Personal Nursing Philosophy

Every person has their views or philosophies of a phenomenon. The nursing profession is one of the areas where people have different philosophies on what nursing entails and why it is practiced. This paper explains my nursing philosophy, the four nursing meta-paradigms, and how they apply in my practice. Additionally, it explains how my philosophy can be applied to the nursing practice, research, administration, and education. Lastly, it outlines the strengths and limitations of the philosophy.

Key Concepts

My philosophy about nursing is that it is a responsibility, not a profession. Contrary to what the dictionary or most definitions state, I believe that nursing is not a job where I work and I get paid, or I must be paid for me to do it. My view is that it comes with a huge responsibility that does not demand the reward of money in return. However, I do not stress that nurses should not be paid. They should be paid, but salary should not be the driving force towards being a nurse.

I developed this view when I was young. Out of my experience, I grew knowing that for one to become a nurse, they must have the notion that they are doing what they are supposed to do, and it is an obligation. When I was in grade four, I was a great fan of movies, and one day I watched a movie in which the setting was at a hospital. An accident happened, and the character was taken to a hospital. Two nurses attended to the man; one was very rude, while the other was so friendly. On the days that the rude nurse attended to the patient, his condition worsened, but he improved and could afford a smile when the friendly nurse attended to him. What amused me was how the friendly nurse took responsibility to nurse the patient. That is when I discovered that nursing is not a profession but a responsibility.

I developed a passion for nursing because I felt a sense of responsibility for ensuring holistic, safe, patient-centered care for patients. Through my nursing practice, I have learned and believe that my patients are not room numbers or the type of diseases they are suffering; they are individuals who deserve personalized care, and I owe them the duty of care. Therefore, I practice nursing with passion, sympathy, commitment, and responsibility because I know at the end of the day, this is my responsibility, and fulfilling a responsibility or one’s passion is what makes me happy.

Meta-paradigms

Following the four nursing meta-paradigms, this section explains how I view them and apply them to my nursing practice. Firstly, I view the person paradigm in that the patient has the power to contribute to their recovery through their spiritual, social, and how they interact with social and physical connections. I, therefore, apply this paradigm to my practice by encouraging my patients to manage their health status through their personal aspects. As individuals, their emotional presence is crucial in their recovery, and hence, I encourage them to take part in their care.

For the environment component, I view it as a great determinant to the wellness and health of a patient because, as the ecological theory posits, we become of what we interact with (Laustsen, 2006). I view that the surrounding a patient is subjected such as economic, cultural, social, and geographic factors, can contribute to their wellness and health status. This paradigm applies in my area in that I try to create a conducive environment for my patients. I take the responsibility of ensuring that their environment improves their health.

Thirdly, I view the health meta-paradigm as an integration of a patient’s physical, social, emotional, and genetic factors that contribute to their maximum health benefits. It is the extent to which these components integrate to determine the access of care a patient has. It applies when I am nursing my patients. I evaluate their health benefits to determine what best suits their wellness and health. For example, while nursing a traumatized patient, I also encourage and motivate them because their mental and emotional needs need support to recover fully. Hence, I evaluate the health component that a patient is suffering from and focus on it more when nursing them.

Lastly, the nursing meta-paradigm is where my responsibility as a nurse comes in. I view it as a vital phase in a patient’s recovery journey because it involves how the nurse delivers care. The paradigm applies in my practice in that it helps me deliver optimum health care to my patients in a safe environment while upholding commitment, responsibility, and patient-centered values.

Nursing Process – Philosophy

My philosophy can be applied to my nursing practice, research, administration, and education in varying ways. Firstly, in the nursing practice, every nurse is entitled to provide the best care to their patients. No nurse should want to see their patients perish because of a lack of responsibility. By taking responsibility, cases of deaths and disease worsening would decrease. Hence, all nurses can feel the calling and act on their patients without anything holding them back. Secondly, responsibility is needed for quality, reliable, and valid results in research. Researchers can take responsibility to investigate matters deeply and provide valid and reliable results. They could do this by ensuring their respondents are comfortable, delivering true findings, and conducting research deeply and ethically.

Thirdly, administration teams can also take responsibility and ensure that their followers take theirs. They can take responsibility by leading by example. For example, a leader can show their workers how to perform some work to follow. Empowering employees and developing their skills would be a great way of showing commitment and responsibility. Lastly, education is another sector that calls for responsibility. Both learners and teachers have the responsibility to learn for better career development. They can do this by establishing a mutual relationship where a learner learns from the teacher, and the teacher learns what the learner needs. By creating a mutual relationship, they will both have taken their responsibilities, which can help them become better nurses and teachers.

Nursing Process – Strengths & Limitations

One of my philosophy’s strengths is developing my positive skills by practicing it. For example, a caring nature, communication skills, empathy, patience, critical thinking, and commitment. These are qualities that apply not only in nursing but also in other areas of life. Another strength is that this philosophy is a knowledge driver. For example, I know what I am responsible for at home, and I always strive to take care of it. The philosophy has made me believe that whatever I am tasked to do, I should do it. Lastly, the philosophy is widely accepted by many experts in different fields, not just in nursing. For example, experts in the medical field believe that all medical practitioners should take responsibility for their duties (Levy, 2019). This makes the philosophy strong. About the weaknesses, the major one is that it is difficult for one to maintain and actually be responsible. It takes a lot of commitment, discipline, and caring nature, which many do not have. Besides, it could not be easy to take full responsibility.

To sum up, my philosophy is that nursing is a responsibility and not a profession. Caring for a patient should be an intrinsic thing that drives a nurse to care for a patient. The philosophy enables me to do the nursing practice in the manner I do because I hold myself accountable to provide optimum care to my patients. Therefore, I integrate the meta-paradigms of person, environment, health, and nursing into my practice to ensure optimum wellness and health of my patients.

References

Laustsen, G. (2006). Environment, ecosystems, and ecological behavior: a dialogue toward developing nursing ecological theory. Advances in Nursing Science, 29(1), 43-54.

Levy, N. (2019). Taking Responsibility for Responsibility. Public Health Ethics, 12(2), 103-113. https://doi.org/10.1093/phe/phz001