NURS 8114 Written Philosophy of Nursing Practice Essay
NURS 8114 Written Philosophy of Nursing Practice Essay
NURS 8114 Written Philosophy of Nursing Practice Essay
Nurses’ motivations for joining the profession differ profoundly. Some nurses join the profession since it is financially rewarding, while others join to ensure patients receive care when needed. Besides, nurses have different beliefs, values, and exposure levels. These elements are the foundation of their philosophies that affect how nurses perceive and provide care. DNP-prepared nurses advance their knowledge and skills to provide excellent, patient-centered, and adequate care. The advanced knowledge and skills enable them to be effective leaders and policymakers. The purpose of this paper is to describe my philosophy of nursing practice and the theories supporting it.
Applying Recommended Elements of a Philosophy Statement
Nurses differ in their understanding of what nursing should do and how it should be done. Philosophy statements are worldviews that outline an individual’s values, ethics, beliefs, and motivations to be a nursing professional (Butts & Rich, 2021). I believe that nursing is a profession rooted in compassion, trust, humility, and accountability. Compassionate care entails patient-provider interactions characterized by empathy, caring, and promoting the patient’s dignity. Nurses who embrace compassion recognize, understand, and emotionally resonate with patients’ concerns and distress. Besides promoting patient-centeredness, compassionate nurses are sensitive to patient’s needs and concerns of their family members.
Trustworthiness should dominate the nursing practice since it is a foundation of integrity. Patients depend on nurses in critical times and trust health care professionals for health and wellness irrespective of their race, gender, culture, and other factors. Trustworthiness promotes openness and enables nurses to provide holistic, patient-centered care. I also believe nurses should be responsible for their actions, including mistakes, judgmental errors, and communication failure. To excel as professionals and provide high-quality care, nurses should continue learning and educating themselves on patient care essentials and issues influencing health in the populations. The implication is that nurses should improve their competence as nursing continues shifting towards evidence-based and innovative practice.
Accommodating Expanded Awareness of Practice Issues as a DNP
A DNP degree ensures that a nurse has acquired the highest knowledge as a practitioner. According to Gaines (2019), DNP graduates lead in advanced nursing practice and bring evidence-based knowledge to clinical settings to improve health outcomes. The clinical and scientific knowledge acquired through a DNP degree empowers nurses to respond to changes in health care delivery and emerging patient needs. As outlined in my nursing philosophy, all patients deserve compassionate care, and nurses should be sensitive to patient needs. To provide such care, nurses should advance their education to understand practice issues and patient needs in more detail. The expanded knowledge enables DNP-prepared nurses to integrate evidence in decision-making when handling complex issues in the rapidly changing healthcare environment.
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Compassionate care characterized by humility, accountability, and trustworthiness requires a multidisciplinary approach. The DNP degree will enable me to effectively collaborate with multidisciplinary team members to provide team-based care and foster innovation and evidence-based skills. As Neal-Boylan (2020) noted, DNP-prepared nurses focus on innovative and evidence-based practice, reflecting the continuous application of credible research findings. A practice that embraces a multidisciplinary approach is open to innovation, and DNP-prepared nurses influence transformation by supporting practices through data from current scholarly research.
Supporting Advocacy of Social Change as a DNP
Nurses need advanced knowledge and skills to advocate for positive social change. As the practice shifts toward evidence-based and innovative practice, DNP-prepared nurses must embrace the change and accommodate innovations that enable them to provide competent care. Through a DNP degree, nurses advance their expertise and acquire valuable skills in leadership, health policy, and quality improvement practices (Neal-Boylan, 2020). The positive social change recognizes the importance of policies in health evolution and continuous quality improvement to address current and emerging patient needs. DNP-prepared nurses also use their expertise to initiate and lead change in healthcare settings and communities to ensure patients, communities, and vulnerable populations are free from illnesses. Similarly, the DNP degree will allow me to initiate new healthcare models, lead change where appropriate, and advocate for patients and my community. I will further participate in networking events, mentorship programs, and partnerships, among other practices for promoting social change to ensure individuals and communities live healthily.
Middle-Range Nursing Theories Supporting My Philosophy of Nursing Practice
Nursing theories provide knowledge-based ideas that define nursing and how it should be done. One of the middle-range theories supporting my nursing practice philosophy is Katharine Kolcaba’s theory of comfort. Katharine depicted healing as a process characterized by relief, ease, and transcendence (Oliveira et al., 2020). The implication is that nurses must understand patient needs and resonate with them to provide relief (make patients comfortable). Ease implies promoting calmness, while transcendence means formulating and implementing interventions to help patients overcome what causes pain (Vo, 2020). In nursing practice, the most appropriate interventions are evidence-based and patient-centered. My philosophy underscores the importance of innovative and evidence-based practices to ensure patients and communities receive the best care possible.
The other middle-range nursing theory that supports my philosophy of practice is Merie Mishel’s theory of uncertainty in illness. Its fundamental principle is that patients should be certain about the outcomes of an illness and their ability to overcome it to reduce worry and anxiety. As a result, patients will always be uncertain if they cannot accurately predict the outcomes of an illness. Typically, patients are uncertain about how they will cope with symptoms, diagnosis, and the complexity of the treatment (Fernandez-Araque et al., 2020). As a result, nurses should give patients patient-centered support and illness management strategies to enable them to cope and reduce uncertainty.
Interdisciplinary Theory Informing my Philosophy
Interdisciplinary theories can be applied in nursing and other professional areas. A suitable interdisciplinary theory informing my philosophy is transformational leadership theory. Its central tenet is that leaders should inspire their followers to achieve shared outcomes (Collins et al., 2021). DNP-prepared nurses are natural leaders and should use their skills and knowledge to influence innovation and change positively. They should inspire other health practitioners to initiate practice interventions that optimize health outcomes to ensure patients and communities are free from diseases. Transformational leaders also understand the importance of innovative initiatives such as remote care and data-driven care to enhance patient satisfaction.
Conclusion
Nurses have different beliefs, values, and skills that shape their care philosophies. I believe nursing care should be founded on compassion, trustworthiness, and accountability. Nurses should also advance their knowledge and skills to promote innovation and be in a better position to address current and emerging needs. Katharine Kolcaba’s theory of comfort and Merie Mishel’s theory of uncertainty in illness are examples of middle-range theories supporting my nursing philosophy. The transformational leadership theory supports innovation in practice and fits as an interdisciplinary theory that informs my nursing philosophy.
References
Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2021). Philosophies and theories for advanced nursing practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Collins, E., Owen, P., Digan, J., & Dunn, F. (2019). Applying transformational leadership in nursing practice. Nursing Standard, 35(5), 59-65. doi: 10.7748/ns.2019.e11408
Fernandez-Araque, A., Gomez-Castro, J., Giaquinta-Aranda, A., Verde, Z., & Torres-Ortega, C. (2020). Mishel’s Model of uncertainty describing categories and subcategories in fibromyalgia patients, a scoping review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(11), 3756. doi:10.3390/ijerph17113756
Gaines, K. (2019). DNP vs Ph.D in nursing- what is the difference? nurse.org. https://nurse.org/education/dnp-or-phd-in-nursing-difference/
Neal-Boylan, L. (2020). PhD or DNP? That is the question. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 16(2), A5-A6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2019.11.015
Oliveira, S. M. D., Costa, K. N. D. F. M., Santos, K. F. O. D., Oliveira, J. D. S., Pereira, M. A., & Fernandes, M. D. G. M. (2020). Comfort needs as perceived by hospitalized elders: An analysis under the light of Kolcaba’s theory. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem, 73. https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-7167-2019-0501
Vo, T. (2020). A practical guide for frontline workers during COVID-19: Kolcaba’s Comfort Theory. Journal of Patient Experience, 7(5), 635–639. https://doi.org/10.1177/2374373520968392
A philosophy of nursing practice is a nursing approach developed by a nurse to guide their daily practice. The nurse uses the nursing philosophy to define what they believe is nursing, the nursing role in health care, and how the nurse interacts with patients. Besides, a nursing philosophy addresses the nurse’s ethics in relation to nursing practice (Cheraghi et al., 2019). Philosophies of nursing and nursing theories are interrelated since they directly affect each other. The purpose of this paper is to describe my philosophy of nursing practice and explore how middle-range nursing theories support the philosophy.
Philosophy of Nursing Practice
My philosophy of nursing practice is founded on delivering high-quality, compassionate, holistic, patient-centered care guided by the best practice. In my nursing practice, I have endeavored to apply a holistic approach in providing nursing care since I believe that nursing is not only about caring for the physical needs but also the emotional, spiritual, and social needs of patients. In addition, my philosophy is anchored in respecting patients, including their treatment preferences, cultural beliefs, and ethnic background. I believe every patient is unique with unique health needs, and I aspire to offer the best care without bias. I consider nursing a privilege, and as a nurse, I should strive to provide care with integrity and incorporate evidence-based practice to promote the best possible outcomes for patients and their families. I endeavor to fulfill three major roles of a nurse: to educate, advocate for patients, and promote good health practices in patients, which are key to promoting better health outcomes.
How the Philosophy Can Accommodate My Expanded Awareness of Practice Issues as A DNP
In my DNP training, I have learned about various nursing practice issues that DNP-prepared nurses should address to improve healthcare delivery and patient experience. The issues include increased healthcare technology adoption, nursing shortage, complex patient conditions, and ever-changing healthcare needs. These issues need to be addressed using evidence-based practice (EBP) identified through research (Edwards et al., 2018). The nursing philosophy can accommodate my increased awareness of nursing practice issues by embracing research and EBP. Besides, the issues should prompt me to change my practice approach and constantly work on improving my clinical knowledge and skills to align myself with the constantly evolving healthcare and patients’ needs (Edwards et al., 2018). Furthermore, the nursing practice philosophy can accommodate my increased awareness by embracing innovation through research, which is vital in developing strategies to address the identified healthcare issues.
How the Philosophy Reflects or Supports Advocacy of Social Change as A DNP
The philosophy of nursing supports my advocacy for social change as a DNP by stressing empowering individuals through health promotion to enable them to change their environment to a safe and healthy one. The philosophy states that the nurse has a role in attaining the community’s health goals to promote change, and thus I should introduce change into people’s lives (Edwards et al., 2018). It drives me to take the initiative to understand the nature of change, how individuals respond to it, and how to bring change to improve community health. As a DNP, I empower clients to use their position, capitalize on individual characteristics, develop expertise, and take advantage of opportunities to bring positive change into their lives.
Middle Range Nursing Theories
The middle-range nursing theories that support my nursing practice philosophy are the Behavioral System Model by Dorothy Johnson and Katarine Kolcaba’s Theory of Comfort. Johnson stressed the importance of research-based knowledge on the effect of nursing care on clients. She asserts that nursing is a science and an art and has a body of knowledge reflecting both science and art. The Behavioral System Model assumes that organization, interaction, interdepending, and integration of the parts and elements of behavior that make up the system (Peterson & Bredow, 2019). The interrelated parts contribute to the development of the whole. In addition, man endeavors constantly to maintain a behavioral system balance and steady states by automatic adjustments and adaptations to the natural forces impinging upon him.
The Behavioral System Model supports my philosophy of nursing practice by directing that nursing interventions should be directed toward promoting regularity in the patient’s behavior to maintain or achieve balance in each subsystem. Thus, as a DNP, I will establish that the nursing process has been completed when I have measured the expected behavioral outcomes and revised the plan of care as needed further to promote stability of the patient’s behavioral system, adjustment to the situation, and adaptation to stress (Peterson & Bredow, 2019). The model further supports the philosophy in nursing practice, education, and research.
Kolcaba’s Theory of Comfort asserts that comfort occurs in three forms: relief, ease, and transcendence. If a patient’s particular comfort needs are met, they experience comfort in the feeling of relief. Ease tackles comfort in a state of contentment, while transcendence is a state of comfort in which individuals can overcome their challenges (Oliveira et al., 2020). The theory states that patient comfort can occur in four contexts: physical, environmental, psychospiritual, and socio-cultural. Furthermore, the theory describes patients as people, families, communities, or institutions needing health care. The environment is defined as any facet of the patient that the nurse can control to improve comfort. Lastly, health is perceived to function optimally in the patient, as defined by the patient, family, or community (Oliveira et al., 2020). The Theory of Comfort supports my philosophy of nursing practice by demonstrating that nurses should prioritize patients’ comforts. Thus, interventions should increase comfort by alleviating pain, degree of symptoms, and suffering. It supports the philosophy’s view of applying a holistic approach and caring for patient’s physical, emotional, spiritual, and social needs.
How Interdisciplinary Theories Inform the Philosophy of Nursing Practice
DNP nurses in the current health care systems require a strong scientific knowledge base from nursing and other disciplines, including physical, social, and behavioral sciences. The Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) theory is an interdisciplinary theory that informs my philosophy. It guides my philosophy since it provides a framework nurses can use to communicate patient care needs and clinical processes to healthcare team members (Pype et al., 2018). The theory guides me to engage in discussions and develop ideas with other health care professionals. Furthermore, the theory supports the philosophy with its idea of holistic care being a vital concept in nursing science. It asserts that holistic care focuses on the person, the health of the person, and the environment, which are concepts at the core of nursing science.
Conclusion
My philosophy of nursing practice focuses on delivering high-quality, compassionate, holistic, patient-centered care guided by the best practice. The Behavioral systems theory asserts that man endeavors constantly to maintain a behavioral system balance and steady states through automatic adjustments and adaptations. Kolcaba’s Theory emphasizes that nurses should provide patients comfort through relief, ease, and transcendence. CAS guides my philosophy by emphasizing the interaction of team members with each other.
References
Edwards, N. E., Coddington, J., Erler, C., & Kirkpatrick, J. (2018). The Impact of the Role of Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurses on Healthcare and Leadership. Medical Research Archives, 6(4). https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v6i4.1734
Cheraghi, F., Yousefzadeh, M. R., & Goodarzi, A. (2019). The Role and Status of Philosophy in Nursing Knowledge, Insight and Competence. Journal of Clinical Research in Paramedical Sciences, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.5812/jcrps.90762
Oliveira, S. M. D., Costa, K. N. D. F. M., Santos, K. F. O. D., Oliveira, J. D. S., Pereira, M. A., & Fernandes, M. D. G. M. (2020). Comfort needs as perceived by hospitalized elders: an analysis under the light of Kolcaba’s theory. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem, 73. https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-7167-2019-0501
Peterson, S., & Bredow, T. S. (2019). Middle range theories: Application to nursing research and practice. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Pype, P., Mertens, F., Helewaut, F., & Krystallidou, D. (2018). Healthcare teams as complex adaptive systems: understanding team behavior through team members’ perception of interpersonal interaction. BMC Health Services Research, 18(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3392-3