My Nursing Philosophy, Research Paper Example

I have chosen nursing as a life career because the nursing profession is not only a good fit to my strengths and skills but is also compatible with my personal values that include selfless service to fellow human beings. In order to better understand the evolution of nursing over the centuries, I have studied several nursing icons including Florence Nightingale, Dorothy Orem, and Jean Watson. The nursing profession existed in an informal form even before Ms. Nightingale but Ms. Nightingale was probably the first person to give the nursing profession, a distinctive identity it enjoys today. But I have always struggled with the question whether nursing is an art or science. The conclusion I have reached is that nursing is a mixture of both despite greater emphasis on a formal nursing education and certification to practice as compared to non-technical qualities.

A society prospers when community members realize their interdependence upon each other and do not hesitate to help those in need. The same approach should exist in the nursing profession where patients leave themselves in the nurses’ hands because they trust nurses to take good care of them. The nurses should realize that patients may come from diverse cultural backgrounds and will have different personalities. People are unique but their uniqueness should be celebrated since they may help us expand our thinking perspectives. Similarly, nurses should also take into account other specific factors related to the patients under their care such as their age, psychological wellbeing, and health status. Nurses cannot provide optimal care until they try to understand their patients on individual basis just as we cannot devise an effective solution to a problem until we have understood the problem well. Not surprisingly, Dorothea Orem’s Self-Care Theory also recognizes the fact that people are distinct individuals (Nursing Theories, 2012).

In my opinion, environment includes both the professional environment in which the nurses perform their roles as well as the external environment that affects the nursing profession including applicable laws, emerging trends including both healthcare and demographics, and healthcare industry. This is why nurses should not only adapt to their professional environment but also stay informed of the factors in the external environment. One cannot prepare for the future or even deal with the present unless one is aware of the external factors shaping the stakeholders in the nursing profession. While one has little control over external environment, I do believe that nurses have the power to positively influence internal environment. Environment doesn’t only affect the performance and wellbeing of nurses but also the quality of care received by the patients.

Health is the mental and physical condition of the patient at the time he/she puts himself/herself under the care of the healthcare providers. Nurses should understand the health state of the patients because it not only helps them the care patient needs but also modify their behavior to suit the needs and behavioral pattern of the patients. The nurses cannot effectively determine how to help patients return to their optimal state of health if they don’t know the current status of patients’ health.

I believe nursing is both an art and science and I could not agree more with the definition found in Minot State University’s Department of Nursing’s mission statement, “Nursing is defined as an application of scientific knowledge enhanced by artful practice in a socially responsible manner.” (Department of Nursing, Minot State University). I believe that nursing profession should be chosen by those that do not only have the capability to master the technical requirements of the nursing profession but also possess personal characteristics such as patience, compassion, and strong ethical values. The nursing profession is one of the most stressful because not only nurses work in a fast-paced environment but they also deal with patients with all kinds of personalities. The patients are not always easy to work with and it is understandable that some patients cannot effectively deal with the toll their health status takes on them psychologically.

I also believe that nurses today have to take personal responsibility of continuous improvement, like many other professions. I also welcome the lessons from other professions including business and psychology if they can help us improve the nursing profession. I agree with Jean Watson’s Caring Theory that nursing profession is not only supposed to cure patients but also care for them (Nursing Theories, 2012). Watson realized that effective caring technique help promote overall wellbeing of the patient without involving medications.

Nursing profession continues to evolve as we better understand the complex relationship between patients and nurses. Modern nursing theories are finally realizing that nursing profession involves a lot more than merely giving medications to patients. The nursing profession is finally acknowledging that patients and nursing professionals are also individuals with unique characteristics that need to be understood and appreciated to improve the overall state of the nursing profession.

References

Department of Nursing, Minot State University. (n.d.). Mission Statement. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://www.minotstateu.edu/nursing/mission.shtml

Nursing Theories. (2012, February 4). Dorothea Orem’s Self-Care Theory. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/self_care_deficit_theory.html

Nursing Theories. (2012, January 26). Jean Watson’s Philosophy of Nursing. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/Watson.html