A Philosophy of Nursing
Running Head: A PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING 1
A Philosophy of Nursing
Megan Cole, RN
Georgia Southern University
NURS 3139
Fall 2012
A PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING 2
A Philosophy of Nursing The American Nurse’s Association’s Nursing’s Social Policy Statement (2003) defines 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 population” (p. 6). Merriam Webster’s Online Dictionary (2012) defines philosophy as “the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group.” It follows then that a philosophy of nursing is the set of beliefs, concepts and attitudes that guides the promotion, protection, and restoration of health and abilities of individuals and groups of individuals. Traditionally, nursing philosophy is described using a meta-paradigm of four concepts – human being or person, environment, health, and nursing. Beliefs and attitudes about these guiding concepts are widely shared, but also deeply influenced by the personal experiences and values of the individual nurse.
The Human Being Human beings are highly evolved and exquisitely complex systems. They involve not only an outwardly obvious physical form, the body, but also the mind and spirit, less clearly defined subjects. Body, mind, and spirit can theoretically be separated into parts, and each of those parts further separated for the purposes of study or description, yet they are intimately connected for all practical purposes. The interplay between the three is constant, and what affects one, affects the others. Just as each individual person has theoretically separate components, all humans though separate individuals are likewise connected into a unified whole otherwise known as humanity. Recent research in
A Philosophy of Nursing
Megan Cole, RN
Georgia Southern University
NURS 3139
Fall 2012
A PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING 2
A Philosophy of Nursing The American Nurse’s Association’s Nursing’s Social Policy Statement (2003) defines 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 population” (p. 6). Merriam Webster’s Online Dictionary (2012) defines philosophy as “the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group.” It follows then that a philosophy of nursing is the set of beliefs, concepts and attitudes that guides the promotion, protection, and restoration of health and abilities of individuals and groups of individuals. Traditionally, nursing philosophy is described using a meta-paradigm of four concepts – human being or person, environment, health, and nursing. Beliefs and attitudes about these guiding concepts are widely shared, but also deeply influenced by the personal experiences and values of the individual nurse.
The Human Being Human beings are highly evolved and exquisitely complex systems. They involve not only an outwardly obvious physical form, the body, but also the mind and spirit, less clearly defined subjects. Body, mind, and spirit can theoretically be separated into parts, and each of those parts further separated for the purposes of study or description, yet they are intimately connected for all practical purposes. The interplay between the three is constant, and what affects one, affects the others. Just as each individual person has theoretically separate components, all humans though separate individuals are likewise connected into a unified whole otherwise known as humanity. Recent research in
References: American Nurses Association. (2003). Nursing’s social policy statement. (2nd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: The Publishing Program of ANA. Blais, K. & Hayes, J. (2011). Professional nursing practice: Concepts and perspectives. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Maatta, S.M. (2006). Closeness and distance in the nurse-patient relation: The relevance of Edith Stein’s concept of empathy. Nursing Philosophy, 7, 3-10. Nightingale, F. (1898). Notes on nursing: What it is and what it is not. New York, NY: D. Appleton and Company. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=1484835 Philosophy. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/philosophy. Stanhope, M. & Lancaster, J. (2012). Public health nursing: Population centered health care in the community. (8th ed.). Maryland Heights, MO: Elsevier. World Health Organization. (April 7, 1948). What is the WHO definition of health? Retrieved from http://www.who.int/suggestions/faq/en/index.html.