I believe that the nursing profession is one of the noblest professions in the world. Indeed, this can even be traced back to its pioneers such as Florence Nightingale who concerned themselves with looking after those who were injured during the war. Like any other person, they could have chosen to sit on the fence and avoid doing anything. On the contrary, they immersed themselves in the war, not to fight, but to look after those injured during the war. This was irrespective of which side they belonged to. The care that Florence Nightingale and other pioneers provided to the injured persons saved a lot of lives. It also made life much more bearable for those who were injured during the war but had no one to look after them. It is these profound acts of Florence Nightingale and other early pioneers that underlie my personal philosophy on the nursing profession. I believe that nursing is anchored on a number of pillars. Significant among these are service, dedication, professionalism, commitment, empathy, and sacrifice. My personal philosophy on nursing is that it is a blend of both science and art that is nuanced heavily by the pillars mentioned above. The succeeding sections of this submission will highlight these pillars.
Nursing involves dealing with people. It involves providing an essential service to persons who would be worse off if that service is not provided. As such, nursing is not a product but a service. It is a service whose value at times cannot be adequately quantified in terms of money. Indeed, it is a service which from time to time is actually provided without even monetary considerations. An illustrative case could be emergencies where nurses are among the people who are significantly involved in providing emergency services to victims.
I believe that nursing also requires a significant deal of professionalism. This is because it is a profession where one gets exposed to the private lives of their patients. In some cases, patients may lose all hope and only look upon the nurse. By virtue of this, it is incumbent upon nurses to exercise a significant deal of professionalism in discharging their duties. Any departure from this would be a deliberate violation of the ethos of the nursing profession. In addition, commitment is an essential pillar of the nursing profession. A nurse must be committed to his or her duties. This is especially because on innumerable occasions, the actions or inaction of a nurse may be the difference between life and death for a patient.
Furthermore, commitment is an essential pillar of the nursing profession as this is a vocation which by its very nature can be very demanding.
Empathy is another significant pillar of the nursing profession. A nurse must be able to empathize with their patient. They must however strike a balance between empathy and professionalism. Neither can be sacrificed at the altar of the other. Both are invaluable. Nursing is a profession which involves providing care and looking after fellow human beings. This can only be done efficiently where one empathizes with their patients.
Lastly, nursing requires sacrifice. One must be prepared to work at “odd” hours. They must also prepare to be away from their families while in the line of duty. Nevertheless, it is a sacrifice worth the price. These six intertwined concepts are what shape my philosophy on nursing.
