Personal Philosophy Of Nursing

Having a nursing philosophy is the foundation that a nurse uses and builds upon during their nursing career. My personal philosophy attempts to answers questions such as, “what is nursing?” and “what does nursing mean to me”. Nursing involves far more than just taking care of a patient; nursing is a career that requires a certain passion, dedication, and commitment. In this paper, the idea of holistic caring with the use of compassion and respect for the patient, and the ideas of patient-centered care is explained and described. Additionally, the use of the four nursing metaparadigms helped link the connection between the the patient and nurse. Focusing on the idea that nursing should be patient driven and focus on the values and needs of

(Ahtisham & Jacoline p. 444) To me, Virginia Henderson is a role model and I find her as one of the greatest advocates for nursing, who made many monumental contributions towards defining the role the nurse plays with the patient. “Her works reflect the physical and social concerns common to all mankind.” (Halloran, 2006, p.18) Similar in many ways with Maslow’s Hierarch of Needs, Virginia Henderson’s “Need Theory,” identified fourteen fundamental needs that make up the core of patient care. In chapter 13 from Beth Perry Black (2014), Virginia Henderson’s basic needs were listed as the following: “1.breath normally 2. eat and drink adequately 3. eliminate body wastes 4. move and maintain desirable postures 5. sleep and rest 6. select suitable clothes-dress and undress 7. maintain body temperature within normal garbage by adjusting clothing and modifying the environment 8. keep the body clean and well groomed and protect the integument 9. avoid the dangers in the environment and avoid injuring others 10. communicate with others in expressing emotions, needs, fears, opinions 11. worship according to one’s faith 12. work in such a way that there is a sense of accomplishment 13. play or participate in various forms of recreation 14. learn, discover or satisfy the curiosity that leads to normal development and health and

Using Virginia Henderson’s idea about nursing and how they treat a patient, I believe that each person has basic needs that need to be assessed and met in order to recover. However, unlike Henderson’s theory my philosophy on nursing uses more than just the idea that a patient has basic needs. My philosophy continues and explains that a nurse should use the idea of holistic nursing care when caring for a patient and the nurse should connect a patient's care with the four metaparadigms: person, environment, health, and