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...
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Jean Watson’s Philosophy of Nursing. (2012). Retrieved April 4, 2014, from http://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/Watson.html
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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
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The intention of this paper is to reflect on my personal philosophy of nursing using the concepts of nursing metaparadigm. When I was a student nurse, my philosophy was solely on patients’ care. However, this perspective on nursing transformed overtime secondary to nursing education and clinical experience. Nursing philosophy refers as “a statement of fundamental and universal assumptions, beliefs ad principles about the nature of knowledge and thought and about the nature of the entities represented in the metaparadigm” (McEwen, & Wills, p.10). My personal nursing philosophies include provision of safe and quality nursing care, maintaining patients’ health, managing resources and environment as well as career advancement. In order to
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
A metaparadigm is commonly described as a set of concepts and propositions that set forth a general statement of a discipline. The central focus of the profession of nursing is developed around the idea of providing different dimensions of care to individuals in need by use of science and the promotion of health. As follows, nurses must always take a holistic approach towards the care of their clients and to maintain the same approach among all clients; the meta-paradigm of nursing was developed.
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.
This paper is a first attempt at forming and articulating my own philosophy of nursing.
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 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.
It is important to explore one’s personal values and principles that will guide your nursing practice. Philosophical and theoretical outlooks provide the foundation for all nursing actions including practice and research. A nursing philosophy not only guides one practice but also facilitates knowledge, and the development of knowledge to further advance nursing theory into practice. According to Alpers and Wotring (2013), nursing philosophy helps explore one values, develop imagination, increase understanding and build knowledge with the application of critical thinking into practice. Working in Oncology has helped me achieve and uphold the highest standard of quality care to all patients, whether it is end of life care or new diagnoses
With each passing day, new challenges for nurses are created. As of 2011, the baby boomer generation (those born from 1946 to 1964) turned 65. Between 1946 and 1964, approximately 76 million babies were born. Now that they are rising in age, these older adults are starting to need more hospitalization because of age-related issues. With the growing number of older adults seeking healthcare, there is a shortage in the number of nurses willing to take on the responsibility of caring for them (Hartman-Stein & Potkanowicz, 2009). I want to make sure that these adults never have a sense of loneliness because of their age. I also want to make sure that they have the same standards of living that they did before they got sick. This leads me into another reason of why I want to be a nurse. I think the world needs me. I want to feel that I belong and, in a sea of older adults needing healthcare, I think I will. I want to make a difference to those who feel that no one cares about them. When my grandmother was very sick, she needed all the help that my father and I could give her. She had a voice box so she couldn’t talk, pneumonia so she was very weak, and she could barely walk on her own. I knew ...
Every nurse determines the way they will practice in the beginning of their career. More than likely these roles and values are created and sparked in nursing school. As time goes on, nurses dig deeper and establish who they are in their new role as a professional. When the metaparadigm of nursing and personal philosophy coincide with one another, individualized concepts, care, and professionalism are achieved and delivered in multiple settings. From a personal perspective, these concepts were established and developed very early in my career. Maintaining and establishing myself as a nurse remains a top priority ten years later in my practice.
"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.
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).
The purpose of this paper is to define my professional nursing philosophy. I will utilize the nursing metaparadigm as a framework for integrating the concepts of person, environment, health, and nursing into my nursing practice. Secondly, I will discuss Jean Watson’s theory of human care and how this has personally impacted my profession as a nurse and guided my nursing philosophy.