Philosophy of Nursing, Nurse Educator - Essay Example

All the characteristics need to exist in nurses, a fact that verifies the relationship between nursing and philosophy.
Environment

The environment is necessarily related to nursing. The term environment, as a concept related to the philosophy but also to nursing, can have a series of meanings, depending on the subject to which environment is related (Cody & Cody 2011). For example, for patients, the environment can refer to their social environment, including family and friends, but also to their physical environment, as, for example, the health care setting where they have been admitted for a specific treatment (Cody & Cody 2011, p.149). However, the environment can have another aspect: it can be used for describing the world in general. For example, in the context of utilitarianism, the environment can have such meaning, indicating the obligation of a person to help people around him (Cody & Cody 2011, p.149). In nursing, the use of the term environment can be quite critical, especially if the specific term is given an explanation aligning with the principles of utilitarianism, as described above.

Health
Different approaches have been used for explaining health. Most commonly, the term health is used for describing the physical or mental status of a person (Cody & Cody 2011). However, the above term can be also used in order to reflect the differentiation of a person from his environment (Cody & Cody 2011). For example, when a person responds to a particular event in a different way than most people would respond, then it can be assumed that the particular person has a health problem, a mental problem that prevents him from reacting as expected. The term health has another aspect: it can be used for describing the potential of a person to face a health problem. More specifically, for certain people health is of critical importance while for others health is just an aspect of life, not worth more than the other aspects of life (Masters 2009). In this context, certain people tend to face health problems with patients, while other face difficulties in accepting that they have a health problem (Masters 2009). Health, as a concept, also denotes the style of life that a person needs to adopt. For example, eating food that is of certain ingredients can be considered healthy while the food of another type may be characterized as unhealthy (Kelly 2009).

Nursing
The involvement of philosophy in nursing cannot be denied. Kelly (2009) refers to ‘the philosophy of nursing that it can be highly affected by the personal philosophy of nursing students’ (Kelly 2009, p.345). The term philosophy in the above case is mostly used for explaining the views of nursing students on ‘knowledge and human conduct’ (Kelly 2009, p.345). For nurses also, philosophy could have a similar value. The value of philosophy for nursing is also verified through the following fact: there is a series of ethical rules, based on philosophy, which is extensively used for evaluating the behavior of nurses at work. Reference is made, as an example, to deontology, a theory that relates actions to existing ethical rules, and to teleology, a theory that regards actions as focusing on the achievement of a particular target (Kelly 2009, p.345).

Nurse Educator
At a first level, nursing educators and nursing students are human beings (Weisstub & Diaz 2007, p.94). From this point of view, their behavior is normally based on certain values, a key characteristic of a person as this term is used in philosophy’ (Weisstub & Diaz 2007, p.94). In any case, nursing educators promote philosophy not for promoting their own interests but for highlighting the values and the rules of nursing (Mashaba & Brink 1994, p.7). Cody & Cody (2011) notes that philosophy is used in nursing education for helping nursing students to understand key rules and values of nursing; for example, when teaching, nursing educators can use symbols, ideas and words that describe clear these rules and values (Cody & Cody 2011, p.88). It should be noted that the level at which a nurse educator promotes the philosophy of nursing reflects his willingness to emphasize his ‘professional development (Gaberson & Oermann 2010, p.5).