NURS 8114 Modules 1–2 Written Philosophy of Nursing Practice
A philosophical declaration can be as broad as one’s life values (McEwen & Wills, 2017). It could also be a philosophy specific to a nursing school or a philosophy statement reflecting one’s thoughts about the nursing profession. A philosophy statement helps nurses to communicate their values while also demonstrating how their philosophy ties to their professional activity (McEwen & Wills, 2017). This paper will offer my nursing practice philosophy and explain how it addresses practice challenges while advocating for social change. I’ll also discuss how middle-range and transdisciplinary theories contribute to and influence my philosophy.
Recommendations Regarding a Philosophy Statement
Nursing, in my opinion, is a humanistic science committed to the maintenance and promotion of health, the prevention of illness, and the care and education of patients.
Rehabilitating the sick and crippled with compassion My nursing definition was influenced by Virginia Henderson’s nursing definition. In my opinion, professional nursing is a sophisticated service that aids persons in completing health-promoting tasks that they could accomplish on their own if they had the appropriate power, will, or knowledge. It is the distinctive contribution of the nursing profession to assist persons in regaining their independence as soon as they seek support. My nursing practice philosophy is founded on providing high-quality, compassionate, empathic, patient-centered care in accordance with best practices. It is also guided by the ethical concepts of beneficence, nonmaleficence, and fairness, which help me make the best option possible.
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A provides a nurse with tools that guide one’s by enhancing awareness. A philosophy statement enables the nurse to think critically and reflect how one’s values influence their nursing practice and existence (McEwen & Wills, 2017). The statement defines a nurse’s values, ethics, beliefs, and motivation for being in the nursing profession. It outlines a nurse’s perspective about their education, practice, and patient care ethics. This paper seeks to describe my practice and discuss how .
Nursing is a humanistic science dedicated to maintaining and promoting health, preventing diseases, and caring for and rehabilitating the sick and disabled. Nursing is a profession that offers complex services that help individuals perform those activities that promote health (Percy & Richardson, 2018). My emphasizes providing quality, compassionate, empathetic, patient-centered care that is guided by best practice. I believe that nurses should endeavor to provide the highest quality of nursing care to patients and should implement this guided by integrity, respect, and fairness. Besides, I believe that for the to be accorded the respect it deserves, nurses should demonstrate professionalism in their practice and adhere to the nursing code of conduct rooted in ethical principles.
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Nursing is a dynamic profession that will continue to evolve as the demand for health care grows. Factors such as expanding research, changing health care population needs, increasing reliance on complex health and communication technologies, and nursing shortage are causing nurses to change their practice. Nurses, in my opinion, should strive to expand their knowledge and skills in order to keep up with the ever-changing healthcare and population health needs. Nurses must participate in research and innovation activities in order to develop practical solutions to problems in patient care delivery (McEwen & Wills, 2017). They should also keep up to date on current healthcare guidelines in order to provide high-quality care based on best evidence-based practice. I believe that nurses can better fulfill their role as patient advocates if they are well-versed in patient care best practices.
The value system of a nurse should guide nursing practice. My nursing practice philosophy is founded on the core values of compassion, integrity, respect, and caring. Throughout my nursing career, I have worked hard to demonstrate a caring attitude in all patient care situations. Nurses, in my opinion, should always demonstrate a caring attitude toward patients and their families by exhibiting qualities and behaviors such as gentleness, responsiveness, attentive listening, empathy, respect, patience, positive body language, and a nonjudgmental attitude (Percy & Richardson, 2018). Furthermore, nurses’ decision-making should be guided by the ethical principles of autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice. In my nursing career, I’ve learned to prioritize the needs and welfare of patients when making decisions that affect them. In this regard, I evaluate interventions before implementing them to ensure that they will have a positive impact on the patient and that the benefits outweigh the risks.
Child abuse and maltreatment is not limited to a particular age—it can occur in the infant, toddler, preschool, and school-age years. Choose one of the four age groups and outline the types of abuse most commonly seen among children of that age. Describe warning signs and physical and emotional assessment findings the nurse may see that could indicate child abuse. Discuss cultural variations of health practices that can be misidentified as child abuse. Describe the reporting mechanism in your state and nurse responsibilities related to the reporting of suspected child abuse.
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Replies to Latasha Brooks
There a scores of resources available to the nurse designed to better identify possible abuse, whether it be physical or emotional. When considering possible signs of abuse or mistreatment, the nurse should recognize acute changes in the child’s behavior or patterns. According to the Child Welfare Department, a federally funded and mandated agency (Child Welfare Department, 2019), indicators that interventions may be needed are a decline in a child’s school performance. This may be related to lack of concentration as the child may withdraw as a sign of their own assessment of the degree of safety present in engaging and/or participating in contact with peers or authority figures outside of the home. Excessive absences may be attempts to allow time for healing of results of physical abuse such as abrasions, bruises, or fractures. Reluctantly to go home after school may also be an indicator of possible abuse.
Abuse goes beyond the physical nature. Emotional abuse has just as long lasting effects on school age children as physical abuse does. School age children are at a stage in their life where they desire to fit in with their peers, notice differences between themselves and other children, and may need assurance that abuse is not their fault (Falkner, 2018).
References
Child Welfare Information Gateway (2019). What is child abuse and neglect. Retrieved from
Falkner, A. (2018). Grand Canyon University (E.D). Age-Appropriate Approach to Pediatric Health Care Assessment. Retrieved from .
You have provided an in-depth post and I agree with you. Ideally, child abuse and maltreatment is associated with devastating effects on children (Gonzalez et al., 2021). As such, it is important to report any case of child abuse. As mandated, nurses are trained to recognize signs and symptoms of child abuse or maltreatment and report to the relevant authority. Failure to report may lead to legal actions against them or disciplinary actions by their employers or board of nursing. If a nurse infers abuse or maltreatment, the first step is to report to the physician, nurse managers, or physician assistant. If the victim is presented to the facility with the alleged perpetrator, the assessment should be done without the perpetrator in the room. A comprehensive head-to-toe examination should be conducted to identify physical signs of abuse. It is essential to have a witness if possible. Nurses should ensure a comprehensive documentation and description of the findings, non-verbal behaviors, victim statements, and the statements and behaviors of the alleged perpetrator. The law enforcement should be notified instantly while the victim is still in the facility. Moreover, Child Protective Services should be called and followed up with a documented report (Lee & Kim, 2018).
References
Gonzalez, D., Mirabal, A. B., & McCall, J. D. (2021). Child abuse and neglect. StatPearls [Internet]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459146/
Lee, H. M., & Kim, J. S. (2018). Predictors of intention of reporting child abuse among emergency nurses. Journal of pediatric nursing, 38, e47-e52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2017.10.007
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Philosophy of Nursing Practice
One purpose of this forum is to address my personal philosophy of nursing practice.
Determining my philosophy required me to contemplate my 30-year nursing career from its beginnings to present day. The retrospection made it clear that my philosophy has changed over time. When I started my career I was a bedside nurse on a cardiac unit and although I was kind and compassionate, my focus was on clinical and empirical knowledge. Did I understand normal versus abnormal assessment findings and what to do about them? Did I understand the pathophysiology behind the disease processes of the population I was caring for? Essentially, did I know enough to keep my patients alive? My emphasis was primarily on increasing my knowledge base until I felt confident and competent. Once I became comfortable as a nurse, my philosophy of nursing practice began to change without me even realizing it. Specifically, I began to add esthetic knowledge to my clinical knowledge base. McEwen and Willis state that esthetic knowledge is not formal or descriptive. Rather, it is subjective and based on experiences. They further posit, “It is evident through actions, conduct, attitudes, and interactions of the nurse in response to another” (2019, p. 14). Incorporating esthetic knowledge allowed me to add a more personal aspect to my nursing care as I focused more on the patient’s thoughts, feelings, and fears and provided emotional support along with the physical care given.
I left the cardiac unit and embarked on a journey of Emergency Nursing that lasted nearly 20 years. As before, my philosophy at that time centered on clinical knowledge as I had so many new things to learn. However, my esthetic knowledge also grew as I began to meet people on the worst day of their lives. A mother who lost her 21-year-old son to suicide, a wife of sixty years whose spouse had just died of a heart attack, a teenager whose father was killed in a motor vehicle accident, and the list could go on and on. According to McEwen and Willis, “Esthetics includes sensing the meaning of a moment” (2019, p. 14). As heartbreaking as it is to watch someone lose their lifelong love, there is also a beauty about witnessing that kind of enduring love that can be seen and felt if not spoken.
Time progressed and I believed I understood both the science and art of nursing. Then I was proven wrong in 2007. On a beautiful day in May, my 15-year-old son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. On our way to Riley Children’s Hospital, I received a call from my sister telling me my 13-year-old niece had been in an accident and was being air lifted to Methodist Hospital. Despite the efforts of the trauma team, she could not be saved. Life is different on the other side of the healthcare coin. You are not a nurse, you are a family member, a loved one, the one experiencing the worst day of your life. It changes your perspective and colors your responses to situations you encounter in the future. It made me acutely aware that everyone comes with their own set of experiences, emotions, and even biases. This falls in line with phenomenology which is described as, “…open, variable, and relativistic and based on human experience and personal interpretations” (McEwen & Willis, 2019, p. 10). It was a hard lesson to learn, but I can say with absolute veracity that when a patient or family member responds in an unexpected or exaggerated manner, I understand the need to go beneath the behavior to find the reason for it. Understanding the reason is the only way to truly meet their meets and reduce their anxiety.
To summarize my philosophy of nursing practice, I believe clinical and empirical knowledge empowers us to provide safe care to our patients, esthetic knowledge assists us with a more holistic approach to patient care, and phenomenology allows us to understand how past experience influences the behaviors, values, and attitudes of both the nurse and the patient. I believe the foundation of nursing is scientific, but the heart of nursing is art.
Goals
As a DNP, I would like to transition from my current facility-based education role into an academic education role. I enjoy teaching nurses at all levels of experience and believe my role is to give them the knowledge and skills they need to be successful and grow professionally. When we invest our time and energy into those just entering the nursing profession, we help to ensure a competent work force for years to come.
DNP Role in Social Change
In simple terms, social change is making a change for the better. There are examples of positive social change that have had a tremendous impact on society, such as the abolishment of slavery. However, positive social change can also come about by the accumulation of small changes. For example, both my facility and my community lack resources for diabetes education. Newly diagnosed diabetics receive little to no education on how to best manage their disease. Because of my personal experience with diabetes, I am often called upon to teach patients to use insulin pens or glucometers. I would like to make a positive social change by offering free diabetes education classes in our community to empower participants with the knowledge they need to take an active role in maintaining their health and well-being. Obtaining a DNP from Walden will better position me to be a change agent by increasing my credibility as an educator and patient advocate.
Reference:
McEwen, M., & Willis, E. M. (2019). Philosophy, Science, and Nursing. Theoretical Basis for Nursing (5th ed., pp.2-22). Wolters Kluwer.
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