The purpose of this paper is to define, describe, and explain the thoughts, feelings and beliefs of the author in regard to the philosophy of nursing practice. Philosophy is the study of ideas about knowledge, truth, nature, and meaning of a subject Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, (n.d.). I will address the four concepts of the nursing metaparadigm and the relationships of each as they guide my practice as a nurse. This concept synthesis paper will address the personal nursing autobiography, two practice specific concepts, and a list of propositions and assumption statements that clearly connect the described concepts. Many factors influence the philosophy of nurses and their practice. The author is a registered nurse care pathways coach at the Alabama Quality Assurance Foundation with responsibilities for decreasing avoidable hospitalizations in a local long-term care facility. He has 22 years of experience in the nursing profession, including psychiatric, medical surgical, and geriatric nursing. He has developed an interest in providing advanced nursing practice as a nurse practitioner using holistic approaches as he has matured as a nursing professional. His desire to improve access to primary health care and improve the quality of care for the poor and elderly is a decisive influence on his future as an advanced practice nurse. I became a nurse in 1992. I had graduated high school in 1989 and discovered that I lacked a vision of the profession I would be involved in over the course of my adult life. I was involved in the pursuit of a career of teaching music to high school children based upon a passion for performing arts as a teen aged student. I discovered that I enjoyed performing as a trumpet player, but I did not trul... ... middle of paper ... ...-concepts.html Jean Watson’s Philosophy of Nursing. (2012). Retrieved April 4, 2014, from http://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/Watson.html Metaparadigm in Nursing. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2014, from http://nursingtheories.info/metaparadigm-in-nursing/ Mitchell, S. (n.d.). Nursing: Metaparadigm concepts. Retrieved from http://nursing.pages.tcnj.edu/about/mission-philosophy/metaparadigm-concepts/ Philosophy. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2014, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/philosophy Shirey, W. (n.d.). Four Concepts of the Nursing Paradigm . Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/list_6370576_four-concepts-nursing-paradigm.html WHO definition of health. (2003). Retrieved April 5, 2014, from http://who.int/about/definition/en/print.html What is Nursing?, (2014). Retrieved April 3, 2014, from http://www.nursingworld.org/EspeciallyForYou/What-is-Nursing
One of the most influential and widely accepted nursing theorist of today is Jean Watson. Her nursing theory Philosophy and Theory of Transpersonal Caring was developed to help foster the caring compassionate side of nurses. The theory is focused around ten carative factors and transpersonal healing and caring relationships. “We are the light in institutional darkness, and in this model we get to return to the light of our humanity” (Alligood 2014). This quote gets at the core of what Jean Watsons’ nursing Theory of Transpersonal Caring aims to achieve
According to Chitty & Black (2014) the philosophy of nursing is defined as beliefs and values that are the bases for how we think and act in our nursing careers. Similar to a nursing philosophy, a personal philosophy includes a person’s specific beliefs and values. The purpose of this paper is to start evolving my own personal nursing philosophy that contains my own beliefs and values that I will take with me throughout my career as a registered nurse.
My personal nursing philosophy and fundamental beliefs of nursing using the four meta-paradigms concepts: nature of human beings, health, environment, and nursing. First, I believe that the profession of nursing is all about the nature of human beings as people. Care involves the patient as a whole, not just as a disease process. Second, I believe that health is on the same continuum as illness. Health is more about quality of life. Third, it is also necessary to look beyond the patient to the environment in which he/she lives in. This is important because people come from different backgrounds and have their own story, we cannot separate patients from their environment because they are interrelated. Last, I think that nursing involves being with the individual patient and having an active roll with them. This process of being engaged in meaningful relationships requires we as nurses be actively
The field of nursing is dynamic, complex, and requires a wide body of knowledge. It has evolved from a vocation to a profession and theory-based discipline. In Carper’s “Fundamental Patterns of Knowing in Nursing,” she identifies four patterns of knowing that are “essential for the teaching and learning of nursing…and what kinds of knowledge are to be of most value to the discipline of nursing.” These four patterns of knowing include empirical, esthetic, personal, and ethical knowing, and they determine a basis for the identity and practice of nursing.
This paper is a first attempt at forming and articulating my own philosophy of nursing.
Around the 1960s, nursing educational leaders wanted to formulate a nursing theory that contained knowledge and basic principles to guide future nurses’ in their practice (Thorne, 2010, p.64). Thus, Jacqueline Fawcett introduced the metaparadigm of nursing. Metaparadigm “identifies the concepts central to the discipline without relating them to the assumptions of a particular world view” (MacIntyre & Mcdonald, 2014). Fawcett’s metaparadigm of nursing included concepts of person, environment, health, and nursing that were interrelated. The metaparadigm ultimately contributed to conceptual framework to guide nurses to perform critical thinking and the nursing process in everyday experiences in clinical settings.
"Philosophy is an attitude towards life that evolves from each nurses’ beliefs" (Parker, 2001). It is the philosophy that underlies our practice what brings to life our desire to be nurses. Philosophy is essential because it is the natural extension of our interest in knowing the truth (Parker, 2001). A metaparadigm is the widest perspective of the discipline and a way to describe the concepts that concern the profession of nursing (McEwen & Wills, 2014). In this paper, my philosophy of nursing will be discussed through reflection on the four nursing metaparadigm concepts to determine if anything should be added or taken out.
The greatest aspect about nursing is that it is never going to be just a job and is even more than a merely profession. Instead, it is a belief system or way of life and not a discipline that can simply be practiced then abandoned to the dictates of a time clock. To simply say that “I love people” or want to “help people get better” does not demonstrate the drive behind this feeling. Articulating my philosophy is not an easy task, to better explain my philosophy of nursing, I am going to use some values that I have learned. These tools truly explain how I feel and what has motivated me to pursue nursing as a career.
This paper explores the personal philosophy I have as a nursing student and what I intend to convey throughout my nursing career. A philosophy is “an analysis of the grounds and concepts expressing fundamental beliefs (Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, n.d.). Before entering into any profession it is important to evaluate your personal philosophy about the profession, as it pertains to values and principles in which believe in to guide your practice. The field of nursing is more than treating a physiological ailment, but it involves providing quality care for the individualized needs of each patient, hence being client centered. My philosophy of nursing integrates the importance of knowledge base practice of medicine, combined with addressing holistic needs of the patient and family, including the physical, psychological, cognitive, emotional, spiritual and social care (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, 2010). Additionally, a vital aspect of nursing is effective interpersonal relationships with other healthcare professionals to promote quality patient care. Moreover, my philosophy includes the importance the client-nurse relationship to aid in health promotion to prevent illness and increase the level of health of clients.
Nursing is considered one of the most trusted professions in the world. It is an essential part in the caregiving of sick, injured, and even healthy individuals. Developing a philosophy with any profession is the beginning basis of any practice. The nursing philosophy is usually incorporated from the science of nursing. That is because the field of health care is constantly changing, which causes the need of better competence in the health field of providing caring (Flagg, 2015). With nursing it starts by the science behind it. Then along with knowledge and experiences, that is when the nursing philosophy is developed. Researching differences between new ideas and cultural differences can then expand the viewpoint into a bigger picture.
A metaparadigm is an overarching framework that provides a comprehensive perspective of a discipline. In nursing, this framework serves to distinguish the profession intellectually, comprising of four concepts which provide a foundation to the content and context of nursing theory and scope of practice (Lee & Fawcett, 2013; Masters, 2014; Schim, Benkert, Bell, Walker, & Danford, 2007). Namely, these foundational concepts are: person, environment, health, and nursing. Hence, the intent of this essay is to describe the four main concepts that make up nursing’s metaparadigm and discuss how they are used in practice, education and research.
The mentored practicum experience of this course also met program outcome eight (DNP Essential VIII). I met this program outcome by spending 120 clinical hours with a defined specialty of the geriatric population. I conducted comprehensive and systematic assessments of the geriatric population’s health and illness parameters. I learned to develop and sustain therapeutic relationships with patients and partnerships with the long-term care nursing professionals to facilitate optimal geriatric patient health
One must have the full desire to help and care for people in order to have an enjoyable career as a nurse. Nurses are known for the care and compassion shown to the patients and this is comforting for both patients and their families. Caring for a patient can raise their spirits and can inspire a better outlook on their situation. As a nurse, I want to care for all my patients with the hope of improving their health and outlook on their life. I chose Jean Watson because she understands that caring is the core of nursing and believes caring promotes a better health than only performing medical care. She was the first grand theorist that focused on the aspect of caring for the patient while also caring for yourself as the nurse. Watson’s theory
When planning and providing care for a patient, nurses can benefit from understanding and utilizing various nursing theories. They help us focus care, individualize treatment, identify risk factors, health care needs and educational needs. Nursing theories, such as Betty Neuman’s nursing systems model, can be used within the four concepts of the nursing metaparadigm to address all aspects of care. “In the United States, the nursing metaparadigm has been widely used to describe four spheres of nursing knowledge that reflect beliefs held by the profession about nursing’s context and content” (Myers Schim, Benkert, Bell, Walker, & Danford, 2007, p. 73).
Nursing theory can be used to empower nurses by giving autonomy and improve skills. With the rise of healthcare, administrative decisions involving nurses could have a negative effect on patient care. There are four concepts that make up the nursing metaparadigm, person, environment, health and nursing and act as the model for nursing care. All theories in the nursing practice proves valuable within the profession but may vary between different theorists depending on what their beliefs are. Some theorists can view the same situation entirely different. Both Rogers and Neuman were theorist that developed theories for viewing and caring for patients but in two different ways. Professionalization, coherence, and enhanced communication are three arguments when determining the importance of theory in nursing. Multi-disciplinary nursing becomes necessary to achieve positive patient