Introduction
In the last decade, nursing has undergone rapid and drastic changes to accommodate the evolving views on patients and the development of patient-oriented policies in health care. The profession is undeniably maturing, with the roles of nurses and their range of responsibilities changing and growing in response to the needs of the industry.
These changes are naturally causing this profession, its role and significance to be reevaluated by the nursing practitioners themselves and healthcare in general. This can cause nurses to question if they are still doing the job they originally wanted to, and if their practice is in harmony with their personal values.
One way to achieve this is by conducting a personal philosophy statement, in order to determine one’s current outlook on the profession and their opinion on where it is heading (Denehy, 2001).
The purpose of this paper is to take an in-depth look at nursing, how it is perceived by the population and by healthcare practitioners, its major domains what future lies ahead of this industry, and, most importantly, how I view it as a practitioner.
Definition of Nursing
Nursing is a vital part of the healthcare industry, which includes individual and collaborative care of patients from diverse backgrounds, regardless of their age, race, sex, family, ethnicity and culture (Nursing, n.d.). It seeks to resolve both physical and mental illnesses, and aims to promote health, prevent the diseases, and address the medical needs and concerns of communities.
The patient is the prime focus of the nurses, and their responsibility is to care for each one in a way that will increase their awareness about their state and the care options available, and help them recover from their illness to full or partial independence as soon as possible (Definition of Nursing, n.d.).
Another important emergent role of nurses in healthcare is enabling interprofessional collaboration, in order to provide the patient with all the relevant help he might need, even from outside the industry.
Assumptions or underlying beliefs
The underlying beliefs and assumptions of nursing go together with the best practices employed in the profession.
Nurses have to understand that the state of the community plays a very important role in their patients’ health, and to provide sufficient care they have to be on the forefront of the healthcare, actively working to improve the communities as well. At the same time, while taking care of the patient, nurses need to respect their individuality and independence. Nurses cannot make choices on behalf of the patients regarding their treatment, but they can empower them with knowledge, so that patients can make educated choices on their own.
To be able to equip the clients with this knowledge and effectively perform their responsibilities, nurses need a deeper understanding of human psychology and medical practices than their education currently provides, which makes creation of an effective, extensive nursing education a major priority for the healthcare industry.
Overall, to be a great nurse one needs to have the empathy and respect for their patients, and a solid educational foundation, augmented by experience passed on from veteran nurses (Hountras, 2015).
Major domains of nursing
Domains of nursing are broad terms which encompass the principle goals, subjects, values, beliefs, and views of the profession. They describe the principle areas nursing concerns itself with.
The person is the first such domain. Nursing practitioners understand that each patient is a valued individual, with unique needs and wants, and each one is an equally integral member of the community. Each person deserves the best possible care, and has the right to confidentiality and self-determination.
The environment is an equally important part of healthcare, and patients can expect hospitals and clinics to be a safe, supportive environment.
The health is a vital aspect, as most of the nurses’ goals align with preserving and improving the patient’ health.
Finally, nursing itself is a domain, as its quality plays a defining role in patients’ recovery. Nurses are responsible with analyzing and improving the responses of patients, their families and communities to the illness and care experiences (Potter, Perry, Hall, & Stockert, 2009).
Summary
These domains are tightly interconnected, and need to be considered together to develop the best practices for efficient patient oriented care. Environment has a strong influence on the quality of nursing and the emotional and physical state of a person. The needs of the person define the environment and nursing practices in healthcare. Good health is the result of quality practices applied to each one of the other domains. There are many other ways in which these connections manifest.
Currently, the importance of nurses continues to grow, and it is very likely that in the near future they will have the same weight and authority in healthcare as the physicians, and the government is already supporting this shift.
Issues like difficulty in communication with the patients and among the staff will remain for some time, and changes in the role of the nurses can create confusion and identity issues among the practitioners. However, as a nurse practitioner, I aim to overcome these issues in my professional development, to be able to provide the best quality patient-oriented service, improve health and save human lives.
References
Definition of Nursing. (n.d.). Web.
Denehy, J. (2001). Articulating Your Philosophy of Nursing. The Journal of School Nursing, 17(1), 1-2.
Hountras, S. C. (2015). What Guides Your Nursing Practice? Journal of Christian Nursing, 32(3), 179-181.
Nursing. (n.d.).
Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G., Hall, A., & Stockert, P. A. (2009). Fundamentals of nursing (7th ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby Elsevier.