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Personal Philosophy of Nursing and Caring Practice

Personal Philosophy of Nursing and Caring Practice

School of Nursing, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

Foundations Nursing Knowledge

Personal Philosophical Statement:

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Personal Philosophy of Nursing and Caring Practice

To achieve a high level of physical, mental, and social functioning for the patient, the

nurse must value the patient by accepting, respecting, nurturing, and understanding the patient.

Thus, this nurse initiative will promote individual growth and health. Therefore, regardless of the

situation or circumstances, the nurse must relate to the patient in a way that optimizes their

outcome. The majority of the time, dramatic changes in the patient’s health go beyond what is

offered in the hospital or healthcare system, which can be heavily predetermined by protocols,

information technology, medication, and acute illness treatment and diagnosis. As “caring”

nurses, there must be an emphasis on healing and support of patients being represented as

individuals with deep psychological, social, and cultural backgrounds.

Theorist: Jean Watson

My personal philosophical statement is very closely related to Jean Watsons, "Philosophy

and Science of Caring." Watson's Theory of Human Caring is premised on a humanistic

perspective combined with science. The humanistic perspective is based on practicing kindness

in terms of intentional caring, always aware of an individual's subjective life—their personal

struggles, fears, and worldview—all while incorporating scientific knowledge. The nurse should

display unconditional care and acceptance to promote optimal growth and health (Masters,

2015). Four major conceptual elements can be outlined in her theory: First, the ten “carative

factors” (love, kindness, equality, peace, appreciation, presence, etc.) that result in the

satisfaction of certain human needs. Second, a transpersonal caring relationship, which means

effective caring promotes health and individual wellbeing or family growth. Third and fourth,

the caring occasion, and the caring and healing model of theory which mean caring responses

must accept a person not only as he/she is not, but as what he/she may become. Therefore, the
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Personal Philosophy of Nursing and Caring Practice

role of nurses is confined to expressing positive regard and practicing creative decision-making

during the caring process (Dyess, S., Boykin, A., & Rigg, C. 2010). Watson & Foster (2003)

explores the Human Theory of Caring as an integral part of other theoretical and practical

domains. Thus, health care should not premise on conventional approach to treatment that is

dictated in textbooks; rather, nurses should be deeply concerned with the feelings and

experiences that their patients undergoes during therapeutic interventions and examinations.

In contrast to Watson’s theory, my personal philosophy statement leaves out the spiritual

aspect of healing the patient. Watson describes a transpersonal nurse as one who "has the ability

to center consciousness and intentionality on caring, healing, and wholeness, rather than on

disease, illness, and pathology." Transpersonal caring focuses on helping patients achieve a more

complete sense of harmony within the mind, body, and spirit through the use of caring

transactions. Under the "Caritas processes," Watson outlines that the nurse must: be authentically

present, enabling faith/hope/belief system, cultivating spiritual practices, opening to spirituality,

mystery, unknowns-allowing for miracles (Caring Science & Theory, 2020). Although it would

be ideal to include this in the care and healing of a patient, the inclusion of spirit or religion

could be problematic for the nurse to incorporate into their practice because of diverse beliefs

and religious practices, both for the nurse and the patient.

Application:

Dolores is a registered nurse who has been working for two years in the hospital

telemetry unit. The hospital has a high turnover rate, insufficient staffing, and communication

between nurses, doctors, and other ancillary staff is sometimes tricky when juggling six patients.

Nonetheless, Dolores remains loyal and steadfast in her duty to take care of all six of her patients

as best as she can, with the resources provided. One of her patients – Clayton, a 50-year-old man
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Personal Philosophy of Nursing and Caring Practice

who has had multiple strokes, is now on rehabilitation. Clayton has four teenage girls and a wife,

Juanita, who visits regularly.

Clayton is in a very supportive relationship with his wife Juanita, and the love received

from his four teenage daughters is constant. Although Clayton does not suffer from a lack of

attention, he is still frustrated and discouraged because he fears his wife will leave him due to his

current health status; he has severe right-sided weakness, intermittent confusion, blindness in

both eyes, and incontinent bowel and bladder. Clayton is extremely fearful of being a burden for

his wife and children, he believes that his life is over and cries often. Most of his concerns relate

to his inability to see and move properly; he requires constant changing by his wife, nurse, and

CNA because of his bowel and bladder incontinence; instead of being positive, he is often highly

frustrated and cynical.

To change the situation, Dolores decides to engage Clayton in a conversation about his

past life with his immediate and extended family. Dolores noticed Clayton seemed more

encouraged, motivated, and optimistic when his five older brothers would come to visit. In his

past life, he was fond of and admired his brothers. This admiration for his older brothers, which

Dolores noticed, is what she decided to use to rehabilitate Clayton.

Therefore, Dolores decided to do a conference call with the brothers; she talks about

Claytons fears and expresses to them that she believes that their constant encouragement and

support will be needed to enable his rehabilitation. All five brothers agreed and said they would

take turns visiting Clayton on a daily basis. Juanita, Clayton's wife, was very excited and

encouraged by this plan.

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Personal Philosophy of Nursing and Caring Practice

The above-presented case demonstrates how a deeper understanding of the patient's

background and noticing interactions with family can contribute to the positive consequences of

the rehabilitation period for a patient experiencing the aftermath of a stroke. Dolores approaches

the patient holistically to understand the reasons for his psychological state. Even though the

hospital's resources are not always enough, these types of approaches can help the patient in the

long run. So, the results of the rehabilitation period were incredible. This case scenario

corresponds with the philosophical statement as stated: To achieve a high level of physical,

mental, and social functioning for the patient, the nurse must value the patient by accepting,

respecting, nurturing, and understanding the patient; this nurse initiative will promote individual

growth and health. Dolores achieved a favorable outcome by listening, observing, and then

nurturing her patient through his own family.

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Personal Philosophy of Nursing and Caring Practice

References

Caring Science & Theory. (2020, September 8). Watson Caring Science

Institute. https://www.watsoncaringscience.org/jean-bio/caring-science-theory/.

Dyess, S., Boykin, A., & Rigg, C. (2010). Integrating Caring Theory With Nursing Practice and

Education: Connecting With What Matters. Journal of Nursing Administration , 40 (11),

Volume 40, Number 11.

Masters, K. (2015). Nursing Theories: A Framework for Professional Practice. (2nd ed). Jones

and Bartlett Learning.

Watson, J., & Foster, R. (2003). The Attending Nurse Caring Model: integrating theory,

evidence and advanced caring–healing therapeutics for transforming professional

practice. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 12(3), 360-365.