Personal Philosophy of Nursing
My personal philosophy of nursing is centred around four main elements: nursing, environment, person and health. These factors are intimately linked to one another, and to the nursing profession as a whole.
There is much debate about whether nursing an art or a science. However, I believe nursing to be a combination of the two. A nurse must provide care to their patients. Care is an art; it is largely subjective, and only a good nurse will interpret the job of caring effectively. However, a nurse must correspondingly have the ability to learn and to apply science to that art.
The environment is a physical place in which a person exists. Within a nursing context, this could be the hospital, a patient’s home, or a community. Furthermore, environment can also describe an patient’s mental awareness.
I consider the person to be the recipient of care. This may be a patient, a relative of the patient, or another member of the healthcare team. Central to this element of nursing philosophy is to be mindful that each person is an individual with their own unique set of behaviours, values and beliefs.
Health is a state of overall well-being. When assessing a patient, my philosophy is to evaluate their health holistically, being aware not only of their physical needs but also their spiritual, intellectual and emotional needs. Illness is, therefore, anything that is inhibiting the different elements of a patient’s well-being.
I live my nursing philosophy. To me, it is not just words; it runs much deeper than that. I apply my nursing philosophy every day. Providing quality care to patients is not work. More accurately, it the very act of encompassing everything that I believe in.
