Introduction
A nursing philosophy is a type of mission declaration that includes the standards, beliefs, professional and personal ethics of the nursing practice and aids in the motivation of nurses to perform their duties diligently. Most healthcare professionals have developed a set of values that direct their decisions on how to take care of their respective patients and act as a motivating factor to the professionals while at work (“Nursing Theories and a Philosophy of Nursing – Nursing Theory,” 2022). Therefore, a nurse is not an exemption from not developing their unique philosophy. A nursing philosophy contains vital information concerning the nurse, like what it feels like to be a nurse and what it means to the nurse, what it takes to excel in the profession, and what would make one a good nurse.
A nursing philosophy is important because it enhances how I interact with patients, colleagues, and families, determined by the related nursing values like integrity and respect mentioned or provided in a nursing philosophy. Every profession has challenges, and nursing is not an exemption from such professions. It acts as a motivating factor during the trying times a professional faces challenge; and it is vital because it helps a nurse write and develop a captivating, objective resume. The philosophy of nursing has significantly helped change my perspective on the nursing role. It has equipped me with know-how in approaching critics and directing me on the skills and specialties that I should focus on strengthening (“Nursing Theories and a Philosophy of Nursing – Nursing Theory,” 2022). To write a good nursing philosophy, one has to make it brief and concise, making use of active verbs would guide in following the nursing philosophy step by step, and having a copy at a strategic place that can be accessed at any time like working desk would help to keep one focused.
Assumptions
Assumptions are statements taken for granted and lightly but are used to explain the concepts, purpose, relationship, and structure of theories in the nursing practice. One of my assumptions on nursing and which I believe is that a nurse is responsible for providing care to a patient until the patient regains full strength to take care of themselves which is the primary duty of the nurse. Nursing required more engagement since it involves taking care of patients mostly. Therefore, providing quality care is my priority. I define a patient as anyone whose current condition prevents them from performing their daily activities and living life to their full capacity (“Personal Philosophy of Nursing: Key Beliefs, Assumptions and Basic Domains of Industry | Free Essay Example,” 2022). The patients are dynamic. The condition might either be psychological or physical.
The nursing domain consists of three branches, including the environment, person, and health. The person identified in the branches of the nursing domain is the medical practitioners and patients. The medical practitioners have a specific role in ensuring the patient regains their full capacity. I define health as the state or level of ailment that prevents one from acquiring their full capacity to continue their daily activities (“Personal Philosophy of Nursing: Key Beliefs, Assumptions and Basic Domains of Industry | Free Essay Example,” 2022). The environment has a role in the cause of illness, consisting of the social, physical, and psychological determinants or space, that is, the people surrounding an individual plays a significant role in the health status of a person. My nursing philosophy assumes that health is a broad and elusive concept because of its subjectivity and that health has a changing or dynamic process. Thus, defining health as a sense of wholeness as a matter of taking good care of patients and delivering quality care services to patient to regain their state to actively engage in their daily activities.
Theoretical Foundation
A theoretical foundation is a peer-reviewed framework model that forms the driving force of the nursing profession. The theoretical foundation behind my nursing practice philosophy includes taking good care dead people, helping patients to prevent illness, help patient get back to normal, and helping patients to be aware of their health status. The theoretical foundation of my nursing practice philosophy is important since it dictates how I interact with patients and perform my duties delegated, and what I can do to improve quality care to patients.
The theoretical foundation translates to my nursing practice in that it helps to improve my practice in taking care of patients and the quality of life of the patients. Since it dictates how I treat the patients and why I will do specific actions while in the nursing practice (Mabbott, 2009). It has also helped me understand nursing as a different discipline from medicine and other science-related. The theoretical foundations have helped to enhance my understanding of the needs of the patients and how I can generally take care of them till they regain their health to live to their full capacities. The theoretical foundations behind my nursing profession philosophy help me focus and understand the field that I should major in and maximize on getting the relevant experiences to care effectively and attend to more patients in my nursing practice.
Experience
The experience that I have gotten from the coursework has helped me understand my role in nursing at a deeper length and understand the importance of having a nursing philosophy that would guide my development and success in the career. The coursework has encouraged me to view nursing as a crucial career that can help improve the livelihood and health quality in my community. When evaluating the experience gained from the coursework, I have intense knowledge and information that would help me succeed in my career and develop a mission statement that consists of the values that I believe in while in my nursing practice. Based on the theoretical foundation of nursing, I can develop an equipped and effective nursing philosophy that I have come to learn that it is crucial for success in my nursing practice.
Self-reflection is an important aspect for health practitioners, especially those practicing nursing. In personal and professional transformation, self-reflection plays a significant role. Self-reflection enables one to evaluate themselves from time to time and assess whether the targeted goals have been achieved. Self-reflection helps to stay focused on a profession and the duties assigned, leading to the transformation of the individual from a personal perspective to a professional perspective—self-reflection aids to set achievable goals and understand values that are crucial to the success of a career. Thus, one would do what is required for them to transform since they are aware of the demands of the profession and the values they advocate and believe. Self-reflection generally helps an individual develop both personally and professionally.
Change proposal is an activity that entails documenting the necessary changes that are needed to be implemented for the better tomorrow of an organization, industry, or individual. Activities like change proposals have enabled me to be one of the change agents in improving both personal and professional practice. I have conducted research and understood the current trend in the nursing career and how it can be implemented to provide quality healthcare to patients. The lifelong learning process is the voluntary and self-motivation aspect that pushes individuals to research and gather information and knowledge for professional or personal reasons. The activity (change proposal) has helped me stay on track and alert to the current trends and information on the nursing practice. Thus, the change proposal activity has helped me attain the lifelong learning process, which has helped improve my competitiveness in the nursing practice and enhanced personal development and social inclusion.
Conclusion
My nursing philosophy is closely related to the values that I believe in, and looking forward to following them while practicing my nursing career. The values form the basis of a successful nurse, which, with enough experience with the values and targets set in the nursing philosophy, would significantly help ease my development when I wish to further my studies. The nursing philosophy and experiences from the coursework relate to my nursing practice plan since I have plans to improve the quality of patient care in the healthcare profession.
The experience gained from the coursework impacts my future nursing practice since it has enhanced my skills in staying relevant in the career by thriving and having the desire to have the contemporary trends on nursing professionals and gain the latest information and knowledge concerning nursing practice. Practising nursing requires vast skills and knowledge; thus, is interested in researching and gaining new information is important for one to thrive in practice.
References
Personal philosophy of nursing: Key beliefs, assumptions and basic domains of industry | free essay example. Studycorgi.com. (2022). Web.
Nursing theories and a philosophy of nursing – nursing theory. Nursing theory. (2022). Web.
Mabbott, I. (2009). Nursing practice and health care: A foundation text – fifth edition. Nursing Standard, 23(25), 30-30. Web.
