Personal Philosophy of Nursing
Abstract
Nursing philosophy is one of the core aspects in the provision of healthcare services. My personal nursing philosophy seeks to enhance the provision of efficient care to all patients. According to me, human nature is the fundamental aspect that governs the type of care a nurse provides to a patient. Additionally, I believe that it is my responsibility as a nurse to uphold human dignity in my interaction with patients. I should learn to perceive the world from a client’s perspective to ensure that I gain the trust of the patient an aspect that places me in a better position to educate the patient. Concerning nursing, I believe individualized nursing is the best and I should be guided by certain core values. A comparison of my personal philosophy and that of my employing institution and the Aurora School of Nursing’ mission and themes provides evidence that philosophy permeates faculty thinking.
Personal Philosophy of Nursing
The act of caring in the nursing field is based on the human nature. Human beings have feelings and are vulnerable beings, thus require the best of care especially when they are in need of healthcare services. When caring for someone or rather a patient, I am giving reassurance to the patient about his or her health. Human beings have the capacity to suffer and feel pain or pleasure. Patients not only entrust their health but also their lives to nurses. This requires in the part of the caregiver, appreciation of the facts of human vulnerability, their capacity to suffer and to experience the world. It follows from this aspect that the types and/or kinds of caring acts, which are necessary to nursing, are those that derive from recognition that patients have the capacity to feel pain and to experience suffering both physically and psychologically.
Besides the appreciation of the fact that human beings are vulnerable, I believe in the diversity in the views that different people hold as far as their health is concerned. Every human being has a characteristic view or rather perspective from which he/she experiences the world. Nurses, being human beings, might want to dictate on the patient’s view of the world. On the contrary, as the caregiver, I should learn to view most healthcare issues from the patient’s point of view. This not only boosts the patient’s confidence in the healthcare services but also makes the nurse to handle the patient in a friendlier manner. This process of learning and getting into the patient’s ‘shoes’ ensures that the patient receives the most appropriate attention.
I believe that health is the most crucial aspect in nursing practice. Consequently, I should be concerned with the maintenance, improvement and the support of health as well as the causes of and the management of all types of illness. I should have a very good understanding of all the aspects or rather concepts of not only health but also illness. I strongly believe the lack of such knowledge is detrimental to my ability to practice nursing effectively. It would also affect my ability to meet the needs of the individuals who need my services as a nurse.
I value human dignity i.e. the ability to treat all people, in this case patients, with the utmost morality and respect. This entails the use of appropriate use of not only listening but also all other communication skills and creating the most conducive environment for the patient. Moreover, this calls for one to be responsive to all of the patient’s needs, which entails remembering the basics. I uphold the value of life that I should never terminate an individual’s life. I also value everyone’s privacy.
I believe that nursing should be geared towards meeting the specific needs of an individual as opposed to service led-care (offering my services without considering the patient’s feelings). It is my duty to know each one of my patients as a unique individual. This will enable me to tailor my practices (nursing care) to a patient’s feelings, behaviors as well as experiences. My nursing relationship with a patient should be based on accountability, advocacy, assertiveness, commitment, coordination, autonomy and authority among other values.
B) Comparison of my philosophy with that of my employing institution (Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora)
Offering quality care and comfort is essential in the provision of health care services. They enable the patient to feel at ease while in the hospital and to develop a close relationship with the caregiver or rather the nurse. Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora not only believes but also is dedicated to providing quality care to its patients. One of the hospitals promises is to do everything possible to please the patients/clients besides providing them with comfort and safety. It is an aspect that is in line with the provision of quality care as per my personal philosophy.
Another aspect that is essential as far as nursing philosophy is concerned is the ability to perceive the world from the patient’s point of view. It is achieved from the learning process whereby the nurse spends time to learn more about a given patient. This gives the patient an opportunity to participate in their care-indirectly (Daly, Speedy and Jackson, 2005, p. 126). My employing institution promises to give patients every opportunity to participate in their care. The nurses not only learn from some of the things that the client does or even says but gets to learn how to handle them well. This supports my philosophy about learning as a key aspect in the provision of healthcare services.
Respect for the client’s privacy forms part of the institution’s nursing philosophy. It is one of the fundamental aspects as far as promoting human dignity is concerned (Lloyd et al., 2011, p. 122). Another element that seeks to promote human dignity is the provision of not only comprehensive but also timely communication to the patient. These are in line with my personal nursing philosophy. However, the institution narrows the aspect of human dignity to the two elements whereas my personal philosophy gives a rather broad perspective about human dignity. In my personal philosophy some of the additional factors that come into play in promoting human dignity are listening to the opinions of the patient i.e. should not ignore them out rightly; valuing their views and remembering all the most aspects that the patient holds dear or rather values.
Another fundamental aspect of the institution is its belief that the quality of services delivered by its nurses depends on the well-being of the nurse. Therefore, the management is dedicated to ensuring that the needs of the nurses are taken care of and that the nurses are nurtured appropriately. The institution has identified six principles that enhance the realization of this goal. They include “shared decision-making, collaborative communication, advancement and recognition, education and academic pursuits, staffing and scheduling, and clinical and non-clinical support” (Rush-Copley, 2013, para. 2). This gives the institution’s beliefs a more detailed approach than my personal philosophy. I support their belief that it’s the responsibility of the institution to ensure that the nurses have the full capacity to perform their duties efficiently.
Compared with the institution’s philosophy, my personal philosophy has left out some important aspects that are associated with nursing care. Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora takes into account the provision of healthy delicious food and a sparkling clean environment. No one should assume these two aspects, as they are very important to the patient’s well-being (Lloyd et al., 2011, p. 106).
C) My personal philosophy and Aurora University School of Nursing’s mission statements and themes
The Aurora University School of Nursing believes that nurses must fit in different titles while offering their services to the community. They should be “providers, educators, researchers, managers and advocates” (Aurora University, 2013, para. 2). This is similar to my personal philosophy in several ways. First, I believe that nurses should give quality care to the patients. This enhances the provision of quality healthcare services to all the members of the society who might be in need of them i.e. the sick. Secondly, one of my philosophies is that all nurses should be able to learn as well as identify with the client in every possible way. This ensures that a nurse supports the client’s views and beliefs. This increases the trust of a patient to the nurse and aspect that enables him/her to agree with most of the suggestions made by the nurse. As such, the nurse takes the advantage of the trust to ensure that the client receives what is best for their condition therefore acting as their advocate. As indicated in my philosophy, a nurse should be fully dedicated in his work to ensure the well-being of the patient-the nursing aspect. At times, the nurse is required to teach the patient certain new aspects that are geared towards improving their health. Having gained the confidence of the patient, the nurse is therefore the best person to inform the client of all the matters or rather aspects that enhance their well-being as far as their health is concerned. In such instances, the nurse acts as an educator. Through these interactions and roles of a nurse to a patient, I have seen evidence that philosophy permeates faculty thinking.
References
Aurora University. (2013). School of Nursing. Retrieved from
http://www.aurora.edu/academics/colleges-schools/nursing/index.html#axzz2OJ8zGT8o
Daly, J., Speedy, S., & Jackson, D. (2005). Professional Nursing: Concepts, Issues and
Challenges. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Lloyd, H., et al. (2011). Vital Notes for Nurses Principal Care. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Rush-Copley. (2013). Nursing at Rush-Copley. Retrieved from
http://www.rushcopley.com/services/nursing/.
