My nursing philosophy

My nursing philosophy

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My nursing philosophy

Being a registered nurse with the community Hospice of Albany County, and having practiced nursing for some years now, I am a holder of the belief that; to practice nursing effectively and professionally, one must be having their own personal philosophy. On my part, it is fortunate for me because I am in my career of choice. One aspect of life that motivates me, and keeps me going, is my unique perspective of looking at the profession of nursing. My nursing philosophy explains my beliefs, attitudes, values and the guiding principles of the professional and ethical practice of nursing.

Although people have argued differently concerning nursing being either an art or even a science, I tend to believe that nursing is both an art and a science. In the care of patients, one has to apply artistic and scientific skills in order to achieve a better outcome for the patient. I believe nursing is an art because I have to use my hands artistically to do for the patient that which they are not able to do for themselves. In the practice of nursing, it gives me relief to the patient being free. Seeing a patients struggling to do something that I can help gives me a lot of pain. This empathetic feeling has given me a lot of motivation in my profession. I use my hands to apply my artistic skills in order to help the patient. When I see my patients comfortable, the joy of my life is accomplished. I say nursing is also a science because I have to develop my knowledge base. I believe in taking action to a patient with the basis of taking that action. I believe in having scientific rationale for every action I do for the patient. In this case, I cannot do for the patient anything I wish, without considering the implications of doing it, or even failing to do it.

For me to exercise what I believe in relation to my nursing philosophy, there are certain aspects of care that should be available. For example, there must be an environment of care, I as the nurse, the patient and also the state of health must be considered. For nursing to accomplish what it is meant for, I believe all these components should interact to control and improve the environment of care. The environment of the person as a whole, has to be looked through using the lens of care, in order to determine how best to achieve the objectives of the nursing philosophy. In this case, for nursing to distinguish itself as a profession, it should consider the continuum of health, from health, all through to illness and even to death.

The patient counts as the focus point for nursing. The mission of the hospice I am working for has a very important statement that completely rhymes with my view on a patient as a component of my nursing philosophy. It states that; the hospital aims at treating all the patients with compassion, dignity and hospitality, as it is possible, with all the available human potential. As I care for my patients, I have always wanted to think of myself lying in that bed. This provokes my mind to think of what I would like done to me. This is what guides me in planning patient’s care. Going by this, the goal of a nurse that I believe in is trying my best to improve the health results of my patient in the health continuum. To make sure I accomplish this, I view the patient holistically, and consider how best I can make them enjoy life in the state they are in. through this, I believe that the environment of care should be controlled by the nurse in order to achieve the health of the patient. In a broader sense, these components interact in a certain relationship. In the event that the nurse has not taken care of the environment of the patient, the patient will not realize their health. Therefore, the interrelations that exist between the patient, nurse and the environment, determine the health of the patient. In lieu of this, the nurse intervenes to control the environment in the health continuum, and make sure the patient realizes their health.

As a nurse leader, educator and practitioner and as a believer I nursing as both an art and a science, I do not hold a fixed mind about my conceptual model in nursing. Instead, I am a believer in nursing research that is both qualitative and quantitative. This is the best model through which the body of knowledge will be developed. As a nurse leader and practitioner, I am directly involved in the management of patient care. The cases of patients are diverse and they differ greatly. The diversity of this field points to the diversity of the need of knowledge. Therefore, I embrace scientific research in nursing to widen the knowledge base, which can even be applied to modify my nursing philosophy. Again as a nurse educator, I have a role of preparing nurses who will demonstrate a wide base of knowledge in the practice, and be equipped enough to handle the challenges in the ground. For me to achieve this as an educator, I have to embrace a wide base of knowledge and skills, which comes only through research. This shows why I am a believer and advocate of nursing research. If I am able to accomplish all these, I am sure I will be living my dream.