I believe that nursing is an act of ensuring commitment to public service and the undeniable desire to offer help and care to the individuals in need. Reflecting on my nursing education, I realize that I have built up a set of values and beliefs for myself. As a nurse, I understand that nursing is more than providing treatment and care to ill patients; instead, it aims at providing quality care that is relevant to the needs of every patient. As I continue to progress in my nursing career, my ethics associated with a diverse patient population, the environment and the role of a professional nurse will improve with me. My philosophy of nursing aims at embracing the art of expressing nursing science holistically with compassion and dignity. My personal philosophy in nursing is an essential factor in my approach in developing as a professional nurse hence ensuring effective patient care, providing quality care, and also determines my beliefs, values, and future directions.
Nursing theories are fundamental to nurses in their nursing carer. They are creative structuring of ideas that bring about a purposeful and a systematic view of the situation. The main aim of nursing theory is to improve the practice by affecting the health and the quality of care to the patients positively. As a nurse, the nursing theories act as a supportive framework that is essential for patient care. The nursing theories include the self-care nursing theory, culture care nursing theory, humanistic nursing theory, theory of interpersonal relations and need theory. From the lessons I learned from the nursing theory, I can apply it in different ways in clinical practice, education, and research.
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First, self-care nursing theory was introduced by Dorothea Orem, and its purpose is to major on the nurse duty in supporting the patients' ability to be responsible and self-sufficient for their personal care (Mackey & Bassendowski, 2017). As a nurse, I would advise patients about the importance of their care. I would help patients understand their conditions and help them understand the need for medication and adequate care. By helping them understand their health problems, they will know their conditions, hence, making them responsible for their care (Mackey & Bassendowski, 2017) The culture care theory is aimed at offering care that is in relation to the patient’s cultural beliefs, values, and practices. As a nurse, I will provide culturally diverse care. I will be able to understand the different cultures of the patients and try to care for them without neglecting their believes and values. I will respect every culture, social structural dimensions, and religious beliefs and care for the patients accordingly. Also, as a nurse, I will be able to understand cultural care preservation or maintenance. Therefore, I will provide nursing care that enables specific cultures to retain their important cultural values in relation to healthcare.
The humanistic nursing theory aims at melding mental and emotional health with physical health. As a nurse, I will apply this theory in investigating a case. I will develop a nurse-patient relationship to understand the patient, therefore, using their intuitive knowledge. I will use scientific knowledge to start a relationship with the patients hence helping me reflect on my experiences and put them in the context of the occurring situation. I will also use this theory to synthesize my knowledge to be the source of continuously evolving information. I will also be enabled to understand that every patient is different and unique hence understanding them differently and providing care.
The theory of interpersonal relations aims at the necessity of a nurse-patient relationship (Smith & Parker, 2015). I will apply this theory to focus on the patient’s needs. I will use this to help the patients get familiar with the medication and the treatment process. I would apply this theory in developing stronger nurse-patient relationships; hence the patients will be able to express their reactions thus becoming an active participant in care. Through this, I will be able to help patients get back to their healthy productive life. Finally, the need theory aims at nurse’s duties in assisting the patients to recover from injuries, maintain health and achieve a peaceful death (De Chesnay & Anderson, 2019). I will apply this theory in a clinical setting by providing effective care to patients by considering their psychological needs, physiological needs, spiritual needs, and social needs. In general, I will apply the nursing theories in a clinical setting to ensure I provide adequate care for the patients.
Nurses apply nursing theories in practice in different ways. It will help me predict, describe and explain everyday situations in practice. It will help me assess, intervene and evaluate the nursing care hence providing quality safe care to the patients. It will also help me in collecting data on the health status of the patients which are important in making decisions and implementing them. It will help me create ideas necessary for improving patient care and enhance autonomy (Smith & Parker, 2015). Also, I will be able to develop common nursing terminology that I will use in communicating with my fellow nurses. I will apply the nursing theories in providing education. I will use the nursing theories in creating a guide for decision making and creating a focus for curriculum design. The nursing theories can also be applied in research. I will apply it to provide a framework for creating knowledge and ideas. I will also use the theories in assessing and determining the knowledge gaps in providing nursing care. I will also use the theories in identifying and finding answers to phenomena in clinical practice.
Florence Nightingale philosophy of nursing focuses on providing a safe and caring environment that ensures the patients’ health and wellbeing (Pirani, 2016). The philosophy involves the use of interpersonal tools including advocacy to provide caregiving environment. Nightingale used advocacy techniques in delivering care in modern care. Nightingale philosophy of nursing best matches my philosophy. This is because I also believing in providing a safe and caring environment for the patients. By providing a safe and caring environment, the patients will be able to receive the necessary care they need hence ensuring patients health and wellbeing. I also believe in supporting the necessity of providing a safe and caring environment for the patients. With adequate nursing knowledge, I understand that as a nurse it is important to focus on providing care and secure environment for patients hence improving their recovery process and their health quality.
Environmental theory of nursing best fits Florence Nightingale philosophy of nursing. (Pirani, 2016) The theory is defined as "the act of utilizing the environment of the patient to assist him or her in his recovery." Environmental theory of nursing focuses on the adjustment of the patient’s surroundings to affect his or her health. This theory explains that patient care is important than the nursing activities, the nurse-patient relationship or the nurse themselves. It also involves the nurse's actions to consider the patient's environment surrounding for the restoration of their health and how the patients surrounding affects the patient’s life, biological, psychological process and their development. Florence Nightingale also introduced the environmental theory of nursing. She believes the patient's outcomes are affected by their environment (Pirani, 2016). The major aspect of the theory includes patient’s rooms being kept clean, well construction of the hospital facilities, patients having clean air and a temperature-controlled environment and positivity of the nurses. Other aspects include patients having access to sunlight and not subjected to noise especially when they are resting, patients being offered a variety of scenery and also considering where the patient lives.
This theory best fits Florence Nightingale philosophy because they both focus on the patient’s environment for quality care. Florence Nightingale philosophy expresses how she values patients care by considering the patient's environment. Also, the environment theory of nursing also fits my personal philosophy of nursing. I believe in providing quality care to the patients and to do so, the patient’s environment is a major factor. I also believe that as a nurse, I have to put the patient in the best environmental condition to improve their recovery and their general health. As a nurse, providing quality care for every patient is more important than other nursing activities. The patient’s environment has a strong influence on his or her health outcome. In general, the environmental theory of nursing best fits Florence Nightingale`s philosophy in nursing and my personal philosophy in nursing.
There are possible situations in which environmental nursing theory would be a poor fit. Although almost every patient has a health problem related to an environmental hazard, not all diseases have an environmental etiology. To care for the patients, nurses have to establish a nurse-patient relationship to enable the patient to establish trust with their nurses. Nurses have to establish a relationship with the patients to understand their needs to provide efficient care. Besides creating a relationship with the patients, the nurses also have to learn to communicate effectively with the patients to provide valuable care. The environmental theory of nursing will be determined as a poor fit in situations of establishing a nurse-patient relationship. This is because the theory focuses on adjusting the environment to conditions favorable for the patients for recovery. This theory will not help the nurses attend to the full needs of the patients since there will be no nurse-patient relationship.
Environmental theory of nursing will be determined as a poor fit in melding the patient’s emotional, mental and physical health. Nurses have to connect with the patient’s general health to be able to offer them adequate care. It is crucial for the nurses to be able to help their patients in their emotional, mental and physical health. Understanding the patients emotional, psychological and physical health will enable the patient to adapt and cope up with their ill health and medication. The environmental theory of nursing does not allow the nurse to focus on their mental and emotional needs rather than their environmental conditions. Nurses have understood their patients need to provide quality care; therefore, the environmental theory of nursing will not fit in such situations.
In conclusion, determining your personal nursing philosophy is very important. It enables you to understand your values and believes as a nurse hence guiding you in your professional career. In addition, nursing theories and clinical practice are related. To develop as a professional nurse, nursing theories concepts have to be addressed. It helps guide the nurses on the actions they have to take to ensure that they provide quality and safe care to the patients. The nursing theories used to benefit a clinical practice, and it is developed by individuals who practice nursing to ensure useful guidance in providing care to patients.
References
De Chesnay, M., & Anderson, B. A. (2019 ). Caring for the vulnerable: Perspectives in nursing theory, practice, and research . Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Mackey, A., & Bassendowski, S. (2017). The history of evidence-based practice in nursing education and practice. Journal of Professional Nursing, 33(1), 51-55.
Pirani, S. A. (2016). Application of Nightingale’s theory in nursing practice. Annals of Nursing and Practice, 3(1), 1040.
Smith, M. C., & Parker, M. E. (2015). Nursing theories and nursing practice. FA Davis.
