Thomas (2012) , defines a philosophy has a comprehensive system of ideas about human nature and the nature of the reality we live in. It is a guide for living, because the issues it addresses are basic and pervasive, determining the course we take in life and how we treat other people. In order to develop a philosophy it must include our personal day to day experiences, observation, and knowledge, sense of reality, our ethical beliefs as well as cultural norms and values. While, the American Nurses Association, sees nursing as “the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations(American Nurses Association, 2012, p. 8).
For me the truth about nursing lines in the fact that I can provide competent care to an individual and feel gratitude from having help to ease their pain/discomfort by using simple means as offering a listening.
The concept I have about nursing has change significantly from time I entered nursing school to transiting into practice. Today I feel the role of nurses is more than just following the written order of the physicians. It is instead, the in cooperation of the family, community, environment, cultural values and beliefs tied together to create an umbrella that can be altered universally to meet the individuals needs of a specific group or population.
Nursing which have evolved over many eras has seen much improvement with technology. These technological innovations have resulted in changes in nursing as well as the concepts and approached used to provide care. The incorporation of technology in nursing and health has helped to facilitate and coordinate a multidisciplinary approach. This allows care to be easily accessible to many vulnerable populations. As a result, the idea of a healthier society is now not only a concept but more of a reality.
Nurses I believe should be nurturing, understanding, resilient, selfless and enduring, these are the qualities that help a nurse transition in a world of ever changing technology and healthcare policies.
My first job as a nurse working the intellectually and developmentally disabled population in a group facility has open up a new sphere of how wide and multidimensional nursing can be and is becoming. In addition, it teaches me that for nursing care to be effective it should be a symbiotic relationship, this means that not only one person or side benefits. This enhances communication, since new ways have to be developed to meet the needs of these individuals; who in most cases are non verbal, thus making them unable and incapable of vocalizing or expressing their feelings and as a result new forms of communications such as gestures and signs becomes and effective and essential tool.
The reality of work has broken the glass on the fragmented idea of what nursing should be, that is theory versus practice/reality. All these experience have proven that for nursing care to be effective and meaningful, it must be culturally congruent. It also shows that caring is not only the actions and work of nurses; but rather a collective effort by all member of the healthcare continuum.
While my philosophy of nursing is constantly changing and developing based on educational attainment, the main belief is constant; that is, for care to be effective, it must be a collective effort with each participant actively and collectively vested in the ultimate goal, values and beliefs.
References
American Nurses Association. (2012). http://www.nursingworld.org
Thomas, W. R. (2012). What is philosophy? Retrieved from
