Blending Nursing and Philosophy - Essay Example

Blending Nursing and Philosophy BY YOU YOUR ACADEMIC ORGANIZATION HERE HERE HERE Blending Nursing and Philosophy IntroductionThe Jacksonville University School of Nursing builds its nursing philosophy on the premise that “people are unique in their capacity for self-awareness, rational thinking, creativity, response to illness, and deliberate action to resolve problems and meet valued goals” (ju.edu, 2009, p.1). The university recognizes that successful delivery of health care will require a nurse to be both flexible and innovative when dealing with multiple demographics (patients) and can essentially think on their toes. Unlike nursing theory, having a nursing philosophy describes the desired method of handling patient care and the type of interpersonal skills development necessary to achieve patient satisfaction and personal satisfaction in this career. This paper describes the important components of a philosophy and applies them to the field of nursing. The Important Components of Philosophy “Nurses who are self-motivated, continue their education, and are active in professional organizations enjoy career satisfaction and provide better healthcare” (Smalley, 2005, p.59). In the nursing environment, being self-motivated is part of an internal desire to be responsive and dynamic when delivering patient care. Less-motivated nurses rely on policy and procedure to drive their decision-making, moving around the patient environment waiting for their next round of administrative instructions. Self-motivation is a very important component of having a philosophy, as the desire to provide patient care must include the ability to regulate one’s own actions. For example, a nurse is going to be exposed to different patients with different emotional needs, therefore a successful nurse must be able to respond to these needs in ways which are meaningful to the patient, culturally. It should be part of the nurse’s internal beliefs where the patient’s needs are put first and should be a paramount objective. However, a nurse with a total self-motivated philosophy might conduct additional, self-motivated research on cultural or sociological patterns of patients so that they can relate to them better at the emotional or cultural level. The self-motivated aspect of nursing philosophy can also be a career goal philosophy, where superior performance without the need for administrative intervention can lead to a better nursing reputation or better, measurable patient care. Another component which is important for a philosophy is to realize that “health is the expression of physical, psychological, spiritual, and social well-being” (ju.edu, 2009, p.1). A caregiver who only relies on nursing theory, rather than developing a personal philosophy, might believe that proper health care involves the administration of medicines and periodic analysis of patient physical condition. However, health is much more than physical well-being, it is a conglomerate of different emotional needs which require fulfillment. Abraham Maslow, a respected psychologist, determined that all people need their basic physiological needs fulfilled and have a sense of belonging before they can be truly satisfied (Weiten and Lloyd, 2005). A proper philosophy in the healthcare field is to try to not only satisfy their physiological needs, by improving physical health, but give patients a temporary sense of belonging at the health care organization to make their stay more rewarding and meaningful. Being sick can lead to many different negative feelings in the patient and warp their personal sense of self-esteem. A nurse which develops their own patient-focused philosophy recognizes opportunities to help build belonging so that the patient does not experience significant drops in self-concept and self-esteem. Yet another component of philosophy which is very important is not necessarily related to the patient, but involves building a more inviting organizational culture. One innovative hospital developed a nursing philosophy where career development, training, and retention were primary goals of the organization. This nursing philosophy believes that nurses (and other staff members) are vital to the success of the organization and works to provide nurses with a more motivating environment through internal incentives promotions. The Poudre Valley Health System developed a five point philosophy where nurses earned a star for completing aspects of their professional development program (Poduska, 2003). This organization had been having problems with turnover and was facing high costs associated with training new employees when unsatisfied nurses left the hospital in favor of better job opportunities. People and human relations focus, as part of a quality nursing philosophy, helps to strengthen relationships between nurses on the staff and to strengthen their relationships with superiors at the administrative level. By having a philosophy where all people are valuable and can be motivated and developed into better caregivers and business contributors, organizational culture is improved and people can be publicly acknowledged for their successes in training and personal growth. One professional nurse suggests that an important component of a nursing philosophy is to be “non-judgmental and is, with the patient, in true presence. It is not an intellectual, know-it-all way of being that is always stiff and bound by rules” (Wu, 2008, p.5). This expert suggests flexibility at both the social and professional level and direct honesty with patients and other organizational staffers as quality philosophy. When patients are being treated in-house, they are essentially forced to let others dictate their health status and much of their personal control is in the hands of physicians and nurses. Patients want accurate information about their condition and have full understanding of the processes or procedures which will be used on them. A quality philosophy should involve recognizing this dependency on nursing staff and working to be honest and always upfront with patients. Difficult or uncooperative patients are part of the nursing field and this aspect of philosophy and being honest and in true presence will likely minimize these disruptive patient occurrences and make the process of delivering healthcare simpler and more rewarding for both the patient and the nurse staff. Collaboration is another part of philosophy which is vital to nursing success, since most health care environments are interdependent on the activities of different staff members. It could be very simplistic for a nurse to simply come to work, provide minimal standards of care, and simply work for the receipt of financial compensation. However, an organization where collaboration occurs gives nurses opportunities to network with other staff members in the organization and build meaningful personal and professional relationships in the process. In rare situations, having a collaborative philosophy can build rewarding patient/nurse relationships if the patient feels they are more interactive in the process of providing health care, rather than simply being dependent on nursing function and expertise. Collaboration is important toward having a more quality organizational culture, building bridges with patients in need, and providing a more efficient system of health care delivery at multiple levels. It is likely that a nurse who does not have a collaborative philosophy will find themselves isolated in many different areas, especially regarding the professional relationship between colleagues and senior managers. Conclusion The important components to a quality philosophy include self-motivation, the recognition that health status is dictated by much more than just physical condition, innovation in employee relations and coaching, being non-judgmental and honest in all patient dealings, and making collaboration a key focus in all business and personal activities. In this mix of philosophical components is also a need for flexibility, therefore not being bound by just policy and rules but making innovative decisions which provide better health care delivery and satisfaction of patients. A nurse who develops these philosophical elements will be much more effective as a healthcare provider and can be a better contributor at the sociological level by working to help develop a more rewarding organizational culture for all staff members. The delivery of health care, in modern society, puts many demands on nurses and other medical staff and requires them to be dynamic workers with multiple skill-sets and training. However, the focus of health services is the well-being of patients, both psychological and physiological, therefore a nurse must recognize all of the aforementioned components necessary to build a philosophy where patient needs are primary. References Ju.edu. (2009). “School of Nursing Philosophy”. Jacksonville University School of Nursing. Accessed 17 Nov 2009 at http://www.ju.edu/depts/nursing/ Poduska, Donna D. (2003). “Nursing gets a star!”. Nursing Management, 34(3), pp.13-16. Smalley, Jane. (2005). “What’s your nursing philosophy?”. Nursing Management, 36(12), p.59. Weiten, W. and Lloyd, M. (2005). Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century. 7th ed. Thompson South-Western. Wu, S.X. (2008). “My Nursing Philosophy as Viewed through Nursing’s Metaparadigm”. Illuminations, Cobourg. 17(2), pp.5-8. Read More