Instructions
This assignment provides the opportunity for the student to develop their own personal philosophy of nursing while examining and incorporating a nursing theory.
Nursing Philosophy.
Nursing is a unique and special profession that integrates skills and knowledge for patient care. The uniqueness of nursing practice makes it impossible to have a standardized definition of nursing. Every individual has a unique definition guided by experiences, ethics, human interaction, philosophies, and theories among other issues (Fukada, 2018). The advancement in patient care and technology also influences the definition. The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed discussion of what nursing means to me, a description of my nursing theory, identify the qualities and skills of a nurse, and how I plan to impact society as a nurse.
Meaning of Nursing
To me, nursing is defined based on practices, skills, and knowledge. To begin with, the provision of patient-centered holistic care guided by evidence-based practice (EBP) is a simple definition of my nursing practice. Integration of EBP ensures the provision of high-quality care using high-quality knowledge that influences correct decision-making (Kristoffersen, 2019). Furthermore, the skills and knowledge gained either in classes or during clinical practice are essential in enhancing patient-centered care that improves patient care and greatly impacts my practice. My joy as a nurse is seeing my patients` health improve because I applied skills and knowledge to provide holistic care addressing their needs. Additionally, enhancing communication and improving interprofessional collaboration are vital aspects that define nursing and enhance patient care.
My Nursing Theory
Jean Watson`s theory of Human caring influences my nursing practice. According to this theory, nurses are required to integrate skills and knowledge to provide patient-centered care that addresses patients` needs (Riegel et al., 2018). The art of caring is a special requirement for every nurse to demonstrate to promote the health of the patient as well as improve patient satisfaction. I have upheld the concept of caring to provide holistic patient-centered care whenever I get the opportunity to serve with much focus on health promotion. Fortunately, I have observed immense improvement in patients who benefit from holistic care. Besides, Jean Watson also described the four meta paradigms of nursing namely; person, health, nursing, and education (Riegel et al., 2018). These paradigms define activities undertaken to restore health while identifying factors influencing health. To emulate this theory, I integrate skills, knowledge, philosophy, and values to enhance the provision of high-quality care.
Qualities, Skills, and Values
In addition to using EBP knowledge in care, nurses are required to possess various skills, qualities, and values that guide their practice. Some of the skills and qualities are inherent while others are acquired during clinical practice. In terms of qualities, nurses are expected to be honest, think critically, emulate teamwork, compassion, clinical reasoning, versatility, uphold integrity, empathize, and communicate effectively with patients and other healthcare providers (Fukada, 2018). Through communication, nurses create collaboration and develop skills necessary for advocacy and solving problems in clinical settings. Furthermore, nurses learn to work closely with patients to understand their needs, respect patients, and formulate care plans for patients (Kristoffersen, 2019). Nurses also perform some clinical and technical activities such as bed making, taking temperatures, and giving injections among others. Such skills and qualities are paramount to nursing care.
My Plan to Impact Society
Nursing is a noble profession which is I am proud to be associated with and I have plans for my future. My current focus is sitting my final exam, passing, and acquiring my license. Acquiring a license will enable me to practice and impact my society. After acquiring my license, I intend to use my skills and knowledge to empower my society by working closely with community heads to identify issues surrounding them. These issues can be used in formulating policies that aim at improving the provision of care. Formulating policies on health promotion, technology, and access to care can greatly improve population health while reducing disease burden.
Conclusion
The nobility associated with nursing continues to attract many people. Not only are the qualities and skills of nurses admirable but the whole process is associated with nursing. The inclusion of nursing theory further defines the activities of nursing aimed at providing patient-centered and holistic care that improves patient outcomes. I am deeply rooted and informed about the qualities nurses portray and I am determined to leave a mark in the future.
References
Fukada, M. (2018). Nursing competency: Definition, structure, and development. Yonago Acta Medica, 61(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.33160/yam.2018.03.001
Kristoffersen, M. (2019). Thoughts of creation and the discipline of nursing. Nursing Open, 6(2), 566–573. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.239
Riegel, F., Crossetti, M. da G. O., & Siqueira, D. S. (2018). Contributions of Jean Watson’s theory to holistic critical thinking of nurses. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem, 71(4), 2072–2076. https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-7167-2017-0065