Jean Watson is recognized for her theories on human caring and the way nurses give care. Her theories are used to educate nurses on the integration of care and compassion within the discipline and technology of today’s healthcare organizations to better serve patients. Watson believed that human caring is “not just an emotion, concern, attitude, or benevolent desire. Caring is the moral ideal of nursing whereby the end is protection, enhancement, and preservation of human dignity” (George, 2011, p. 29). With this idea in mind, assessment tools are used by the nurse and physician to protect, enhance, and preserve human dignity (George, 2011).
Personal Philosophy of Nursing Abstract Nursing philosophy is one of the core aspects in the provision of healthcare services. My personal nursing philosophy seeks to enhance the provision of efficient care to all patients. I believe human nature is the fundamental aspect that governs the type of care a nurse provides to a patient. Additionally, I believe that it is my responsibility as a nurse to uphold human dignity in my interaction with patients. I should learn to perceive the world from a client’s perspective to ensure that I gain the trust of the patient an aspect that places me in a better position to educate the patient.
The definition of Evidence Based Practice (EBP) is “professional understanding and action that is based on the thoughtful use of knowledge and information from available, reliable, and dependent sources” (Brown, 2002). The definition also includes the balance of clinical experience, proven evidence from scientific studies with patient input. This input from patients will incorporate their culture, values and other preferences.. Evidence Based Practice is a fluent process that requires nurses to be current and correct on information as it pertains to their daily practice. The intent of EBP is to improve the quality of the care that is delivered to the client.
In both, Henderson’s Need Theory and Orem’s Self Care Theory, the ‘role of nursing’ is the core concept. Henderson considered her definition of nursing her ‘concept.’ She defined nursing as, “assisting individuals to gain independence in relation to the performance of activities contributing to health or its recovery,” according to (“Current Nursing: Virginia Henderson’s Need Theory”, 2012). Orem defined nursing as, “actions deliberately selected and performed by nurses to help individuals or groups under their care to maintain or change conditions in themselves or their environments,” (Current Nursing: “Dorothea Orem’s Self Care Theory,” 2012). For both theories, the major assumption is that the nurse will care for the patient until the patient or his or her family can care for the patient. According to the Free Dictionary (2013), a metaparadigm is, “a set of concepts and propositions that sets for the phenomena with which a discipline is concerned.” In both theories, there are metaparadigms that have developed the framework for nursing practice.
Through the heritage assessment tool the nurse can obtain a large amount of information about the patient, family, religious preferences, and how they view healthcare. It can also show how much they value family traditions, religious traditions and practices, and if they tend to spend more time with people of their same heritage or culture. It is also important for the nurse to know their own heritage as well. This paper will talk about what was learned from completing a heritage assessment tool on three people from different cultures. Furthermore it will compare the health traditions of three different people to include, health maintenance, health protection, and health restoration.
.This belief system aligns well with a nursing profession that I define as a profession that provides compassionate care and promotion of healing for ill and injured individuals, education and advocacy for clients and families, collaboration of care with other professionals for optimal outcomes, and health promotion and prevention for well individuals. Theory Description I believe that my core personal beliefs and values are directly reflected in my philosophy of nursing. My values of security and family are reflected in patient centered care. My values of God as the guiding force in my life and kindness are reflected in compassionate care and my values of accountability and life-long learning are reflected in competent care. Following is a description of the main components of the framework that guides my practice: Purpuse I strive to provide patient-centered care that is non-judgmental to all those in need regardless of race, religion, financial status, or lifestyle choices.
Personal Philosophy of Nursing Beverly’s Personal Philosophy of Nursing In order to write a philosophy of nursing, I believe that first one must decide what philosophy means to them. William R. Thomas (2011), director of programs for The Atlas Society, explains philosophy as an inclusive system of ideas about human nature and the nature of the reality we live in. Studies reveal that this system is a guide for living centered on the issues it addresses and determining the course we take in life and how we treat other people is determined by one’s philosophy. Based on this information a nurse’s philosophy of their responsibilities as a member of the health care profession is significant. As a nurse grows with knowledge and experience their philosophy is likely to yield some transformation.
Hence, nurses have the responsibility to advocate patients and help them out. Nurses engaged in professional activities should have the manner that protects patients’ autonomy in order to advocate for patients. According to Mahlin’s article, “Individual Patient Advocacy, Collective Responsibility and Activism Within Professional Nursing Associations”, “Patient autonomy is an essential part of patient advocacy” (Mahlin, 2010). Every patient has the right to choose whether to be involved in planning their health plan or not, because patients have autonomy to make the decision. As nurses, we should seek available resources to help patients to formulate decisions to utilize their rights and achieve their expectations if they confront a dilemma or they have inadequate health knowledge.
Discuss your personal philosophy as a practicing nurse? Provide examples(s) from your experience that demonstrates your use of your philosophy as you care for patients. I will be discussing my own personal nursing philosophy, which is what I believe to be the core characteristics of nursing. My philosophy of nursing focuses on holistic, patient-centered care, compassionate patient relationship, the use of evidence based practice, and community/environment. First, according to McEwen and Willis, holistic nursing is not only concerned with a patient’s physical well being, it is also concerned with a patient’s emotional, spiritual, and mental well-being.
She provided significant insight regarding the role of nurse leaders and how these leaders may play a role in directing change in the U.S. health care system, (Adams, C., 2008). My respect for Florence Wald as a leader is related to her leadership style, care and consideration for patient care, care and consideration for her team, persistence and hard work, and her influence on the nursing profession, and the country's health care system. My goal as a nurse leader, I must have good communication, an appropriate leadership style, a good work ethic related to strong values and beliefs, the ability to provide teaching and coaching, and possess good delegation skills. My leadership goals are directly related to the characteristics of being a nurse leader, my leadership responsibilities, and my personal leadership experience. Characteristics of an Effective Leader Characteristics of becoming an effective nurse leader include having effective communication, an effective leadership style, and maintaining a good work ethic.