PHILOSOPHY PAPER

                                                                    Intro Page

                                                             PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING PAPER

                                NURS 401: Introduction to Professional Development for Baccalaureate Nursing Practice 

                                                                                           Philosophy of Nursing

Purpose of the Assignment

        The purpose of this assignment is to enable the student to discover his or her personal philosophy of nursing, as it exists at the beginning of the academic journey toward the BSN.

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Approach to the Assignment​

        My unique approach to this assignment was that regardless of whether we think we have a philosophy or not, we do. Every person is diverse in their own way through their upbringing, background, beliefs, values, and ethics. This shapes and molds us into our individuality with a drive toward an ultimate goal. This assignment reflects my personal values and interests throughout that in nursing. I grew up in a very religious household that laid a foundation that will guide me subconsciously even though I have differing ideas now as an adult. I have always felt an overwhelming need to help people, and I believe this fueled my interest in my nursing career.    

This assignment made me dig deep and think about why I do things the way I do and what guides me. I approached this paper the way I did to give a little insight into what came to mind when I thought of philosophy and how I apply it to the nursing practice. Definitions, backgrounds, thoughts, my why, influences, relationships, community, and patient advocacy were all areas that I touched on to give a deeper meaning and tie together what philosophy means to me. I feel that two specific principles that model my ethical practice would be beneficence and autonomy. These are both touched on, and examples are provided. 

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Reason for Inclusion

        I feel like this project should be included in my Portfolio because it gives a broad background of what motivates me and has laid the foundation for my future as a nurse. This brings out the strengths, perseverance, ethics, and goals that drive my nursing career. In addition, this assignment highlighted competencies and acknowledged room for growth with a hunger for improvements. In short, I believe that this assignment represents me as a student who is still learning and portrays a kind and compassionate nurse. It reflects growth in the area of an ever-changing field that requires upkeep in knowledge and an openness to change. I do believe that my strengths are exemplified and outlined for the reader.

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Critical Thinking

• Uses nursing and other appropriate theories and models to guide professional practice

The theory that supports and guides my professional practice is the Culture Care Theory by Madeleine Leininger. I further explain this by lining up my professional practice of effective communication with the views of this theory that care from nurses that align with a patient’s beliefs will cause care to be more effective through compliance of treatment.

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Leadership​

• Articulates the values of the profession and the role of the nurse as member of the interdisciplinary health care team.

Within this project, I articulate the value of this profession and have a sub-section covering healthcare professionals and the importance of being part of the interdisciplinary team. Some values that I specifically point out include beneficence and autonomy. These two values mean the most to me based on my passion for patient advocacy. The role of the nurse is to be involved within the collaboration team to provide effective communication and advocacy for your patient. In addition, there is evidence and statistics provided regarding effective communication.

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Culture

•  Integrates knowledge of cultural diversity in performing nursing intervention.

Congruency regarding beliefs and diversity should be performed while performing nursing interventions. This will ensure that compliance with treatments will be adhered to and will result in more effective patient care. In this paper, I address how vital it is to provide culturally competent care by using terms that are easy to follow, never passing judgment, and not disregarding a patient’s religious background and beliefs. Further explanation is given in terms of a theory by Madeleine Leininger, the Culture Care Theory, to support my views and how compliance with treatment is more effective when the nurse intervenes with communication, trust, rapport, and improvements in patient care.