The Reciprocal Interaction Worldview

I define my philosophy of nursing within the three nursing domains of person, health, and environment. My goal is to communicate the importance of nursing as a knowledge-based career, depending not only on the nurse fulfilling her role but also on the patient’s compliance. A patient must learn to provide self-care at home in the same capacity as the nurse would provide care in the clinical setting. I discuss various subjects within nursing. I explain why I want to be a nurse, what I believe a nurse’s role is, the different domains of nursing, and where I believe nursing will be in the future. My philosophy demonstrates the interdependence of the nursing domains. You cannot fully evaluate a person without evaluating their health,

Worldview is regarded as the crucial basis of reality and is dominant among culture. It consists of classes, norms as well as values that provide an overview by which is observed as an overview that people use to examine the universe. As a result of unique wide perspective associated with worldview that everybody has, there are evidences of similarities within communities, family setups and among the culture. (Shelly, 2006). Worldview can also be influenced by the spiritual nature of individuals as this requires a consideration so as to take a person’s holistic care. These postmodern and scientific models of philosophy are the current factor that hinders the total spiritual approval in healthcare. Faith in me

This paper brings up my personal nursing philosophy that I am planning to deliver in my nursing career. I believe that nursing is more than merely as a profession, it also involves my medical knowledge combined it with a commitment to quality nursing care with compassion, respect, dignity, and advocacy for each patient. I believe that the interdisciplinary care and collaboration in the medical field are crucial elements that lead to a healthy relationship among healthcare professionals in promoting quality patient care that is individualized to each patient’s needs.

My journey to nursing began with my personal healthcare experience, and has continued to evolve since entering the nursing program at State University. My personal philosophy of nursing is related my life experience and my personal philosophy of life. Using reflection-on-action, I have begun to understand the influences that have lead me to nursing. I discovered client and family centered care to be an important quality when I look at the influential nurses in my life. To develop a positive therapeutic nurse-client relationship, nurses must integrate all 5 dimensions of the therapeutic nurse-client relationship into their practice (CNO, 2006). When it comes to providing client-centered care, the dimensions of trust, empathy

My personal definition of nursing is taking care of my patient as a whole; using my knowledge, being compassionate and caring, respectful and honest. Taking care of the; spiritual, physical and emotional aspect of the patient, and taking into consideration their family and environment. Learning about the different theorists I associate myself the most with Hildegard Peplau. Peplau believed that the relationship between the patient and the nurse was focus of attention, rather than the patient only as the unit of attention. (Chitty & Black p.314-315). Using Peplau’s theory my relationship begins with my patients as strangers and I try to

The development of a philosophy related to the profession of nursing is important in that it provides a framework for the nurse to base his/her work on. Philosophy is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means”. In other words, philosophies are based on beliefs and assumptions with an overall goal of obtaining an objective which states the nurse’s purpose in the profession. In my undergraduate nursing program I was exposed to multiple nursing concepts that guided my practice. Coupled with my ten years of experience in the nursing field, I was enabled to formulate my own framework or guide to nursing. The paradigm which resonates with me the most is the interactive-integrative perspective as it views practice “as having multiple, interrelated parts in relation to a specific context.” (Newman, Sime, & Corcoran-Perry, 1991, p.38). My framework includes three main components: the client, the professional nurse, and the nurse-client relationship.

Holistic nursing to me is a practice of applying both subjective and objective patient assessment into the plan of care. Not only do we need to look at the physical condition of the patient, but also their social and environmental factors that influence their state of health. When this application process is incorporated into the patient plan of care, we are incorporating all aspects of the patient’s life that help define and create their ideal state of health. In review of several nursing theories discussed by Montgomery-Dossey and Keegan (2012), which incorporate the aspect of holistic nursing practice, I found that Jean Watson’s Theory of Transpersonal Caring was most closely linked to aspects of my current nursing practice.

Inside the body the disturbances are twofold: (a) the relationships between and among the various body parts and biochemical processes; and (b) the relationship between the mind and the body. Outside the body, these relationships are also twofold: (a) the relationship between the individual patient and his or her environment, including the ecological, physical, familial, social, and political nexus of relationships surrounding the patient; and (b) the relationship between the patient and the transcendent.” (Sulmasy, 2002, p.26)

The pervasive influence of scientific empiricism and Darwinism, “inevitably resulted in the establishment of the idea that the final reality is impersonal matter or energy being shaped into its present form by impersonal chance” (Schaeffer, 1981, p. 18). This change in worldview caused the removal of one of the basic foundations of nursing, the Bible. Throughout the Gospels we see that the ultimate purpose for physical healing was to restore people to a vital relationship with God and the community” (Shelly and Miller, 2006, p.24). Being able to demonstrate the value of this goal for today’s nurse is another important reason for me to understand nursing theory and history and how it applies to my philosophy of nursing.

We reflecting the author’s own culture, she like many people in the United States are a blend of many different cultures and ethnicity. By not having one single ethnic culture her family views health traditions based on their religion of Christian Scientist. Being raised in this religion molded views of health promotion, prevention and treatment that influence her health behaviors today. There is a difference of opinion between Christian Science and traditional medical views. “Christian Scientist interpret disease from a spiritual view where medicine interprets disease from a material point of view” (Stoddard, 2010). As a child our family was raised with the belief that good nutrition, physical activity, and the role of positive thinking and mind over matter, would provide health and help us remain strong and healthy. Not having over the counter medications or turning to traditional medicine for simple medical issues was chosen as our families way of viewing illness. Growing up with the view of health and illness as spiritual using techniques such as meditation, prayer and positive thinking, has stayed as a health tradition among our families beliefs and practices to this day. Today modern medicine is looking at the mind as a valuable tool to prepare persons and bodys for wellness and rehabilitation. An example of this would be biofeedback. This is a technique where people are

Nursing was, for my sixteen year old self, taking care of the sick. Little did I know the complexities of that definition. Still, taking care of the sick was interesting enough to make nursing my major. I started practicing nursing years ago. However, I still struggle defining and explaining my profession to others. I usually start by differentiating nursing from medicine. Nurses see patients as humans rather than a disease that needs treatment (Zaccagnini & White, 2014, p. 15). However, as I advance my career, I must actively incorporate nursing theory into my practice. Nursing theory gives a foundation to understand patients and their health problems better. The use of nursing theory provides a framework to evaluate nurses’ interventions on a higher standard (Zaccagnini & White, 2014). Kenney described five steps to follow once the decision to include nursing theory has being made. This paper will explore the process of applying the Kenney’s five steps into my practice.

Kristen M. Swanson’s Caring Theory is the solution in bridging the gap between nursing practice and theory. It offers an explanation of the links between patient well-being and the caring process (Tonges & Ray, 2011). Swanson explained that nurses should be able to demonstrate that they care about their patients, and that caring about their wellbeing is as important as their patients’ current medical problem (Tonges & Ray, 2011).

When looking at the postmodern worldview, many people believe that science is unable to explain the meaning to life. The post-modernistic theory explains that the world consists of an energy that can be manipulated and controlled. As a result of this many scientists and health care workers are looking for a more holistic way of treating patients. In this way the physical, psychological and spiritual needs of the patient are met. This leads to the patient being in complete harmony with their environment (Shelly & Miller, 2006). As a result patients will not be thought of as just a disease but a whole person.

Throughout the history of nursing, there have been many nursing theorists who have each made significant contributions towards the shaping of nursing knowledge. Each of these theorists have differing perspectives and interpretations of how each domain of the nursing metaparadigm fit into their respective theories. The four domains of the nursing metaparadigm are: person, environment, health and illness, and nursing. The purpose of this reflection is to provide an overview of the domains related to the metaparadigm of nursing as well as to introduce this author’s perspective on their developing personal philosophy of nursing. In this paper, the author will take a closer look at each of these areas, how they are individually defined, and how they each fit into the nursing metaparadigm as a whole. At the conclusion of this overview, readers will be introduced to how these theorists and their perspectives have enabled this author to begin to create their own philosophy of nursing.

The discipline of nursing is characterized into four metaparadigm concepts. The first concept is person. I believe that nursing requires me to think of each person as an individual and take time to be with that person using human-to-human interaction. Working in the emergency room I try my best to listen to each patient with proper eye contact to provide the visual cues of compassion. The second is environment. My nursing philosophy also incorporates all of the patient’s surroundings and their situation that may be causing an illness or a nursing need. It could be the people