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My Nursing Philosophy

Abigail Angell

NUR300-RN to BSN Transition

Delaware Technical Community College

Melissa Banks

07/25/2021
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My personal nursing philosophy has been influenced by many different things in my life

like life experiences, family, and my personal beliefs. Because of these experiences while caring

for people in my career, I have tried to understand and remember I am caring for people that, at

the moment, may not be at their best. I feel it is my job to not only care for them physically, but

also mentally as well. Since I understand and feel this way my nursing philosophy follows the

idea that as a nurse I need to practice and provide care in a respectful, kind, and caring manner. I

will continue to discuss and explain my personal nursing philosophy further through my

commitment to lifelong learning, the theorist that most impacts my philosophy, how a personal

wellness plan will improve my philosophy, and how my philosophy will allow me to become a

leader in nursing practice.

As a nurse it is important for me to continue my education and lifelong learning. In the

healthcare setting things are continuously changing and evolving because of this, I have to be

willing to change and evolve as well. Understanding this will allow me to have the most current

knowledge, so that I can provide the best care possible for my patients. When I increase my

knowledge I am following my personal philosophy because I am showing I care and respect

those I am caring for by having the latest knowledge on procedures and medications the patient

may be receiving. “Nurses have always been held to very high professional standards. Nurses

need to show they have a high level of accountability and show they have the knowledge it takes

to take the lives of others into their own hands.”(New Health Advisor, para.3) As a nurse I feel it

is our job to continue our education because we are handling our patients' lives in our hands.

In nursing it is important to have role models you can look to for advice and model your

care after. The nursing theory and theorist that I believe correlates well with my personal values

and beliefs as well as my personal nursing philosophy, was Jean Watson’s “Theory of Caring”. In
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this theory Watson believes providing a caring and nurturing environment for our patients helps

to promote health and healing. “The nursing model states that nursing is concerned with

promoting health, preventing illness, caring for the sick, and restoring health. It focuses on health

promotion, as well as the treatment of diseases. Watson believed that holistic health care is

central to the practice of caring in nursing. She defines nursing as “a human science of persons

and human health-illness experiences that are mediated by professional, personal, scientific,

esthetic and ethical human transactions”’(Nursing Theory, 2020, para. 5). I relate to this theory

personally because in my daily life I try to be respectful, kind, and caring to everyone I meet. I

transfer this into my nursing practice by trying to always ask my patients how they are doing and

if they need anything, every time I enter their room. I also try to always remember I am caring

for them because they are experiencing some kind of illness, so my patients may not always be at

their best when I meet them, so I always try to be respectful of that and communicate with them

as much as I can about what is going on and what I need to do to care for them. The “Theory of

Caring” can be applied to nursing because as nurses we work to make sure our patients are cared

for and that their needs are met. We focus on the whole person and not just the illness because

being in the hospital can be nerve racking and scary, especially if the cause of the illness is still

unknown. Through this theory we see that half of the healing process for our patients is for them

to remain calm and to know that everything is being done to help them return to their normal

state of health. As nurses we strive to always communicate and educate our patients on any

question they may have and also encourage them to advocate for themselves, just as we strive to.

In order to help patients return to their normal state of health, while also remaining calm

themselves, I think as a nurse I need to be at my optimal state of health. In order to do this I need

a personal wellness plan that will allow me to maintain my health, so that I am able to teach and
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help my patients return to their optimal level of health. In order to do this I had to look at each

aspect of my life and see where I needed to improve and then come up with a plan to begin that

process. The aspects I looked at were physical, spiritual, social, emotional, and intellectual; all

these areas can have a big impact on your health if even one of them is not at the level it should

be. After looking at each category, I then came up with a plan of where to start and how to start.

While going through this process I learned alot about myself and the improvements I needed to

make. After making these improvements I will be able to assist my patients in creating their own

plan that will hopefully lead to them improving their lives and preventing further hospital stays.

After I understand and improve myself, I will be able to not only lead better, but also

manage any conflicts that may arise. Working in a hospital, I encounter many different people

and backgrounds from not only the patients but my co-workers as well. Because of this there can

be conflict that arises within the workplace, but since I understand where my shortcomings are

and I have a nursing philosophy to follow that consists of being respectful, kind, and caring; I

know I can go into a conflict and try to handle it professionally using my nursing philosophy.

Following this will allow me to show my leadership qualities if I am able to remember to focus

on the patient and obtain them the best possible care I can. In doing this I also need to remember

to keep my patient safe and advocate for them.

The majority of the patients I meet do not always understand what is happening or what

certain tests are for and as their nurse it is my responsibility to provide them with the time to talk

about the care they are receiving. This will allow my patients to not only understand their care

and ask clarifying questions, but will also keep and help them feel safe because they know I am

trying to assist them in any way I can. My patients will also feel respected because they know I

am trying to advocate for them, by answering and clarifying any thing that they may not
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understand, so that the patient is able to make their own decisions and advocate for themselves.

In Jean Watson’s “Theory of Caring” she creates ten primary carative factors and the fourth one

is what I am striving for when I am teaching and advocating for my patients. “The development

of a helping-trust relationship, which includes congruence, empathy, and warmth. The strongest

tool a nurse has is his or her mode of communication, which establishes a rapport with the

patient, as well as caring by the nurse.”(Nursing Theory, 2020) As I follow not only my own

personal philosophy of nursing, but also Jean Watson’s philosophy I will be able to keep my

patient safe and continue to advocate for them.

As I continue to strive to follow my personal nursing philosophy of providing care in a

respectful, kind, and caring way I know I will be able to teach, advocate, and empathize with my

patients. If I keep in mind all the ways I mentioned above to improve myself and the care I give

to my patients I know I will continue to provide the best possible care I can to my patients.

Having someone there to listen to them and try to meet their needs will allow them to feel like

they are getting better and they will be able to advocate for themselves to understand what they

need to do to get better. In nursing I need to always remember to view my patients as “a valued

person in and of him or herself to be cared for, respected, nurtured, understood and

assisted…”(Nursing Theory, 2020) Doing this will increase my ability to provide care in a

respectful, kind, and caring way.

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References

No Idea with Philosophy of Nursing? Here're Some Examples. New Health Advisor. (2019,

July 10).https://www.newhealthadvisor.org/Nursing-Philosophy-Examples.html..

Watson's Philosophy and Science of Caring. Nursing Theory. (2020, July

21).https://nursing-theory.org/theories-and-models/watson-philosophy-and-science-

of-caring.php.