Running head: PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING 1 Personal Philosophy of Nursing Hema Hanjra Old Dominion University
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING 2 Personal Philosophy of Nursing The purpose of this paper is to describe my personal beliefs, convictions and values as they relate to my practice as a nurse. To begin with, my definition of nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, facilitation of healing, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations (American Nurses Association, 2017). The purpose of a nurse as a caregiver is to help a patient heal from an illness using her knowledge and skills. As a practicing nurse, my nursing principles are aligned with the notion about nursing philosophy that it is an attitude toward life and reality that evolves from each nurse s beliefs (Edwards, 1997). My personal values are the key drivers for my philosophy as a nurse. My Values and Beliefs About Nursing My core values and beliefs as an individual are compassion, honesty, integrity, understanding, hard work and collaboration with others to achieve common goals. I try to keep these values and beliefs in mind when making personal decisions as well as providing care to the patients under my care. I decided to pursue career in nursing so that I could provide some help in healing, easing pain and suffering of others. In my view nursing is about compassion and trying to help the patients by providing care, medications, and by understanding them on all emotional, physical, and social levels. I am a hardworking, dedicated, honest, and compassionate professional nurse who is very cooperative with other nurses. I am a good listener, and I try to understand the patient and their family members situation. I am always mindful of the fact that I am dealing with people who are in pain, sick or whose family member is suffering. Paying sincere attention and listening to what they have to say helps alleviate some of their anxiety, if
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING 3 not pain. Also, nursing is a profession that involves continuous learning of new technological advances in the field of nursing and caregiving. As a professional nurse, I feel committed to a life-long learning and hands-on experience to make myself a better nurse. Principles That Guide My Nursing Practice One of my principles in dealing with the patients is to try to connect with them as a friendly human being. Friendly conversation with them makes them comfortable talking about their situation. It helps me understand the bigger picture so that I can address their issue in a more holistic way, if possible. For instance, I came across an elderly woman with mental health issues who was frequently being readmitted to the hospital for primarily psychiatric issues. I learnt from her medical history, and during my conversations with her that she had been through real rough life. Two of her sons as well as her husband had died recently due to drug overdose. Drug issue was rampant in her rural community. Her third son was in jail, and she had no close relative around to help her in any way. Just talking to nurses in the hospital made her feel better and connected with the society. I tried my best to provide her the best care and comfort I could during my shift. I have realized that a nurse contributes to overall healing process far more significantly through their conversations with patients than simply delivering medications. Personally, nursing is my way of fulfilling my promise to my mother to help others. I enjoy taking care of and helping others. Besides getting a paycheck it is kind of a spiritual experience for me (Puchalski, 2001). I feel a great sense of satisfaction when I hear appreciation from a patient or their family member. Caring for someone becomes a spiritual interaction which provides a therapeutic basis to promote the healing process. It is certainly a different view than when I started in my associated degree program in nursing. At the time, it was about achieving
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING 4 my new skills and learning the ability to provide health care. Now I realize that healing is lot more than just delivering medication. Nursing care involves the patient as a person and not just the health problem that is being addressed at the time. Without getting too personal, a nurse needs to consider the patient s background, family situation and other factors that may help in nurse s understanding to help the patient. There are many things in their family or community environment that can have huge influence or implications in the patient s life, their well-being and recovery. I have come across patients whose living conditions, communities, abusive families etc. were either directly cause of their illness or would be an impediment in their healing. Another principle that guides my professional practice is collaboration and sincerity. It has more to do with my colleagues in nursing than my patients. Nurses eat their young is common expression on how experienced nurses treat new nurses. There has been some research in bullying within nursing community from a micro-sociological perspective and the interactive mechanisms contributing to its causes and continuation within the nursing profession (Lewis, 2005). I have personally experienced lack of cooperation and being ridiculed for inadequate professional skills at my workplace as a fresh nurse. I am amazed at the indifference of many experienced nurses towards this kind of behavior towards new nurses who are entering the profession. The new nurses would immensely benefit from the advice and guidance of experienced professional nurses in a profession that can literally make a difference between life and death. Although I still consider myself to be a relatively new nurse, but I am already treating other fresh graduate nurses with dignity and respect. I am determined to make it part of my philosophy to collaborate and help other nurses in any way I can, especially the new graduate nurses. Cooperation and collaboration should be a key characteristic for any team, but it is even
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING 5 more relevant in the nursing profession. I am always trying to help other nurses in performing their job function in times when they are overwhelmed, which very common in our profession. I notice that not only it has encouraged others to reciprocate, it has also helped foster a positive team environment. Conclusion Nursing is facilitation of healing, helping recover from suffering through the diagnosis and treatment, and caring through understanding of individuals, families, groups, and communities. My core values of compassion, honesty, integrity, understanding, hard work and collaboration with others are my part of my nursing practice philosophy in providing care to the patients under my care. One of my key principle in the nursing practice is to connect with the patients as human beings in order to understand their situation, which provides me with a better opportunity to help them in their treatment and healing process. Genuine appreciation from the patients and their families gives me a deep level of satisfaction. Another rule that I try to follow is to focus on collaboration with my colleagues in nursing profession. Specifically, I want to help new nurses gain confidence through experience and support from more experienced nurses. This assignment has compelled me to think about and articulate key factors that keep me motivated about my profession. Although I knew in my heart what I enjoyed, and why I enjoyed working as a nurse but I had never thought about aligning my values, beliefs and general philosophy with my profession. Of course, I get a paycheck for the services I provide, but there is more than the paycheck that I receive in turn.
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING 6 References American Nurses Association. (2017). Retrieved from What is Nursing: http://www.nursingworld.org/especiallyforyou/what-is-nursing Edwards, S. (1997). What is philosophy of nursing? Journal of Advanced Nursing, 1088-1092. Lewis, M. A. (2005). Nurse bullying: organizational considerations in the maintenance and perpetration of health care bullying cultures. Journal of Nursing Management, 52-58. Puchalski, C. M. (2001). The role of spirituality in health care. Proceeding (Baylor Univ Med Cent), 352 357.
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING 7 Honor Code Statement: I pledge to support the Honor System of Old Dominion University. I will refrain from any form of academic dishonesty or deception, such as cheating or plagiarism. I am aware that as a member of the academic community it is my responsibility to turn in all suspected violations of the Honor Code. I will report to a hearing if summoned. Signature Hema Hanjra