Personal Philosophy of Nursing Discussion

Introduction

My personal values are driven by compassion, kindness, hard work, and the desire to help other people. These values help me to make critical decisions in my daily life as well as in achieving my goals. As a nurse, some of the values and beliefs that help me excel in my work are a combination of a set of principles that include altruism, human dignity, caring, and integrity. As a caring and professional nurse, I integrate these core values in dealing with my patients. The provision of a safe environment for patients is a duty that I take seriously because it determines patient satisfaction and outcomes.

A framework for my personal practice of nursing

The conceptual framework that I use in my nursing practice relate primarily to factors that gravitate around care, interaction, technology, compassion, effective patient communication, and the context of work. These parameters help me to get clear and accurate patient diagnosis, and identify areas of priority for myself and my patients. As a clinical nurse, I make critical decisions every day that impact the lives of my patients. Critical thinking for me is a necessary tool that helps to collect data from patients and apply effective methods of dealing with patients’ needs (Günay, & Kılınç, 2018). Some of my duties include generating relevant data from patients for accurate diagnosis and using appropriate interventions to deal with patient’s problems.

Key responsibilities that define the conceptual framework of my nursing practice are based on improved patient outcomes. Some of these duties include promoting patient safety, managing the patient environment, providing individualized care, creating a positive interpersonal relationship with patients, and using evidence-based practices in patient intervention. Concerning patient safety, a key part of my duties entail ensuring the safety of patients at all times. This factor means that I must create an environment where patients do not pick further injuries or diseases when in the hospital. Regarding the use of evidence-based practice, my goal is to leverage clinically proven methods of interventions. As a nurse, EBP is a critical intervention method in dealing with patients because one is almost assured of the outcome rather than relying on trial and error methods (Hayestehfard et al., 2020). This method makes me confident about patient outcomes and prepares me to deal with any unexpected side reactions.

Interacting with my Patients/Colleagues/other healthcare professionals

           Understanding patient behavior helps me to interact better with patients. In my experience as a clinical nurse, I have learned never to take patient behavior for granted or to assume them. Patients may behave in different ways depending on how they are feeling or their mental status. Observing patient behavior helps me to understand their unique needs and how to help them to avoid stress and anxiety that may emanate from their conditions (Barnejee et al., 2017). Besides, I never take for granted what a patient tells me. Sometimes due to pressure from work, it is easy for nurses to dismiss what a patient tells them. In my practice as a nurse, I have learned to be a keen listener and recognize that what a patient says is important. I also ask probing questions to help me understand what they want and how best I can help alleviate their pain. As a nurse, I recognize that a hospital is a stressful environment for patients, and I try as much as I can to help them reduce their stress and anxiety levels.

I spend a lot of quality time with my patients and their families to help them cope with their pain. I have learned that spending time with patients and their families helps them develop trust in the treatment process. When patients develop trust in a nurse and the hospital, their chances of recovery are greatly improved (Olds et al., 2017). This is because they put aside their worst fears and trust that they will overcome their challenges. When there is no trust between a nurse and patients, the latter may develop fear and negative attitude that affects their chances of recovery. I make the families of my patients have trust and faith in my abilities because this helps them to have a positive attitude about the outcome of the process. My interaction with other healthcare workers is based on sharing important information that can help to improve the health of our patients.

Conclusion

My nursing philosophy is based on critical values and beliefs such as compassion, integrity, human dignity, and altruism. These factors enable me to get clear and accurate patient diagnosis and identify areas of priority for myself and my patients. Key responsibilities that define the conceptual framework of my nursing practice are based on improved patient outcomes. My core duties include promoting patient safety, managing the patient environment, providing individualized care, creating a positive interpersonal relationship with patients, and using evidence-based practices in patient intervention. Concerning patient safety, I aspire to always ensure that patients are safe at all times whenever they are seeking care services within the facility.

References

  • Banerjee, S. C., Manna, R., Coyle, N., Penn, S., Gallegos, T. E., Zaider, T., & Parker, P. A. (2017). The implementation and evaluation of a communication skills training program for oncology nurses. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 7(3), 615-623. doi: 10.1007/s13142-017-0473-5
  • Günay, U., & Kılınç, G. (2018). The transfer of theoretical knowledge to clinical practice by nursing students and the difficulties they experience: A qualitative study. Nurse Education Today, 65, 81-86. DOI: 10.1016/j.nedt.2018.02.031
  • Olds, D. M., Aiken, L. H., Cimiotti, J. P., & Lake, E. T. (2017). Association of nurse work environment and safety climate on patient mortality: A cross-sectional study. International Journal Of Nursing Studies, 74, 155-161. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2017.06.004
  • Shayestehfard, M., Torabizadeh, C., Gholamzadeh, S., & Ebadi, A. (2020). Ethical sensitivity in nursing students: Developing a context–based education. Electronic Journal of General Medicine,17(2): em195. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/7812