Introduction
Nursing philosophy is an ultimate expression of the nurse’s values, beliefs, and experience that can be applied to their work with patients. Many notable nurses conceptualized and promoted their own philosophies of nursing. However, developing a personal philosophy of nursing can help nurses to explore their understanding of the profession. The present paper will explain my personal philosophy of nurses, describe its application to practice, and analyze its strengths and limitations.
Key Concepts
The three fundamental concepts of my nursing philosophy are patient-centered care, cultural sensitivity, and evidence-based practice. Patient-centered care is an important component of my nursing philosophy, as I believe that nursing care should be focused on improving the patient’s wellbeing. Cultural sensitivity is also essential, as I often treat patients from other cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Establishing a connection with all patients despite cultural differences can help to improve patient outcomes and facilitate the cooperation between patients and health professionals. Lastly, an evidence-based approach to care is vital in today’s healthcare environment. Every day, new treatments and interventions are being tested. Ensuring that patients receive care that was proven to be effective is critical to assist patients in their recovery.
Metaparadigms
There are four meta paradigms that constitute nursing: person, environment, health, and nursing. In my view of nursing, a person is an individual who needs nursing care. Working in geriatric care, I see that every person has different needs and requirements in terms of care. Therefore, in my view, a person has a unique set of needs, beliefs, and personal characteristics that can affect the way the care is prescribed or delivered.
The environment, according to my philosophy of nursing, is a set of external circumstances affecting the person’s health. I believe that environmental factors play an important role in the nursing process. For instance, Florence Nightingale emphasized the role of hygiene in the treatment of illness (Lee, Clark, & Thompson, 2013). In geriatric care, poor sanitation and cluttering of hospital rooms are among the most common environmental factors affecting patient health.
Health is often viewed as the end goal of nursing, and my perception is no different. I believe that health is a state when a person can live and enjoy life as best as they can. This view of health is appropriate for me, as I often see patients with chronic illnesses or conditions that affect their quality of life. For these patients, reaching ideal health is impossible. However, appropriate nursing care can help them to feel better and be more active, which would also fit in my definition of health.
Lastly, nursing is the process of fulfilling the patient’s needs in order to help them in achieving better health. This view applies to my current practice, as I attempt to approach each patient individually to determine their needs and decide on how best to fulfill them.
Philosophy
My philosophy of nursing can be applied in all areas of nursing, as it is suitable for various settings. For instance, in research, my theory could be applied to study the impact of patient-centered and culturally sensitive care on patient outcomes. In administration, my philosophy could be used for developing guidelines and policies regarding the nursing process. Specifically, it could help in promoting evidence-based practice, which would help hospitals in achieving better patient health outcomes, reducing the risk of complications, and lowering the length of stay (Emparanza, Cabello, & Burls, 2015). In education, applying my theory could assist in promoting and teaching a patient-centered approach to care. Moreover, it could be taught in connection with the theory of transcultural nursing to improve students’ cultural competence (Prosen, 2015). Therefore, my personal philosophy of nursing is rather versatile and suits many practice settings.
In my present practice, my nursing philosophy can be used to facilitate communication between nurses and patients, as well as to improve patient satisfaction. In geriatric care, nurses often focus on increasing patients’ quality of life rather than reaching a full recovery, which is why my theory is especially relevant to this practice area. Moreover, my philosophy can be applied to improve environmental conditions in my place of work.
Strengths and Limitations
The first advantage of my personal nursing philosophy is that it is versatile. Therefore, I can apply it in all areas of my work, including practice, education, and administration. Secondly, my personal nursing philosophy addresses current issues and trends in healthcare, including diversity and the need for evidence-based practice. Moreover, my theory focuses on the patient’s needs rather than on the nursing process, which will likely help me in improving patient satisfaction scores. However, there are also some limitations to my philosophy. Mainly, it is relatively simplistic and does not tackle certain issues relevant to the profession, such as communication, autonomy, and stress.
Conclusion
Overall, my personal philosophy of nursing promotes patient-centered, culturally sensitive care based on solid research evidence. This approach can be applied in various settings and can help in improving care in hospitals and nursing homes. Developing my nursing philosophy further based on my experience and knowledge will assist me in developing a more detailed and comprehensive view of nursing.
References
Emparanza, J. I., Cabello, J. B., & Burls, A. J. (2015). Does evidence‐based practice improve patient outcomes? An analysis of a natural experiment in a Spanish hospital. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 21(6), 1059-1065.
Lee, G., Clark, A. M., & Thompson, D. R. (2013). Florence Nightingale – Never more relevant than today. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 69(2), 245-246.
Prosen, M. (2015). Introducing transcultural nursing education: Implementation of transcultural nursing in the postgraduate nursing curriculum. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174, 149-155.