My Personal Philosophy Of Nursing - 1160 Words

Personal Philosophy of Nursing Introduction The development of a philosophy related to the profession of nursing is important in that it provides a framework for the nurse to base his/her work on. Philosophy is defined by Merriam-Webster as â€Å"a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means†. In other words, philosophies are based on beliefs and assumptions with an overall goal of obtaining an objective which states the nurse’s purpose in the profession. In my undergraduate nursing program I was exposed to multiple nursing concepts that guided my practice. Coupled with my ten years of experience in the nursing field, I was enabled to formulate my own framework or guide to†¦show more content†¦For the purposes of this paper, I will refer to the entity receiving nursing care as the client. The health and well-being of a client is dependent upon the synchrony of five aspects that co-exist in the client’s life: physical health, psychologic health, social networks, cultural needs, and spiritual needs. A client possesses self-care interventions, such as skills, knowledge and tools to keep these aspects in balance. Dorothea Orem’s self-care deficit theory (SCDT) explains â€Å"Self-care, or care for oneself, must be learned and be deliberately performed for life, human functioning, and well-being† (Smith Parker, 2015, p.107). A disruption to one or more of these facets beyond the client’s self-care abilities results in a self-care deficit. It is this deficit or need that brings the nurse and client together. Orem explained, â€Å"Nursing is legitimate or needed when the individual’s self-care capabilities and care demands are equal to, less than or more than at a point in time.† (Smith Parker, 2015, p.108). Professional Nurse Just as Florence Nightingale said, â€Å"Health is not only to be well but to be able to use well every power we have† (As cited in Attewell, 2010, p. 103), I believe the healing process requires a multi-faceted approach. Assessing the patient as a whole allows the nurse to formulize a plan of care that will best accommodate the needs of the patient, which in turn will assist in the healing process. The professional nurse provides