Introduction
Philosophical beliefs and one’s personal view of health are vital for any nurse to consider. They define their daily practice and aspirations and the future directions in which they take their career and advocacy (Hoeck & Delmar, 2018). It is also essential to describe and explain my thoughts on nursing as a profession and a calling at this stage in life. As I pursue another step in my education, I have to remind myself why I chose this profession and what it means to be a nurse. This paper outlines my views on the four core concepts of the nursing metaparadigm as well as their links to each other.
Nursing Philosophical Beliefs
First, it is necessary to mention the factors that influenced my nursing philosophy. They range from my view of nursing growing up to my relationship with people and their well-being. As I was growing up, I gained the understanding that the idea of health was different for every person, and many tried to pursue it in their own way. I wanted to see whether I could help people achieve the state of well-being they wanted. As a result, I started looking into nursing to connect with people beyond curing illnesses.
Any nursing philosophy discusses four concepts: person, environment, health, and nursing. A person, in my eyes, is the core of the nursing profession. Nurses’ duty is to help people – thus, they are at the center of any theory and strategy developed in the healthcare field. Patients must be viewed as more than clients whose problems are purely illness-related. They are whole human beings with complex emotional and sometimes spiritual needs that have to be acknowledged. Thus, I strongly believe in the value of person-centered care, a highly regarded approach in nursing (Haydon et al., 2018). It is vital to empower patients and respect their personhood.
The environment includes everything that surrounds the patient, such as their home and workplace, as well as the city and country in which they live. I am guided by one of the oldest nursing frameworks – Florence Nightingale’s environmental theory. According to it, the environment impacts one health and can aid in recovery or lead to disease (Fernandes & da Silva, 2020). This belief in the importance of the environment for one’s well-being is currently strengthened by the ongoing pandemic that the whole world is experiencing at once. The state’s decisions and people’s personal choices have influenced the fight against COVID-19, which demonstrates that nurses should pay attention to patients’ environment.
The idea of health, in my opinion, is constantly changing and fluctuating. There is no state where a person can be considered absolutely healthy. Therefore, nursing is a strive towards helping people be as healthy as they can, without dismissing their individual needs and barriers in healing. Moreover, health depends on the quality of life and one’s environment – it is a complex combination that nursing aims to improve through health advocacy and attention to health-related needs. As a result, the four concepts are connected as nurses view patients as multi-faceted beings whose health is influenced by their environment and individual traits.
Conclusion
To summarize, my personal nursing philosophy is primarily inspired by Nightingale’s environmental theory and the person-centered care approach. People coming into nurses’ care have various needs related to their health, mental well-being, and other spheres of life. Each individual has a set of factors that, in combination, result in health problems, but these issues cannot always be solved with medication or procedures alone. Thus, nursing goes outside of clinical treatment, providing care, sharing knowledge, and supporting those in need.
References
Fernandes, A. G. O., & da Silva, T. D. C. R. (2020). The war against the COVID-19 pandemic: Reflection in light of Florence Nightingale’s nursing theory. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem, 73(Suppl 5), 1-4. Web.
Haydon, G., Browne, G., & van der Riet, P. (2018). Narrative inquiry as a research methodology exploring person-centred care in nursing. Collegian, 25(1), 125-129. Web.
Hoeck, B., & Delmar, C. (2018). Theoretical development in the context of nursing—The hidden epistemology of nursing theory. Nursing Philosophy, 19(1), e12196. Web.