal of their interactions is to offer the best patient-centered services, improved results, patient’s drug adherence, and enhanced health for the patients. 

Practice-Specific Concepts

Caring

Care remains an advanced practice in the nurse profession. As Straughair (2012) argues, compassionate care involves treating individuals in kindheartedness and a courteous approach. Florence Nightingale remains one of the nurses majorly known as one of the compassionate nurses in her time. Nursing attributes are divided into three categories, including nature, tasks, and functions. In many cases, nursing care describes responsibilities. Whenever I get to interrelate with my patients, I always listen attentively. I also try to empathize with the patient’s feelings. In many instances, I also carefully study the patient’s body language and facial expressions that assist me in understanding patients beyond their talk. Since I started practicing, I have been trying my best to establish a therapeutic relationship with my patients. Establishing such is done through both close observation and relation that indicates compassion. In the Human Caring Theory by Jean Watson, compassionate nurses promote patients’ health, work towards restoring wellbeing, and are majorly concerned about the sick (Wayne, 2016). The theory also adds that caring transactions tend to happen when a nurse and a patient work towards a relationship despite distinct backgrounds (Duffy, 2018).

Lankshear (2018), in his work, pointed out that collaboration in healthcare improves the quality of care. From now henceforth, I plan to continue engaging the multidisciplinary team in taking care of my patients. The provision of patient-centered care requires the interdisciplinary team to work together (Engel, Prentice & Taplay, 2017). I also team up with my patients in attaining treatment and management objectives. In this case, I communicate essential information to them, assist them in setting goals and apply the nurse’s role in helping them accomplish goals. According to Imogene King’s Theory of Goal Attainment, nurses should help their patients achieve the set goals. Through the nurse’s observable behaviors, they note bad decisions and link them with the patient’s actions. Later, they may propose new practices that are important in the process of attaining the goal.

Competency

In advanced practice, pediatric nursing, and medical-surgical area, the element of competency tends to differ. According to Butts & Rich (2013), Patricia Benner’s theory explores how novice nurses attain experience. The five stages, according to the method, include the novice and advanced beginner levels, competent level, proficient, and expert levels. According to this theory, a skilled nurse is the one that has practiced for approximately three years. Such a nurse anticipates outcomes, copes easily, has control over her/his actions, and they are proficient (Butts & Rich, 2013). Skilled nurses also provide safe and quality care. 

Propositions

Propositions refer to elements of theory that connect two or more concepts. The below list represents the propositional elements that link the idea of caring and competency;

1. Compassionate and collaborative care is essential to nursing practice. 

2. Nurse’s compassionate care betters patient care encounters. Patients believe that a competent nurse is caring

3. Meeting of the patient’s needs require collaborative care

4. Collaborative care is positively correlated to the patient’s safety and care

5. Competency and cooperative and competent care assist in building a reliable patient-nurse relation.

Conclusion

All through my nursing practice, I have been in a position to develop my perspective on various practice-precise ideas and nursing profession theories. The main metaparadigms that majorly assist me are health, environment, nursing practice, and person. As explained above, all such metaparadigms are interconnected and are implemented in the nursing theory. For example, treating a patient (person) with a health issue requires an environment that may include a community or a hospital setting. In the past, the past, nurses majorly used the “community” as an environment to treat people. However, this has changed. Nowadays, the “hospital” set up is the commonly used environment. Through the propositions listed above, nursing theories are described. In this case, the practice of empathetic and kind care is core to the nursing profession. It also works towards enhancing patient’s care experiences. In my nursing practice, nursing theories significantly guide my decision making as well as helping in reflecting on my practice. For instance, Imogene King’s Theory helps my patients achieve their goals. Through observing my patients non-verbal, I motivate patients to set and take action towards attaining health goals. In some instances, I help them adopt new behaviors that contribute to good health. My main goal in this career is to offer quality and safe care in various environments. Working as a nurse practitioner who advocates on patient’s needs, I plan on promoting, maintaining, and restoring the community’s health. My personal philosophy of the nursing profession is towards care in a compassionate, reliable, and non-discriminative care towards my current and even future patients. Regardless of a patient’s background, education, race, creed, and sexuality, I believe that all should receive equal care.

References

Bender, M., & Feldman, M. S. (2015). A practice theory approach to understanding the interdependency of nursing practice and the environment: Implications for nurse-led care delivery models. Advances in Nursing Science, 38(2), 96-109. Doi:10.1097/ANS.0000000000000068