NURSING PHILOSOPHY

Abstract Philosophy is different for everyone because ones philosophy is how a person would view the world and what they believe in. Not everyone believes in the same thing or have the same opinion on different matters. I believe that as a nurse what they do physically and emotionally for the patient is very important because nursing is composed of physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and cultural care. No matter what the patient believes in, what they did, or anything should not matter or change how they should be cared for by the nurse. The care provided by a nurse does not just affect a patient physically, but it affects the patient mentally and emotionally too. Nurses should always do the best they can to their ability to provide the best care for the patients and have their best interests in minds.

NURSING PHILOSOPHY

Nursing Philosophy Nursing philosophies are not something that comes into my mind a lot. To me, it is confusing and at first I did not understand the simple concepts of it. In my mind, nursing is just providing the best care you can to patients with the vast amount of knowledge you were taught in order to care for those patients. Through this semester though, I realized that within that knowledge is your own thoughts and thats what makes your philosophy. Everyone has their own philosophy on life and subjects. Out of all the research I did on what nursing philosophy is, my favorite definition of it is by Schrock where she states that [P]hilosophy [is] an attitude toward life and reality that evolves from each nurses beliefs(Edwards, 1997, p. 1089) Some of those thoughts related to that knowledge are about ethics, morals, religion, and more and they are all related to the philosophy of nursing. Nursing is not just about how you physically care for the patients, but how you react and think also affects your care for the patient. Nursing is composed of many different parts including physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. Through physically, it is important to have the patient in a clean environment, a well lighted room, good nutrition, careful observations according to Notes on Nursing by Florence Nightingale. (Nightingale, 1969) How a nurse acts in front of a patient is equally as important because it creates a comfortable environment for the patient and therefore makes the patient feel better emotionally. Body language is a telltale sign sometimes and that is why nurses have to be careful on how they act around patients. Emotionally, nurses have to be compassionate and understanding to the patients. Patients are going through difficult times because being in a hospital can be a scary experience. Families and friends might be there for them, but nurses are also there as a support to help the patient. It creates a better understanding between a nurse and their patient making it easier to give efficient

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care. Also, active listening is a big part in nursing because nurses have to do assessments on patients and when taking down subjective data from the patient being an active listener not only comforts the patient but it is also builds a bridge of relationship between the patient and the nurse. Therapeutic communication is extremely important in nursing and one of the basic foundations. As a nurse, it doesnt matter what religion a patient follows or what culture they are from or what they have done to land themselves in the hospital. All that matters is to provide the patient with the best care without any bias or judgment. What a nurse thinks that is morally or ethically wrong should not affect the care that is given to a patient. A nurse should not be judgmental to a patient and should give the same respect to everyone. A nurse should always have the patients best interest in mind and decisions that are made should be around that. I understand that sometimes it can be hard especially when it comes down to religion and culture. I grew up in an Asian community and there are many people that do not speak the English language and communicating becomes an issue. At that point, body language becomes very important as a communication between a nurse and the patient and translators should be there too. Culturally, it is also difficult and thats why communication is important so a nurse would understand how a patient should be treated. Being a nurse should not be just a job where you count the minutes down until your shift ends or when your paycheck would come in. Nursing is hard yet rewarding career. Being a nurse greatly influences lives and each patient a nurse gets there is new experience and wisdom that comes along.

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References Edwards, S. D. (1997). What is philosophy of nursing? Journal of Advanced Nursing, 25, 10891093. Nightingale, F. (1969) Notes on nursing: What it is, and what it is not, New York, NY: Dover Publications