This is a sample written assignment from one of my RN to BSN course (Professional Nursing Practice)
Brandon Archer
Professional Nursing Practice
October 24,2012
Assignment #4 – Philosophy of Nursing
1) What is a philosophy and what goes into it?
A philosophy is a set of beliefs that tries to guide human conduct(Popova,2012). It involves how humans affect themselves, other humans and non-human parties (the environment, animals, etc.) In order to create a philosophy, one must have an understanding of different human elements such as psychology, sociology, religion, culture, politics, and any other entity that influences or could influence human beings.
2) What is it you see as true about nursing, about what is important?
In terms of nursing, I believe that philosophy and an understanding of its subsets plays a major role in our profession because nurses deal with and care for human beings. In order to provide safe and holistic healthcare, the nurse must have an understanding of his/her personal beliefs (morality) and the professional code of conduct that the profession requires to be viewed as a dignified occupation (ethics). For example, if a nurse is a Roman Catholic and a client wants an abortion, this creates tension between personal morality (being against abortion) and the professional code (respect and duty to serve the client’s wishes). In the conscience of the nurse, there must be a balance of personal morality and occupational ethics to provide safe and respectful care.
3) What are the ethical values you hold, which are most pertinent to nursing?
As a registered nurse, I believe in the concept of universal respect, tolerance and a focus on the common good. I am a strong-minded person and I am usually staunch to my beliefs. With my personality, I would admit that I might dislike others for a wide variety of reasons. However, I believe that even if I disagree or dislike others, I have to give people their respect and maintain civility with them due to the simple fact that they are human beings. I have to be tolerant to diversity in regards to my clients and co-workers even if I am not overly fond of the actions or lifestyles that may accompany that diversity. Finally, as a nurse, I have a legal, ethical and moral obligation to provide a service to a patient or client that must be effectively carried out to improve their health. In my opinion, this is not different than me going to a barbershop to receive the services of a barber, or utilizing the MTA bus to get the services of the bus operator.
4) What theories do you consider or use?
As a NYC College of Technology nursing graduate, I am heavily influenced by the theories of Jean Watson. I believe human beings are diverse individuals in regards to their values, beliefs and actions and nursing is a recognition of all of these various subsets. Finally, I do believe that health is not just the absence of a medical/physical ailment such as cancer, diabetes or hypertension but a wide ranging process that addresses the physical, mental, spiritual, cultural and social forces that influence human life. In my opinion, Western/modern medicine focuses heavily on a disease and its management. Obviously, this is not a bad thing as diseases need to be either prevented or cured to have a healthy population. However, this may lead to a cookie-cutter solution that does not recognize the client as an individual. For example, an individual may be free of a physical ailment but may still suffer from other life issues (disliking their occupation, failed romantic relationships, etc.) while another individual could have multiple disease like diabetes and/or asthma and still manage to preserve or be contented with their quality of life.
5) What are your beliefs and values?
My personal beliefs and values include being an active learner both in a formal place like school as well as on a jobsite, being truthful, standing for my beliefs, respecting and tolerating others who are different from myself, being helpful to my family, friends and being productive in my daily life.
6) What is most important to you?
In terms of my personal life, the most important goals and values include maintaining and promoting my health, and finishing my nursing education at NYC College of Technology. It also includes having a good relationship with my family and friends, someday having a family, managing my money and traveling throughout the United States and other nations. In terms of professional development, my goals include finding a stable RN job, receiving a masters degree to become a nurse practitioner, working in the fields of either psychiatry or community health nursing and providing the most effective service to my clients.
7) Read the Nursing Department Philosophy
I understand and agree with the philosophy of the NYC College of Technology nursing program. Nursing is a profession that combines the knowledge of health and its procedures (the science) and tries to tailor it to an individual need (the art). It is critically important for a nurse to be clinically effective such as observing signs and symptoms and other events that mark diseases. However, it is also equally important for a nurse to come up with a unique implementation that is effective for the specific client, not just a generic solution that may either fail to improve the client’s health or outright harm them. With these thoughts, I do agree with the nursing department philosophy.
References
Popova, M(2012, April 9). What is philosophy? An omnibus of definitions from prominent
philosophers. Retrieved October 22,2012 from
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/04/09/what-is-philosophy/
