I believe that in order to become a professional nurse, it is necessary to understand why this occupation is important and what exactly it means for the person. If a future nurse doesn’t consider these questions, it can often result in overall dissatisfaction with the work, which will turn into burdensome routine. I don’t want to find myself in such a situation and I know that I won’t, as I have clear understanding of what I want from my life in general and from my work in particular. In this paper I will briefly describe my understanding of the nursing philosophy.
First of all, I want to address the question of what health is. According to the World Health Organization’s definition, it is a state of complete mental, physical and social well-being, which means that it is not merely the absence of infirmity of disease (Nordqvist, 2009). I agree with such a definition, especially with its second part, as I don’t think that when people are not ill, they are healthy. In my point of view, it is this well-being in all aspects that we have to pursue and it is clear that without proper attitude to this problem it is impossible to be healthy. To make it more clear, those people who are constantly try to find some diseases in themselves are never healthy and it is necessary to address psychologists if such worldview is chosen by a person.
The second problem I am going to consider is the definition of illness. As it is stated in the American Heritage Dictionary, it is a state of poor health resulting from disease of mind or body (2000). For me this concept is deeper, as I believe that the majority of illnesses initially come from our mind. I am sure that when a person develops his/her personality in the right way, having no major problems with the external world, a special harmony can be achieved, which results not only in pleasant and interesting life, but also in the absence of illnesses as well.
In the view of the above stated vision of health and illness, I see the purpose of a person in finding this state of harmony in life, when illnesses are rare and the healthy state of mind and body is achieved and constantly maintained. Of course, there are other purposes in life and each person defines them for her/himself, but I am absolutely sure that without this harmony it is impossible to enjoy every day of life. And without this enjoyment our life can become really dull.
I believe that by following and achieving the main purpose of life, we also fulfill our social obligations to other people. In particular, I think that a person who is constantly dissatisfied with everything around and who, consequently, is often catching various illnesses, can spread the same attitude in the social environment, thus harming other people. I think that one of the main obligations of people as parts of the society is to support others and be of help to them. If there are many people who do not recognize the purpose to find harmony in life, it will definitely tell on those who are easily affected by the opinion of others, making their life worse and breaking their obligation.
In this view, I want to address the last problem in this essay – define what nursing is in my view. According to the International Council of Nurses, nursing encompasses collaborative and autonomous care of individuals of all families, ages, communities and groups, well or sick and in all settings (Crosta, 2009). It is clear that definition of nursing in one sentence is practically impossible due to the large scope of this profession and its actual importance in the life of society. But to put it into few words, for me nursing is a profession that helps people not only to overcome their illnesses, but also to find the harmony in life that I described above.
References
Crosta, P. (2009, April 23). What Is Nursing? What Does a Nurse Do? [blog]. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/147142.php
Nordqvist, C. (2009, May 21). What Is Health? What Does Good Health Mean? [blog]. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/150999.php
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.). (2000). Illness. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
