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Nursing Philosophy Essay

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Nursing Philosophy Essay
Description, Definition, Beliefs, Values and Meanings of Nursing
According to Alpers, Jarrell and Wortring (2013,) philosophy are sets of basic beliefs, moral, ethics, values, principles and attitudes held by a person or a group of people. Philosophy can also be a way of thinking about the world that we live in and asking the why, where, when, who, what and how questions (Alpers et al, 2013). Literature review explained nursing philosophy as a form of critical thinking that guides the actions and decisions that we make in relation to nursing practice. As a nurse, literature showed that a philosophy helps to broaden our understanding of the profession of nursing, develop our imagination, form our values, and synthesize our overall knowledge
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Furthermore, the philosophical motivator of current day nursing is acknowledged as Florence Nightingale. Nightingale was also discussed to be the first nurse theorist who created the concepts of nursing philosophy and theory which are known today as client, environment, health, and nursing. Florence Nightingale knew that nursing was both an art and a science (Dossey, 2010). In addition, nursing was assumed to be a profession that work in partnership with other healthcare professions (Alpers et al, 2013). As a science, statistics in nursing provide the foundation for nursing logical decisions making and encourage a profession where each nurse would be aware of their full worth for patient care and also, each nurse must recognize how their decision making impact patient health (Dossey, …show more content…
By using nursing science of autonomy, physiology, theories and results, I am able to gather knowledge to assists me as a nurse in understanding my patients and in creating an individualized care plan (Dossey, 2010). Through working in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), I am cognizant of my patients and their families and therefore strive to provide care that is appropriate and sensitive to their individualize needs. In so doing, I am using the concepts of patient centered care thereby ensuring the philosophy of individualized care as explained by Nightingale (Dossey, 2010). By applying the concepts of individualized patient care, I am ensuring that I work with the patient and family as a unique unit, providing care that is specific to their needs and add the family into my care practices. Nursing philosophical science helps me to pinpoint the need for correct nursing interventions, such as inserting an intravenous catheter and providing needed pharmacological therapies for a hemodynamically unstable patient. Nursing philosophical art enables me to direct my care to meet the unique needs of the adult patient. My philosophy of nursing and philosophical influences recognizes the important role of the nurse in the delivery of care to patients. It is the holistic, therapeutic and

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