Running head: PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING



Running head: PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING

Philosophy of Nursing

Tiffany Jordan Toerpe

Alverno College

My personal nursing philosophy views the recipient of nursing care as a multifactorial being, not just as an illness or condition. In viewing the person holistically, it is imperative that the individual’s family, community, and environment also be considered. The family and culture of the individual may have certain beliefs that are significant to how he or she views their own health and health maintenance. The community in which the recipient of nursing care resides also affects health and health maintenance. The environment surrounding the individual is crucial to the individual’s access to health care and prospect of maintaining health. The internal environment of the individual must also be considered when treating a patient holistically and ethically. My nursing philosophy is centered around respect and ethics.

Nursing requires a genuine belief in the dignity and worth of all people. Each recipient of health care deserves respect, and to be treated in a nonjudgmental manner. Nursing views the individually holistically, and includes the family, the community, and the environment as a dynamic social system. The individual’s beliefs and values should be considered when planning care for the individual, but should not be judged. Viewing each person in a nonjudgmental manner is significant in nursing.

Health is more than being “not sick.” When viewing the patient holistically, health is stability of all systems. All systems; including not only physiologic systems, but also family, community, and environment; play an important role in an individual’s health. Caring for healthy individuals is just as vital as caring for the ill. Conversely, illness is an instability involving one or more systems making the individual vulnerable. Patients are vulnerable for various reasons, which further stresses the importance of viewing the recipient of nursing care with consideration of family, community, and environment.

Not every person can or should be a nurse. Nursing requires a certain individual with distinct, embedded core characteristics that compliment the practice of professional nursing. Core characteristics necessary to be an effective nurse include all that is caring: compassion, respect for all individuals, ability to treat others with dignity, ability to recognize the worth of human life, maintenance of patient rights, educating patients to better assist them to help themselves, and also important is intelligence. The nurse should treat all people as she would wish to be treated, this is an important rule of thumb to live by, but is even more important in nursing. The nurse is a compassionate individual who has a genuine respect for the worth and dignity of all people.

Nursing involves many roles and functions. The nurse is both proactive and reactive in helping patients achieve their maximum state of health, with or without an illness. Nursing encompasses the roles of educator, patient advocate, leader, motivator, health promoter, and many more. Nursing involves more than passing out medications and carrying out physician ordered interventions. Critical thinking skills are a necessity when caring for patients. Nursing involves knowledge and rationales for treatments. Nurses use their knowledge to educate the patient and to further enhance their state of health and well-being holistically. Constantly drawing on evidence-based practice increases the rigor of the nursing profession.

Nursing achieves health promotion and illness prevention through education. Nurses are teachers and work to educate their patients in health maintenance and prevention. In addition to patient education, education for the nurse herself is essential. Nursing in an ever-changing society requires extensive education and regular completion of competencies. My personal philosophy of nursing holds beliefs that a registered nurse degree should be at minimum a bachelor’s degree in science of nursing. Regular competencies at places of employment are vital to maintaining the knowledge base of the nurse. Research as part of the nurse’s quest for more knowledge to utilize the best practice possible is becoming a part of nursing that every nurse should welcome. Evidence-based practice allows nurses to continue to move forward, providing the best possible care efficiently.

Ethics is an integral part of the foundation of nursing. It is not possible to effectively interact with others and care for patients with disregard of ethical considerations. The Code of Ethics for Nurses (American Nurses Association, 2001) illustrates the ethical obligations of every nurse. Ethics are not optional, every professional nurse must provide nursing care that is consistent with the code of ethics as illustrated by the American Nurses Association. Ethical principles that guide my personal nursing philosophy include treating the recipient of nursing care without judgment, nursing with compassion for the patient, maintaining professional standards of nursing, advocating for the patient, educating the patient and promoting health, responsibility and honesty, and maintenance of all patient rights.

To gain respect for the profession of nursing, professionalism is required. Nurses should be professional at all times in all interactions. Nurses should care for themselves as they do for their patients, ‘practice what they preach’. In regards to interactions with other members of the health care team, the nurse should display effective social interaction skills.

I strive to fulfill this personal nursing philosophy by focusing on the reasons I chose this as a profession. I have a genuine respect for all people and that is evident in my interactions. Advocating for patients and educating patients in order to help them achieve their maximum state of health is what nursing is.

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