Philosophy of Nursing
NURS 314- Principles of Practice: Foundational Concepts
NURS 481- Transition to Professional Nursing Practice

Purpose of Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to enable the student to rediscover his or her personal philosophy of nursing as it exists upon the completion of the baccalaureate nursing program.

Student Approach to Assignment

As I have traversed down the path towards my professional nursing career my experience has been rich with success and failure. Through these trails I have built my nursing philosophy that will guide my practice as I progress into my professional role. Having the ability to look back at my philosophy from where I began to where I stand today is nothing less than humbling. It has shown how I have grown as a student, nurse, and person. My nursing philosophy will continue to grow and adapt as it guides my professional practices and keeps me accountable for every clinical decision, patient interaction, and interprofessional relationship.

Reason for Inclusion of this Assignment in the Portfolio

This required assignment is relevant for inclusion because it depicts my personal growth and development in the understanding of the multidimensional aspects of professional nursing as I have progressed through my baccalaureate education. The contrast that is seen from my junior philosophy to that of a senior shows my ability to adapt to change and difficult circumstances during nursing education. The following criteria are met in this assignment.

1. Critical Thinking

   • Uses nursing and other appropriate theories and models to guide professional practice.

     • Example: While I examined the assumptions portion of this assignment, I reflected my own experiences during my clinical and classroom educations. I aligned my beliefs and values with the theories of my predecessors. When examining that role of the nurse client relationship in a culturally diverse setting I explained, that culturally competent care is an invaluable skill for a nurse is to have. This idea was supported by Madeleine Leininger and her theory of transcultural nursing. I also examined my assumptions of the nurse and the community. This brought me back to the knowledge I gained during my community health courses and how impactful the environment is on a person’s health. Florence Nightingale and her environmental theory of nursing supports my assumption that the nurse should impact a community’s environment to have an impact on overall health. The final assumption examined was that of the nurse and other healthcare professionals. I stressed to importance to build humanistic connections with peers to facilitate better care for the patients. This idea is supported by Josephine Paterson and Loretta Zderad in their humanistic nursing theory as they mention the importance of dialog to build relationships based in understanding.

1. Leadership

   • Articulates the values of the profession and the role of the nurse as member of the interdisciplinary health care team.

     • Example: Throughout this assignment I continuously demonstrate an understanding of this leadership criteria. In the assumptions section I evaluate the nurse’s role as an integral part in the health care system. I mention that the doctor nor the nurses can provide high quality health care by themselves. I explain how nurses and other healthcare professionals all bring a unique set of skills to the table and work in tandem to reach a common goal. I also mention in the principle section that patient autonomy and beneficence are vital corner stones of the profession and play a huge factor in the role of the nurse as a patient advocate.

2. Communication

   • Uses therapeutic communication within the nurse-patient relationship

     • Example: I believe I met this next criterion in the definition portion of this assignment. I mention as part of my definition holistic care and ethical servitude. I examine how I believe that to provide holistic care we need to build meaningful relationships with therapeutic communication. I give credit to Hildegard Peplau and her theory of interpersonal relations for inspiring this ideology in my nursing definition and more important my care. Peplau’s theory supports my claim by frequently mentioning the importance of therapeutic relationships and communication between the nurse and patient.

3. Professionalism

   • Applies an ethical decision-making framework and legal guidelines to clinical situations that incorporate moral concepts, professional ethics, and advocacy for patient well-being and preferences.

     • Example: In the principle section of my paper I give the specific example of an ethical principle that has guided my clinical practice. This principle is that of autonomy. I explain that autonomy, is a patient’s right to the knowledge and decision regarding medical care and their bodies. In this section I give the clinical example of my patient who was not sure why it was necessary that I place a nasal gastric tube, so I took the time to explain the rational. I continued to explain that, this allowed my patient to have all the knowledge to make the proper decision about his medical care before giving consent. This is one guiding principle that helps me advocate for my patient.  

1. Culture

   • Articulates an understanding of how human behavior is affected by culture, race, religion, gender, lifestyle, and age

     • Example:  I would like to once again draw attention to the assumptions portion of the assignment where I believe I have met this criterion. As I mention, I spoke of my beliefs and assumptions about the nurse client relationship in a culturally diverse setting. In this section I examined how health, illness, and care are not singular points but are dynamic and hold different meanings to people of different cultures, race, religion, gender, age, and other identifiers. Once again, I mention Madeleine Leininger theory of transcultural nursing and how she observed this phenomenon and attempted to find how to provide quality nursing care in the context of a different culture. Applying her theory to my own understanding and practice helps me grasp the effect culture has on human behavior.