Personal Philosophy of Nursing - Research Paper Example

? My Personal Nursing Philosophy "I pledge my honor that I have neither given nor received inappropriate aid on this assignment." My Personal NursingPhilosophy ABSTRACT This essay explains my own personal philosophy of nursing defining the 4 phenomena of concern namely the person, nurse, health and illness and environment as I interpret it from my own perspective. It also compares my own philosophy with Jean Watson’s, who proposed the theory of human caring in nursing and applied it in practice. Further, I explain how my philosophy addresses patients’ various backgrounds and how I facilitate their and their families’ understanding of God’s part in their situation in the attempt to give hope and enlightenment. Finally, I share my view in my personal philosophy’s implications for contemporary and future nursing roles. Keywords: personal philosophy, nursing, patient care, health, Jean Watson Having been exposed to the nursing profession has empowered me to adopt a deeper life perspective in terms of this chosen career of mine. Like most people, I used to box nursing into a job for people who are knowledgeable about health care and applying such knowledge to patients. I also expected nurses to treat their patients kindly, short of patronizing their whims in order for them to recuperate soon. Tasks of nurses were limited to administering medication as ordered by the physician, monitoring patients’ vital signs, making sure that patients are comfortable and ensuring that their environments are clean and sanitary. Upon entering the field, I realized I was right, but what I knew was just the tip of the iceberg. Nursing is so much more than that! It involves a deeper meaning of care and understanding of the person being cared for. My philosophy about nursing broadened as time went by. For me, a nurse has multiple roles. More than a caregiver, she is an educator, an advocate, a counsellor, a manager and a researcher. She is a lifelong learner who tirelessly researches about the latest developments in health care and promotes health practices to her patients. She makes sure they understand what they are going through because in doing so, it gives them power over their illness. Providing them with all the support they need, the nurse involves with the patients’ families and even the community. Focusing on the patients entails the nurse being compassionate to their condition, loving, dependable, empathetic and comforting. The patients are made to feel special, like a beloved family member of the nurse, and not just a generic patient in need of treatment. Quality care is ensured resulting in overall positive outcomes for the patient. The patient is seen as a person with rights to excellent health care. This is not limited to medical care, but to other aspects that affect his health and well-being: physical, psychological, spiritual and cultural. Nurses should take all these in consideration when caring for the person. The patient should be accorded with utmost respect and not be made to feel like a burden because of his illness. His pain and suffering from the illness is not shared by anyone else so he is the expert in terms of how he feels and this should always be considered in his treatment. The environment where the patient is cared for, whether it is a hospital or clinic, is conducive to healing because it considers all the factors affecting the person’s health and well-being (physical, psychological, spiritual and cultural). It is the role of the nurse that the needs of the patient in all these areas are met. Health is the outcome of the interaction of a person with the environment and constantly changes over time. This implies that efficient nursing care achieves the health goals for the person being cared for adopting the most current and most effective interventions for his illness and customizing it to the person’s personal, family and cultural background. My nursing philosophy has been heavily influenced by Jean Watson, a nursing theorist who proposed the Theory of Human Caring. This theory describes nursing care as transpersonal meaning both the nurse and the patient are connected in their mutual search for meaning, comfort and healing (Watson, 2001). The nurse goes beyond her own perspective to reach a deep spiritual connection with the patient’s own perspective with the goal of “protecting, enhancing and preserving the person’s dignity, humanity, wholeness and inner harmony” (Cara, 1999, n.p.). Like Watson, I believe that patients should be treated as someone the nurse personally knows and cares about, like a family member. The nurse invests much time and patience in listening to the patient’s feelings as well as be open to sharing her own. This results in the patient trusting the nurse because of her empathy, warmth and care for him. Examples of showing care would be maintaining eye contact with the patient while talking, explaining the procedures done to him thoroughly and making sure he understands everything, giving appropriate touch such as tapping the patients’ shoulder and making him feel at ease in the caring environment. The nurse engages in conversations with the patient and makes the effort to lift his spirits up. Coming from a very close-knit, Hispanic family, I am accustomed to treating others with kindness and affection. It does not matter what cultural background they come from nor their age or gender, but I was raised to treat others without any prejudice. This is an essential feature in my own philosophy in nursing. If I had a dying patient who comes from a cultural background which I find offensive, then it would affect my treatment of him. This is something I would want to prevent, so I see people as people, without any labels in my mind. Still, in knowing them well, I need to consider their backgrounds so I can suit my care to their preferences and beliefs and not mine. Nursing is based on scientific theories of medicine. However, because I believe in a higher being, this belief is integrated in my own philosophy. I agree with Watson’s (1988) contention that a person holds three spheres of being namely the mind, body and spirit. Hence, as a nurse, I should not only cater to the health of the person’s body and mind which medical science can explain logically but also his spirit. One of Watson’s carative factors which I hold as very important is faith-hope. This is where the person’s spirituality is involved. I respect the person’s spiritual beliefs as well as his family’s. I believe each person knows that a higher being exists who takes care of all of us no matter what religious denomination we come from. Faith in one God gives hope to the sick and dying, and when modern science has nothing further to offer with regards to the person’s treatment, I as the nurse can continue to encourage my patient and his family to keep the faith and pray because miracles do happen. Putting them in that disposition provides a sense of peace and well-being. It is also my own way of sharing my spiritual beliefs and giving praise and honor to God. I can also open them to the possibility of death and prepare them for this eventuality because it may be deemed to be a reasonable consequence of the illness. Death may be God’s way of restoring their peace and comfort. It will surely be a painful fact of life but eventually, it ends suffering for all. Hopefully this strengthens or restores their belief in God. My philosophy in nursing may be shared by several of my peers who believe that health care rooted on the principles of altruism, compassion, uplifting of human dignity, integrity, social justice and respect for human life. Whereas in the past, there were guidelines for nurses to establish a certain distance with the patients and not to form any personal relationships so objectivity is maintained (Potter & Perry, 1992), I subscribe to Watson’s advocacy to invest in a more personal connection with them. I believe that since human beings are meant to interact and not isolate themselves, establishing and nurturing human connections significantly contribute to healing. Since this belief is getting to be accepted by more medical practitioners, nursing roles will have a paradigm shift and lend more warmth and caring to patients by engaging in more personal interactions with them. For me, it is a better way to support patients and make them feel that they are not alone in their suffering and that others, specifically their nurses, see from their perspectives and are more efficient in accompanying them in their journey to wellness, or death, for that matter. References Cara, C. (1999). Caring philosophy and theory for the advancement of the nursing discipline. Closing key note conference. XVI Jornades Catalanes d’infermeria Intensiva, Barcelone, Espagne. Potter A Patricia, Perry G Anne (1992) Fundamentals Of Nursing –Concepts Process & Practice 3rd ed. London Mosby Year Book. Watson, J. (1988b). Nursing: Human science and human care. A theory of nursing (2nd printing). New York: National League for Nursing. (Original work published in 1985.) Watson, J. (2001). Jean Watson: Theory of human caring. In M.E. Parker (Ed.), Nursing theories and nursing practice (pp. 343-354). Philadelphia: Davis. Read More