Philosophy of Nursing - Report Example

Philosophy of Nursing Introduction Nursing is a very unique profession considering that nursesare responsible not only in providing care to the patients but also to deal with situational cases that is commonly molded by each the patients’ cultural backgrounds, beliefs, and personality. Aside from rendering health care services to patients within the health care settings, nurses also plays a crucial role as community health educators. For this study, definition of nursing will be provided to enable the readers to have a better understanding of the subject matter followed by discussing why the student nurse considers nursing as a combined art and science. As part of articulating my own personal philosophy of nursing, the student nurse will discuss the functions and primary goal of nursing including the important personal values that are embedded in my philosophy of nursing. Upon discussing the ways in which my personal philosophy of nursing directs my nursing practice, the relationship between my personal beliefs and the ethical principles of nursing practice as outlined by the Canadian Nurse Association will be tackled prior to conclusion. Definition of Nursing RCN defined nursing as “the use of clinical judgment and the provision of care to enable people to promote, improve, maintain, and recover health aside from allowing patients to die peacefully in case death is inevitable” (Scott, 2002). In line with the definition of nursing, the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) considers nursing practice as “a dynamic, caring, helping relationship wherein nurses assist the patients to achieve and obtain optimal health” (Kozier et al., 2004, p. 7). In other words, nurses are responsible not only in the provision of health care services to patients who are expected to recover from a disease and those who are experiencing the negative health consequences associated with having a non-treatable disease(s) but also actively involved in health prevention programs. Nursing as a Combined Art and Science Nursing is a combination of art and science because of the complexity of care nurses has to render to each patient. As explained in Nightingale (1859), nursing is an art simply because rendering health care to patients require a lot of devotion on the part of the nurses (Donahue, 1996, p. 501). It is also an art since nurses are required to have a special caring skill aside from considering not only the emotional, mental, and psychological well-being and the spiritual growth but also the cleanliness of the environment that surrounds the patient(s) which can be perfected out of having many years of experience (Michalis, 2002; Nightingale, 1969, p. 8; Nightingale, NOTES ON NURSING: What it is, and what it is not, 1860). To enable nurses to render effective holistic care to patients, nurses are expected to have scientific-based knowledge when it comes to administering prescribed drugs to patients aside from learning the anatomical structure of a human body among others. Main Function and Primary Goal of Nursing The primary goal of nursing is to increase the physical functioning of each patient by preparing a health care plan that can promote the health recovery of the patients. (Kresevic, 2008) As part of making the goal attainable, nurses assist the sick patients with his/her treatment and the period of recovery or peaceful death aside from educating each individual on how to prevent and protect the patients from acquiring different diseases (Henderson, 1966, p. 39). In line with the main function of nurses, this group of healthcare professionals assists the patients in bathing and other forms of activities of daily living whenever necessary such as in the case of a patient in coma. Important Personal Values Embedded in My Philosophy of Nursing and Ways wherein My Personal Philosophy of Nursing Directs My Nursing Practice When rendering care and treatment to each patient, nurses should examine the values of each patient regarding how they perceive life, death, health, and illnesses. By considering the personal outlook and values of each patient when it comes to these matters, it would be easier on the part of the student nurse to select the best personal values to use in the case of each patient. Among the personal values that are embedded in my personal philosophy of nursing includes: (1) altruism; (2) autonomy; (3) human dignity; (4) integrity; and (5) social justice. Altruism actually considers the welfare and well-being of each patient by allowing the nurse student to reflect her own concern with regards to the patient’s health and safety. (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 1998, p. 9) This particular nursing value is important when the patient undergoes treatment and recovery period. The ability of the nursing student to show sincere sympathy with the patient’s health condition can be helpful in enhancing the recovery period of each patient. Autonomy is about respecting the patient’s right to make his/her own decision with regards to the treatment and caring each patient will receive from the student nurses. (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 1998, p. 9) Autonomy is an important personal value that will enable the student nurse to avoid facing any unnecessary legal problems associated with disrespecting the patient’s right to make important health care decisions. Similar to the concept of autonomy, human dignity is about respecting the patient’s personal worth and uniqueness as compared to other individuals (Kozier et al., 2004, p. 70; American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 1998, p. 9). It also includes respecting the patient’s personal privacy and confidentiality with regards to his/her health condition. Basically, valuing the human dignity of each person will enable the student nurse to render an unbiased health care service to all patients regardless of their age, gender, race, nationality, personal beliefs, and health condition. Integrity and social justice is about strictly following the universally accepted nursing code of ethics and the standard of practices including the importance of applying the moral, legal, and humanistic principles into the nursing practice respectively. (Kozier et al., 2004, p. 40; American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 1998, p. 10) Relationship between My Personal Beliefs and the Ethical Principles of Nursing Practice as Outlined by the Canadian Nurse Association (CNA) My personal belief with regards to ethics behind the universally accepted nursing practice is highly related with the guidelines being outlined by CNA. CNA published the code of ethics for registered nurses in order to guide them with the proper ethical behavior when providing care and treatment for the patients. As part of CNA’s code of ethics, nurses are expected to follow the eight primary values known as: (1) safe, competent, and ethical care; (2) health and well-being; (3) choice; (4) dignity; (5) confidentiality; (6) justice; (7) accountability; and (8) quality practice environment (Illinois Institute of Technology, 2008). Basically, personal values related to altruism, human dignity, integrity, and social justice are all necessary when it comes to enabling the student nurse to provide the patients with safe, competent, and ethical care including the nurses’ role when it comes to health promotional activities. Given that the student nurse failed to acknowledge the importance of these essential personal values, the student nurse would be unlikely to deliver a good quality health care service to each individual who needs the professional service of a nurse. The health care code of ethics states that health care practitioners should at all times respect the confidentiality and anonymity of patients with learning disability, communication difficulty, or those who are physically- or mentally-ill patients. (Bailey, 2007; Kneafsey, 2007) The fact that the student nurse recognizes the importance of autonomy which is also included in the list of CNA’s code of ethics particularly on issues related to confidentiality and/or patient’s informed consent is a positive sign that the student nurse’s personal philosophy of nursing is based on the universally accepted nursing care practice. Conclusion Student nurses should consider CNA’s published code of ethics prior to developing his/her personal philosophy of nursing in order to avoid facing unnecessary legal cases associated with failure to acknowledge the universally accepted nursing practice. References: American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (1998). The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice. Washington, DC: AACN. Bailey, G. (2007). NASW Standards for Social Work Practice in Palliative and End of Life Care. Retrieved October 17, 2008, from National Association of Social Workers: http://www.naswdc.org/practice/bereavement/standards/default.asp Donahue, M. (1996). Nursing the Finest Art. An illustrated history. In Michalis R. (ed) Nursing as an Art ICUs and Nursing Web Journal. 2002. 9(Jan. - Mar.):1 - 14. Henderson, V. (1966). The nature of nursing, Macmillan. In Michalis R. (ed) Nursing as an Art ICUs and Nursing Web Journal. 2002. 9(Jan. - Mar.):1 - 14. Illinois Institute of Technology. (2008). Retrieved October 17, 2008, from Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at IIT: Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses : http://ethics.iit.edu/codes/coe/can.nurses.assoc.coe.html Kneafsey, R. (2007). Research Ethics: RCN Guidance for Nurses. Royal College of Nursing , 1 - 11. Kozier, B., Erb, G., Berman, A., & Snyder, S. (2004). Fundamentals of Nursing: Concepts, Process, and Practice. Pearson Prentice Hall. Kresevic, D. M. (2008, January). Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing. Retrieved October 17, 2008, from Function: Nursing Standard of Practice Protocol: Assessment of Function in Acute Care: http://www.consultgerirn.org/topics/function/want_to_know_more Michalis, R. (2002). Nursing as an Art. ICUs and Nursing Web Journal , 9(January - March):1 - 14. Nightingale, F. (1860). Retrieved October 17, 2008, from NOTES ON NURSING: What it is, and what it is not: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/nightingale/nursing/nursing.html#I Nightingale, F. (1969). Notes on nursing: What it is and what it is not. Dover Publications, Inc. Scott, H. (2002). RCNs definition of nursing: what makes nursing unique? British Journal of Nursing , 11(21):1356. Read More