Nursing philosophy refers to a set of beliefs and values that guide the nurse in decision making while providing care. A particular nursing philosophy may be informed by nursing theories, models or ethical principles that cumulatively form an individual nurse’s philosophy. Developing a personal nursing philosophy is critical in ensuring an individual nurse forms a basis for patient interaction and perceptions about their work. Each individual nursing philosophy is unique since it is informed by the level of knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and interactions with others. In essence, developing a nursing philosophy positively impacts on career growth through improved attitudes and better skills. This paper, therefore, describes a personal approach to professional nursing informed by culture care nursing theory, the values and beliefs present in this approach as well as an active listening style of communication
Madeleine Leininger’s Culture Care Diversity and Universality Theory resonates with my approach to professional nursing practice. The theory advocates for an approach to nursing care that focuses on the cultural background of the patient (Masters, 2015). Culture congruent care is the main emphasis of the Culture care Theory, where the nurse first identifies the cultural background of the patients and uses professional knowledge to develop care interventions that are best suited for the patient. The patient’s participation is key to the success of this nursing approach. The nurse develops a positive relationship with the patients to gain more knowledge about the patient's preferences, beliefs, and attitudes. This information then forms the basis of the unique intervention that the nurse will apply to the patient’s situation. The nurse does not, however, relies on professional knowledge alone since he/she depends on generic information to come up with nursing action and goals for the patient. The patient-nurse relationship is crucial for this approach since the nurse relies on information that the patient shares.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Relevance to Critical Thinking during Practice
Nursing practice involves a daily encounter with situations or challenges that demand the input of nursing knowledge, experience and values. Culture Care Diversity and Universality Theory thus become pivotal in informing the thought process and decision making during such situations. Encounters with patients of different cultures, beliefs and attitudes are common in the current practice. The initial step in such situations involves the formation of a nurse-patient relationship that eases interaction and leads to the development of trust. The relationship then allows the patient to share information that will lead to the development of the best care plan. The patient's preference and interest are the priority when developing the best approach to their situation. Furthermore, adjustment to the care patterns may be necessary as the nurse continues to learn more about the patient or from the patient's reaction to the current patterns.
Furthermore, cultural congruency is an important aspect of nursing practice and decision making. Understanding the worldview of the patient is a priority in providing care that aligns with the patient’s beliefs (Njie-Carr et al., 2018). Individuals have different worldviews and exerting pressure on the patient to shift their beliefs during care is undesirable and likely to impact patient outcomes. Cultural dimensions such as spirituality and values have significant in how the patient views the whole care process. Determining the patient’s view of such matters informs the nurse’s decision on the best care plan for the patient. Cultural preservation also aligns with the effort to provide care without interference with the patient's personal beliefs. Decisions centered on cultural preservation involve identification of the patient's core cultural values and the way they affect the patient’s health. The nurse then develops a care plan that uses these core values to the benefit of the patient.
Nursing, Person, Health, and Environment Definitions
The definitions of nursing, person, health, and environment are informed by the cultural approach to nursing care delivery. Nursing incorporates both science and art in providing care to individuals when they are healthy, ill or in the state of dying. Nursing, therefore, focuses on providing personalized care that promotes healthy behaviors in individuals while also offering support and enhancing care whose ultimate purpose is to speed up recovery during illness. The behavioral needs of the patient are as important as their biological needs, thus underlining the relevance of culturally congruent nursing practice. “Person” is a collective term for human beings who have learnt through time to provide care for others at different stages of development. This perspective means that others determine a person’s health within their surroundings. The person exists within family and community settings; hence it is impossible to separate the person form their cultural background. Furthermore, the person will view their health according to their beliefs and values.
Health, on the other hand, is the overall wellbeing of the person irrespective of when they are ill or not. As such, health is not just the absence of disease but the perception of the person with regard to their beliefs, values and cultural practices. Various individuals may view a state of health differently hence the need to provide education and relevant knowledge regarding health. A person's worldview will significantly affect the way they perceive their health, implying the health is tied to the cultural background of the person. “Environment” combines a person’s physical settings, events and experiences that influence their worldview and state of health. The link between the environment and health is that these surroundings and experiences influence perception and, ultimately, the way the person will perceive their health. Individuals tend to express and develop a worldview depending on their environment.
Values in Professional Nursing practice
Nursing practice decision-making hinges on a set of values that guide the nurse in making decisions that are beneficial to the patient. The values are standards of action or interaction that guarantee professional behavior in the work environment. Personal nursing practice values stem from the ethical requirements of a nurse to provide the best care for the patient. Altruism and social justice are the most relevant values in my nursing practice.
Altruism is an ethical value that advocates for concern for the welfare of others at all times (Poorchangizi et al., 2019). This value extends to patients, the welfare of colleagues and others within society. A strong sense of concern for the welfare of others is the foundation for altruism. While duty requires the nurse to care for the needs of patients, inputting extra effort while delivering care is critical in building patient trust and ensuring positive outcomes. Nursing practice often requires long hours of work, sometimes in understaffed environments. Altruism thus serves as a motivator in providing services without expecting extra competition while also enhancing the experience.
Social justice is another value that embodies the nurse's concern for others in society. Social justice requires that the professional nursing approach the practice with moral and humanistic regard for the health of others. Society often bends towards competition, causing others to enjoy benefits due to the social or economic status, while others suffer the effects of inequality. Social justice in nursing bridges the inequality gap in healthcare by ensuring individuals from different cultures, backgrounds and ethnicities receive equal and quality care. Social justice values intertwine with culture congruent nursing. Cultural competence, while providing nursing care, enables members of marginalized minority communities to benefit from the same quality of services as the dominant culture.
Communication Style
Effective communication is essential in nursing practice to guide interaction with patients, colleagues and others within the work environment. Barriers to communication are a significant hindrance to positive patient experiences and outcomes. Adapting an effective communication style that overcomes barriers such as poor reporting, mistrust between the nurse and patients and poor flow of information contributes to improvement in the work environment.
Active listening is a communication technique in nursing that contributes to building trust with patients and colleagues. Patients deserve empathy, which is more effectively build with active listening to their situations (Haley et al., 2017). The nurse grants the patient an avenue to channel their view about their conditions by allowing them time to listen. This style is especially essential when dealing with patients from a different culture who may feel that the nurse detached from reality with their condition. Listening also allows the nurse to gain information about the beliefs, values and attitudes of the patients. It then becomes possible for the nurse to use this information in developing a care plan that considers these aspects of the patient’s characteristics. As the patient-nurse level of trust grows, the patient feels free to express their worries and frustration about the kind of care they are accorded.
The strengths of active listening communication style lie in the ability of the nurse to build strong working relationships with colleagues while also developing patient trust. Most patients are usually in distress and often require reassurance about their situation. An active listener is able to read through their emotions and come up with ways to enhance their experiences. Listening is also vital in team settings since team members rely on each other for information. This style, therefore, encourages information sharing as the nurse listens to the situations of others hence allowing them to brainstorm and come up with solutions (Haley et al., 2017). On the flip side, there is always the chance that the patient’s situation may cause the nurse to become preoccupied with providing comfort while ignoring other vital professional requirements. The nurse must, therefore, have the ability to compartment personal feelings from their professional obligations. Another weakness of the active listening technique is that communication may sometimes become one-sides leading to the other person, the patient or work colleague, to assume that the nurse is disinterested. It is, therefore, crucial to creating a balance between listening and offering feedback.
The impact of active listening style on collaborative interdisciplinary teams centers on the ability of the nurse to build strong relationships with team members. Listening while offering responses portrays individuals as interested in the team, thus contributing towards the overall team effort. Furthermore, interdisciplinary teams in healthcare face various challenges; hence creating a culture of listening allows the members to brainstorm and find solutions to problems. Information sharing within the team also depends on the ability of members to listen and provide feedback when necessary. The downside of this style in interdisciplinary teams is that certain members might deem the nurse as less informed. The professional nurse can overcome this demerit by ensuring full participation in team activities.
Conclusion
In essence, professional nursing practice requires an s set of values that guide the nurse in patient interaction and care delivery at the workplace. Culture Care Diversity and Universality Theory provide a reliable foundation with a set of values that can inform decision making in nursing practice. The pervasiveness of multicultural communities in the current age necessitates culturally congruent nursing techniques to cater to the unique needs of different patients. Developing a communication style, such as active listening aligns with the cultural aspects of nursing ensures positive patient and nurse experiences.
References
Haley, B., Heo, S., Wright, P., Barone, C., Rettiganti, M. R., & Anders, M. (2017). Relationships among active listening, self-awareness, empathy, and patient-centered care in associate and baccalaureate degree nursing students. NursingPlus Open , 3 , 11-16.
Masters, K. (2015). Nursing theories: A framework for professional practice (2 nd ed.) Burlington, MA . Jones & Bartlett Publishers. ISBN-13: 918-1-284-04835-3
Njie-Carr, V., Adeyeye, O., Zhu, S., Sanneh, K., & Ludeman, E. (2018). Evaluating relevance of nursing theories in cross-cultural and international contexts. Journal of the National Black Nurses Association , 29 (1), 13-21.
Poorchangizi, B., Borhani, F., Abbaszadeh, A., Mirzaee, M., & Farokhzadian, J. (2019). The importance of professional values from nursing students’ perspective. BMC nursing , 18 (1), 26.
