Unity not Uniformity
Savalla McLeod
Arizona College School of Nursing
Unity not Uniformity “Actions speaks louder than words,” is a phrase that been proven true time and time again. “We reap what sew” or “what goes around comes back around,” has also been proven true, so it behooves a person to do all the good they can, while they can, for as long as they can. The profession of nursing understands what it means to do good. “Nursing is conceptualized as a practice discipline with a mandate from society to enhance the health and well-being of humanity” (Shaw, 1993, p. 1654). In the nursing code of ethics, it is a requirement to practice beneficence which means the desire to do good and be the patient’s advocate. Florence Nightingale’s and Jean Watson’s theory of nursing has become two of my favorite theories and has major
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There are 3 carative factors that I believe are extremely important to my personal philosophy of nursing. The first is carative factor number three. It states, “Cultivating one’s own spiritual practices and transpersonal self, going beyond ego self” (Watson, 2008, p. 34) This will allow me time for self reflection, a time to be silent and a time to listen. The second carative factor that I will incorporate into my personal philosophy is “Developing and sustaining a helping-trusting authentic caring relationships” (Watson, 2008, p. 34). I will always practice fidelity. I will treat people the way I want to be treated and trust is a major factor for me. Finally I will use carative factor number five, “Promotion and acceptance of the expression of positive and negative feelings” (Watson, 2008, p. 34). I will actively listen to the patients concerns or their point of view. I will acknowledge their feelings and then release my positive energy by revealing a positive side in hopes they will see things
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.
Throughout the history of nursing, many philosophies and theories have emerged in regards to how we as nurses should carry out our profession. I believe that nursing is a highly respected profession than I am honored to be a part of. My personal philosophy on nursing is to treat and care for each patient in the best way that I can. While my philosophy can be considered very broad, I believe that each patient deserves their own specific approach and not necessarily be generalized with one way of thinking.
According to Arries & Cur (2005), “the virtue ethics in nursing can be viewed as an approach of ethical deliberation about the moral character and dispositions of nurses as moral agents that enables them, as virtuous human beings, to fulfill their purpose and function as professional people.” The nurse exercises virtues of honesty, truthfulness, benevolence and moral courage to fulfill code of ethics and address ethical dilemmas. According to ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses and Interpretive statements (2015) “nurses are leaders who actively participate in assuring the responsible and appropriate use of interventions to optimize the health and well-being of those in their care. This includes acting to minimize unwarranted, unwanted, or unnecessary
To be involved in the nursing profession, you must abide by the Code of Ethics provided for nurses. Nurses must hold the good of the patient as its most important value; this is the ultimate goal in the nursing profession. They must treat each patient as an individual, care for them with respe...
This paper is a first attempt at forming and articulating my own philosophy of nursing.
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.
What is the philosophy of nursing? Many of the nursing theorists have different answers to this question, but all of them share the main concept and idea of nursing: a philosophy, which focuses not on the treatment of a disease but on the wholeness of human being. Florence Nightingale concentrated on the surrounding environment of the patient and how it affected the patient’s health (Creasia & Friberg, 2011). Her findings had incredible impact on the philosophy of nursing today. Along the environment factors Betty Neuman believed that nursing should be primarily concerned with appropriate actions in stress-related situations to help patients, their families, and society achieve and sustain wellness (Creasia & Friberg, 2011). The ideas of Jean Watson focused first on the commitment to self to be able to commit to others. A philosophy of nursing addresses four different meta-paradigm concepts known as client, health, nurse, and environment (Creasia & Friberg, 2011). In the movie Wit, Emma Thompson’s character Vivian Bearing was treated like a test subject with no sense of human dignity, respect and decency. The movie started with Dr. Kelekian telling Vivian that she had stage four-metastic ovarian cancer and that the treatment involved a vigorous course of therapy. There was no explanation to what that meant. He simply told her diagnosis in medical terms. The human factor was not present at all, and the rapid decline in her health was thanks to the lack of empathy, kindness, and humanity. The only character that was on the human side in the hospital, the one that had the understanding of basic human decency and cared for Vivian’s condition was the nurse Susie. She was caring, companionate, provided comf...
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.
Professional values that are incorporated into my nursing practice include veracity, kindness, support and understanding. It is important to be honest with patients and help them set realistic goals during their recovery process. It is also important to be kind to those that are ill, as they may not have the best attitude at tim...
Nursing is a profession that prides itself in integrity, honesty and trustworthiness. True nursing revolves around service and commitment to the wellbeing of others, prevention of illness, and promotion of good health. I believe this is the hallmark of nursing.
My core values and beliefs are honesty, caring, family, and lifelong learning, which I use every day in my life. The core of nursing is caring, knowledge, and integrity that focuses on the patient’s needs, healing, safety, and encouragement. Personal and professional beliefs overlap the driving force of nursing. The qualities of a good nurse are not or cannot be turned off and on, and are part of the person I am. We are just helping hands that are always striving to help others. I am not perfect. I am a human being and sometimes mistakes will be made, but I always try my best. If something goes wrong, I will examine the situation, and learn from it to make me a better nurse than I was before. I will monitor and reflect on my own actions to ensure that I am staying true to what I believe are the best nursing practices. When we find conflicts between our personal beliefs and those of the patient, we should uphold our personal and professional ethical standards. We should find someone to guide us through our conflict to find a solution that will not compromise our own
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.
Working in health care is an important job. People put their trust in us to do our very best to provide them with the absolute best care. Being entrusted with such responsibility requires nurses to conduct themselves both professionally and ethically. Nurses must adhere to the professional values of human dignity, integrity, autonomy, altruism, and social justice. It is these five values that guide us in our practice and as nurses we must promote and emulate these values. They play an important role in the quality of treatment and success of an organization and help us determine right from wrong.
Ethics is defined as moral principles that govern a persons or a group’s behavior, ethical principles apply to both personal and professional relationships (Webster, 2015). The field of nursing is a profession that has been highly regarded and respected in society. Most nurses enter the profession in order to utilize their clinical skills to help others in their time of need. Those in failing health rely on nurses to care for them in their most vulnerable states, and expect a level of compassion and humanity while receiving care. Nurses have an ethical responsibility to their patients, clients, and their community. Compassion, empathy, and integrity are staple characteristics that nurses possess that allow them to successfully perform their
It takes empathy for people by upstanding morals and values. As a nurse, my goal is to provide competent, empathetic, compassionate, and optimal holistic care to the best of my ability to my patients. This philosophy stems from the values and beliefs instilled in me during my childhood. These values and beliefs are accompanied by trust worthiness, respect, compassion, and that is what drove me to this profession and is currently driving me as I continue my journey as a bedside nurse.