Personal Philosophy of Nursing Paper

Introduction

(Who you are and where you practice nursing)

Definition of Nursing

If a Martian were asked to pick the most appropriate definition of nursing, it would certainly focus on the care and responsibility for human wellbeing. In an age of rapidly changing definitions of health and sickness, and in the face of the deconsolidation of healthcare into numerous professions and schools, the role of “the largest single group of staff working in the health service” (Marcovitch, 2005, p. 502) is more holistic than ever before. Hence, in order to properly consider the diversity of nursing activities and the basic needs this field intends to address, we should define nursing as the body of knowledge, practice and research on the promotion of wellbeing and prevention of one’s dissatisfaction regarding one’s physical and emotional conditions, while applying to knowledge, needs and abilities of the applicable healthcare environment.

Assumptions or Underlying Beliefs

For more than 60 years, the World Health Organization has advocated the notion that “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (2003). Conventional and widely accepted as it is, this basic assumption is arguably not adequately practiced in modern healthcare. That is, following the definition of nursing suggested above and the definition of the WHO, clinical parameters are not sufficient to identify the extent of well-being and the proper nursing intervention required for providing the individual with the best possible care.

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The concept of “best possible care” is less malleable than we usually assume. In the process of delivering healthcare, comprehensive nursing implies that the nurse should not be merely confined to treatment algorithms, but must also examine and take care of a wider array of elements that construct well-being. Hence, measurements such as hygiene and self-management are equally important as serving the emotional needs of the patient and building an environment, which allows a healing of the body and the soul. Nurses are expected to apply scientific knowledge in the process of healing and at the same time establish caring relationship with a patient to facilitate healing.

Definitions and Examples of the Major Domains of Nursing

The delivery of nursing services takes place in several locations, including hospitals, ambulatory facilities and homes. Although the intensiveness and the nature of the care vary significantly among cases and frameworks, Marcovitch (2005) loosely defines four main branches of nursing - adult, child, mental health and learning disability – within each we can usually find three major scopes, namely promoting health and preventing illness, restoring health and, when applicable, care for the dying (Kozier, 2008).

Midwifery and health visiting should be also included in the scope of nursing, although qualified nurses usually do not practice them (Markovitch, 2005). Further activities are research and healthcare management. Baring in mind the significant diversity of the profession, nurses in all frameworks, branches and scopes provide clinical measures (e.g. follow-ups, physical examinations and administering treatments), guidance (e.g. supporting young mothers and caregivers of chronic patients) and help patients to perform the basic tasks of the day, according to their difficulties (in terms of e.g. movement, sleep and basic communication skills).

Summary

Nurses outpace any other profession in the healthcare system in terms of positions and sites. However, following the basic definitions and assumptions suggested above, the goals of care are quite similar to all practitioners and scholars in the field of nursing. That is, in particular, the holistic view on the elopements that comprise health as a state of body and mind.

As the population and the medical sciences change, nursing is not expected to become stagnant. As science and practice, nursing will become more comprehensive in terms of nurses’ autonomy and medical authority, and will have to find ways to overcome scarcities in the face of a growing need, principally as a result of longer life expectancies and the concern for quality of life as an inherent part of good health.

As a 21st century nurse, I intend to put my professional focus on the health needs of a specific community, thus to provide a large scope care to a smaller scale of people. I see a merit in the notion that modern nursing should pay attention not only to the individual’s state of health, rather to improve the health of communities and families in a wide array of aspects. Unlike a hospital nurse, whose professional frameworks are well defined, I understand that I will have to gain the community’s trust and be extremely attentive and trained to justify the extent of autonomy and influence for which I aspire.

Works Cited

Kozier, B. (2008). Fundamentals of nursing: Concepts, process and Practice. Harlow: Pearson Education.

Marcovitch, H. (2005). Black’s medical dictionary (41st ed.). London: A&C Black.

World Health Organization. (2003). WHO definition of Health. Retrieved September 27, 2009 from

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