Personal Philosophy Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Personal Philosophy - Research Paper Example Finally, I share my view in my personal philosophy’s implications for contemporary and future nursing roles. Keywords: personal philosophy, nursing, patient care, health, Jean Watson Having been exposed to the nursing profession has empowered me to adopt a deeper life perspective in terms of this chosen career of mine. Like most people, I used to box nursing into a job for people who are knowledgeable about health care and applying such knowledge to patients. I also expected nurses to treat their patients kindly, short of patronizing their whims in order for them to recuperate soon. Tasks of nurses were limited to administering medication as ordered by the physician, monitoring patients’ vital signs, making sure that patients are comfortable and ensuring that their environments are clean and sanitary. Upon entering the field, I realized I was right, but what I knew was just the tip of the iceberg. Nursing is so much more than that! It involves a deeper meaning of care a nd understanding of the person being cared for. My philosophy about nursing broadened as time went by. For me, a nurse has multiple roles. More than a caregiver, she is an educator, an advocate, a counsellor, a manager and a researcher. She is a lifelong learner who tirelessly researches about the latest developments in health care and promotes health practices to her patients. She makes sure they understand what they are going through because in doing so, it gives them power over their illness. Providing them with all the support they need, the nurse involves with the patients’ families and even the community. Focusing on the patients entails the nurse being compassionate to their condition, loving, dependable, empathetic and comforting. The patients are made to feel special, like a beloved family member of the nurse, and not just a generic patient in need of treatment. Quality care is ensured resulting in overall positive outcomes for the patient. The patient is seen as a p erson with rights to excellent health care. This is not limited to medical care, but to other aspects that affect his health and well-being: physical, psychological, spiritual and cultural. Nurses should take all these in consideration when caring for the person. The patient should be accorded with utmost respect and not be made to feel like a burden because of his illness. His pain and suffering from the illness is not shared by anyone else so he is the expert in terms of how he feels and this should always be considered in his treatment. The environment where the patient is cared for, whether it is a hospital or clinic, is conducive to healing because it considers all the factors affecting the person’s health and well-being (physical, psychological, spiritual and cultural). It is the role of the nurse that the needs of the patient in all these areas are met. Health is the outcome of the interaction of a person with the environment and constantly changes over time. This impl ies that efficient nursing care achieves the health goals for the person being cared for adopting the most current and most effective interventions for his illness and customizing it to the person’s personal, family and cultural background. My nursing philosophy has been heavily influenced by Jean Watson, a nursing theorist who proposed the Theory of Human Caring. This