Introduction to personal philosophy
The patron of modern-day nursing Florence Nightingale saw nursing as fine art that required dedication and personal input (Sitzman & Eichelberger, 2015). Subsequent philosophies have built upon the idea of nursing as a higher-order discipline. However, my philosophy of nursing takes a modern approach by incorporating the spirit of Nightingale’s philosophy and covering a growing concern in modern society. My nursing philosophy is: Be there for people when they need you the most. This philosophy takes into account that most noble callings have yielded to capitalism in today’s narcissistic society. For instance, even when most professionals such as doctors and counselors claim to help people, money is often a key motivation for them. However, it is important to note that nursing as a profession has remained largely uninhibited over the last century. When people are hurt, invalid or confused nurses can be there to lessen their worries. Therefore, the most effective aspect of nursing is to be there when people need you the most because that is when the overall experience reaches a climax for both the nurse and the client.
Consideration of Metaparadigms
This philosophy fits well into the four Metaparadigms of nursing namely nursing, person, health, and environment (Bender & Feldman, 2015). Being there for people when they need you the most captures the core element of the nursing practice. Throughout history, nurses have always acted as the last line of defense in times of disasters like the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Various aspects of nursing have changed but nurses are still reliable in any perceivable humanitarian crisis. As a person, I see my purpose as having a strong connection to the impact that I have on other people’s lives. Therefore, nursing provides me with an opportunity to have an impact on client’s lives during critical moments. In the technological age, health has mostly changed from focusing on sickness to being concentrated on overall human wellness. Therefore, my nursing philosophy considers the impact that my profession has on ordinary lives and not just that of patients. The same case applies to different situations or environments where my input as a nurse is required. Although these situations might vary from an intensive care unit to an elderly care center, I always expect to find myself in situations where people need more than I need them.
Application of philosophy
My philosophy can be easily applied to my present nursing practice because it instills to me a responsive rather than a reactive attitude. As a nurse, I have found that reacting to a situation only ends up creating more problems. Therefore, every day of my training and research prepares me in the best manner of responding to situations instead of waiting for things to happen so that I can react. On the other hand, a nurse who is there for people when they need him/her the most can create an atmosphere of wellness wherever he/she goes. Administrators should also be lucky to have a mentally strong nurse, who is unlikely to be overwhelmed by situations.
Philosophy’s strengths and weaknesses
One strength I find in my philosophy is that it enables me to have a good state of mind in the course of my activities as a professional. Nurses encounter a myriad of stress-inducing factors in the course of their work. However, when I know that my job is to serve the interests of the people who need me the most, these stress factors do not matter much. The main limitation of my philosophy is that it tends to consider clients as helpless. This approach can be misleading because wellness can only be delivered through collaboration between clients and health providers.
References
Bender, M., & Feldman, M. S. (2015). A practice theory approach to understanding the interdependency of nursing practice and the environment: Implications for nurse-led care delivery models. Advances in Nursing Science, 38(2), 96-109.
Sitzman, K., & Eichelberger, L. W. (2015). Understanding the work of nurse theorists. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.