Nurses are prepared and equipped with adequate competencies that make it easier for them to deliver high-quality care to their patients. This understanding is what informs my nursing philosophy. To begin with, I treat nursing as an evidence-based practice that must be applied as a science and an art (Mackintosh-Franklin, 2016). Various theoretical assumptions, concepts, and ideas have been used to come up with the best philosophy that can support the health needs of every patient. This discussion gives a detailed analysis of the unique attributes that define my nursing philosophy.
Key Concepts of My Philosophy
The first concept of my philosophy of nursing is that of leadership. It is my role to ignore risks in order to create the best environment for healthcare delivery. I guide my followers to act ethically, focus on existing policies, embrace evidence-based ideas, and develop better skills to maximize the health outcomes of their patients (Marchuk, 2014). The philosophy goes further to promote the idea of accountability. My goal is to ensure every stakeholder is willing to promote the best practices and address every emerging health challenge.
The use of appropriate competencies is a critical concept of my philosophy. This entails the acquisition and application of different skills and dexterities in different healthcare settings. This concept guides me to come up with personalized care models depending on the needs of the targeted patients (Reed, 2017). The concept of cultural competencies is another powerful aspect that informs my philosophy. It is necessary to identify the diverse needs of different people in an attempt to deliver evidence-based and culturally-sensitive care.
The ultimate goal, according to my philosophy, is to maximize the experience of the targeted patient. I clearly understand that a patient suffering from a given disease can still have a healthy life. This is what makes my philosophy applicable in situations whereby the targeted patients have terminal illnesses. Continuous learning (also called lifelong learning) is the final concept that guides me to acquire new competencies and concepts that can be used to maximize the health outcomes of people (Marchuk, 2014). The approach goes further to present new insights for addressing the health needs of underserved populations.
Metaparadigms of Nursing
The four metaparadigms of nursing have been merged with my philosophy in order to make it more meaningful. The first one is that of a person. My greatest objective is to ensure every targeted person received quality and reliable care. The specific needs of every patient should be analyzed separately in order to offer high-quality medical support. The patient can be guided to achieve the best health outcomes even when they have a terminal illness.
The second metaparadigm is the environment (Mackintosh-Franklin, 2016). I strongly believe that the environment is capable of influencing the health outcomes of every person. The environment is characterized by energy fields that determine the health of a given community. It is appropriate to analyze the environment in order to come up with the best care delivery model.
Health is the third metaparadigm that dictates the nature of my philosophy. Health is a state of wellbeing and can be achieved through the use of appropriate nursing processes. The main goal of a caregiver is to achieve this metaparadigm and empower more people to achieve their health potential. The last metaparadigm is that of nursing. The entire process of nursing should be a combination of concepts, ideas, and concepts to address the health needs of more patients (Marchuk, 2014).
The Nursing Process
My nursing process is guided by these four metaparadigms. As indicated earlier, nursing should be an evidence-based process that seeks to re-pattern a patient’s energy fields. My philosophy indicates that health is a state of being whereby a patient is capable of pursuing his or her goals. The environment is also scanned to identify different stressors (Mackintosh-Franklin, 2016). The health promotion model supported by the nursing process will be informed by the needs of the targeted patient.
The metaparadigms encourage me to identify the cultural, religious, and ethical issues that define a person’s health outcome. The combination of these metaparadigms throughout the care delivery process guides me to bring on board different practitioners who can deliver evidence-based nursing services to more people (Scott, Matthews, & Kirwan, 2013). I go further to include different concepts and leadership models to ensure quality nursing services are available to more people. The care delivery process is also informed by the environment, available resources, and patient’s needs.
Application to Nursing Practice
The above nursing philosophy can be applied successfully in my current practice and research. To begin with, the philosophy is a powerful model that can be used to inform my leadership attributes, care delivery models, and nursing concepts. With this kind of approach, I can design powerful care delivery models that can meet the unique needs of the targeted patients. This will be guided by the four metaparadigms of nursing (Scott et al., 2013). This practice will make it easier for me to address the unique health challenges affecting every patient or target population.
The philosophy embraces the use of new concepts and ideas to ensure the needs of more people are met. My philosophy encourages me to identify new ideas that can improve the quality of medical practice. The knowledge can guide me to analyze the social and cultural attributes of the targeted patient. This understanding will make it easier to come up with the best care delivery approach that can produce desirable results (Marchuk, 2014). Ethical practices and principles will also be considered whenever practicing as a nurse. The philosophy can also be applied in the field of research to acquire evidence-based ideas to deal with emerging issues in the healthcare sector.
Strengths and Limitations
The first strength of my philosophy is that it is informed by the four metaparadigms of nursing. This is the reason why my practice is redesigned depending on the needs of every identified patient. The philosophy leaves room for improvement. This is because nursing is always an evolving field. The philosophy also includes several leadership attributes. Effective leadership guides me and my followers to deliver quality care (Reed, 2017). The philosophy is characterized by cultural competencies and lifelong learning. These aspects make it easier to deliver timely, high-quality, and affordable care to more people.
The weakness associated with this philosophy it is still in its infancy. I am yet to consider different aspects such as communication and collaboration in order to become more effective. The philosophy fails to outline appropriate approaches to engage in health promotion (Mackintosh-Franklin, 2016). This weakness will be my immediate focus in order to support the health needs of more people in different communities. I am going to engage in lifelong learning in an attempt to improve this philosophy. The strategy will eventually make me a skilled provider of quality patient care.
References
Mackintosh-Franklin, C. (2016). Nursing philosophy: A review of current pre-registration curricula in the UK. Nurse Education Today, 37(1), 71-74. Web.
Marchuk, A. (2014). A personal nursing philosophy in practice. Journal of Neonatal Nursing, 20(6), 266-273. Web.
Reed, P. (2017). Translating nursing philosophy for practice and healthcare policy. Nursing Science Quarterly, 30(3), 1-12. Web.
Scott, P., Matthews, A., & Kirwan, M. (2013). What is nursing in the 21st century and what does the 21st century health system require of nursing? Nursing Philosophy, 1(1), 1-12. Web.