Personal Philosophy of Nursing

Reflect on the four domains of a nursing philosophy and develop your own personal philosophy of nursing

We focused this module on the profession of nursing. We have a proud, dynamic history of nursing and continue to evolve. The essence of nursing (knowledge and caring) is complex and multi-dimensional. Review the definition of nursing developed by the American Nurses Association (ANA), “the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations” (2004, p. 7). ANA Definition (Links to an external site.).

3. You will be formulating your philosophy of nursing. Use the questions below to help you develop a philosophy. The following are ideas to reflect on in the process of defining your own personal beliefs, you shouldn’t list and answer each one in your paper . Instead use your responses to the questions to devise a nursing philosophy.

What is your central belief about the individual person? What makes up a person, who they are and how they got to where they are?

What constitutes the environment? Does it include elements both external and internal? Give examples. Find out what internal/external environments are and how the person interacts with them. A good source for this information is Chitty and Black “Professional Nursing Concepts and Challenges” 6th edition, or Google search should give you direction on this

How do the individual and the environment interact? Think about how you view health. Finkelman or the Chitty book mentioned above will give you a basic understanding but you will need to expand upon this.

What is your view of health? What is health and how is illness related to health? Is health a continuum with absolutes at either end, is it a dichotomy: either good or bad? Is it a state that includes illness? Note that disease and illness is not the same thing. One can have a disease and not be ill, and one can be ill and not have a disease.

What is the central reason for the existence of nursing? Why are we, as nurses, here? Don’t think of this as a task based definition. Why do you get up every day and go to work? How do we do what we do every day?
Spend a little bit of time thinking about the questions provided and you will do fine!
Don’t look for a “right” answer, this is your personal philosophy/thought.*Be sure to review the assignment by clicking link Course Assignment Guidelines, Rubrics, and APA Aids

The four domains are the person, environment, health, and nursing.

Professional Nursing PaperAssignment Guidelines: You are to develop an APA format paper (abstract not required) addressing the following criteria in the table below. You should complete assigned readings and view content in Module 1 prior to writing this paper. Please use the boldface words listed under Criteria as 1st level headings in your paper. CriteriaPointsIntroduce paper, be sure to include a thesis statement (tell the reader what the paper is about). (3-4 sentences) *Note you do not include a boldface heading Introduction. Instead you type a non-boldface abbreviated title of paper (see APA 6th edition for example)5 ptsCore Competencies- Identify and describe the core competencies for all healthcare professionals. ( 1/2 page)10 ptsProfessional Characteristics of Nursing- Identify and describe professional characteristics of nursing as described by American Nurses Association. (1/2 page)10 ptsDefinition of Nursing- Discuss the meaning of terms (choose only 3) found in the definition of nursing developed by the American Nurses Association. Choose any 3 of the following terms (these can be 2nd level headings per APA in paper): promotion of health, optimization of health, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering, human response, and advocacy. Consider the following questions for your discussion: What does the term mean to you personally as a nurse? What does the term mean for your patients and families? Could the term have a different meaning for various cultural groups? (1 page)25 ptsConscious Caring- Describe five actions that demonstrate conscious caring and provide one example from your own nursing practice. (1/2 page)15 ptsPersonal Philosophy of Nursing- Reflect on the four domains of a nursing philosophy and develop your own personal philosophy of nursing. (1/2 page)15 ptsSummary- Provide a summary of main ideas from your paper. Do not provide any new information in this section. (4-5 sentences)5 ptsFollows APA 6th edition format (no abstract required), correct grammar and spelling, uses correct headings, minimum of 3 scholarly references (textbook can be 1 reference), and maximum of 2 direct quotes. 15 ptsTotal Points: (Minus deductions for late submission)100 pts The paper should be 2200 words long