Personal Philosophy in Nursing

Nicole Leftenant

College of Central Florida

November 06, 2020

Personal Philosophy in Nursing

       The nursing metaparadigm contains four elements to the concept of nursing: person, environment, health, and nursing (Alligood, 2018). These four concepts drive the nursing process and allow nurses to address each problem and care for patients as a whole. I believe that the nursing metaparadigm provides nurses with a framework  that helps them not only be better nurses, but also better care for their patients. Fawcett’s seminal proposal of four global nursing concepts as a nursing metaparadigm served as an organizing structure for existing nursing frameworks and introduced a way of organizing individual theoretical works in a meaningful structure (Alligood, 2018).

       Person refers to the patient that is being cared for or is in need of care. However, person does not only refer to the patient rather, it also refers to their family and/or support system as well. I feel that as a nurse it is important to recognize that each person is an individual and will have different needs when it comes to care. Each individual person will have different spiritual and psychosocial needs as well. Learning about the person we are taking care of is essential. Taking time to get to know the person that is laying in the hospital bed is essential. These are the simplest steps that a nurse can take to learn about the person, but also to build an excellent rapport with them as well. Connections are imperative between nurse and patient. If there is lack of connection, not only will the patient feel that they aren’t being taken care of the way they deserve, but the nurse may feel that she is not taking good enough care of that person as well.  Connecting, learning about a person and treating the person as a whole is what changes nursing care to quality nursing care.

       Health is a concept on the nursing metaparadigm that can be thought of and defined in many different ways. I like to think of health as being how an individual feel about their own health status. A person may see themselves as being a completely healthy individual, but as a nurse I may think of them as being incredibly unhealthy. Additionally, health can vary based on the state of health a person is in. If they are currently experiencing an illness, or if they are in a state of complete well-being can all play factors in the concept of health. As a nurse I feel it is my responsibility and one of my daily goals to assist a person in moving up the continuum to a better state of health and well-being both physically and emotionally.

       Environment refers to the patients surroundings that may have an effect on their current situation and the care that is given to them. Environment can refer to the physical environment such as a hospital setting, nursing home setting, hospice setting etc. Environment can play a major role in a person’s health. If the environment is chaotic with a lot of noises such as call lights and pumps beeping, then it may increase their anxiety level. A new environment such as a hospital or even a nursing home can be difficult to acclimate to. Reducing stressful stimuli and reducing chaos within the environment can help a patient feel more comfortable. Making a comfortable environment by providing essentials such as blankets and pillows, and also making sure the environment is safe and well light without clutter is an essential nursing practice. I always like to place myself in the situations of my patients. If I am in an unpleasant environment, I tend to become negative and pessimistic. If we want our patients to move toward a state of better health and well-being it is important that we provide them a positive and uplifting environment that they can feel comfortable in.

       Lastly, Nursing is one of the most diverse aspects of the nursing metaparadigm. In my opinion, nursing refers to the knowledge and skills that a nurse must have to provide safe quality care to patients and their families. The relationship that a nurse builds with their patient relies tremendously on the nursing metaparadigm. I feel that my personal nursing philosophy can be most closely related to the theory of Joyce Travelbee, a well-known nursing theorist who proposed that nursing was accomplished through human-to-human relationships that begin with (1) the original encounter and progressed through stages of (2) emerging identities, (3) developing feelings of empathy and, later (4) sympathy until (5) the nurse and the patient attained rapport in the final stage (Alligood, 2018). Nursing is a process that begins the moment we introduce ourselves during the first encounter and continues to evolve as our shift moves forward and we begin forming connections and rapport with our patients. Building rapport and providing patients with high quality, evidence-based care is the fundamental concept of nursing. Building rapport with patients and making sure that we give each individual the same quality care that we gave the last is not always an easy skill. There are many barriers to the nurse-patient relationship that can have a negative effect on the progression of the relationship and rapport building, but as nurses we have to learn to navigate difficult situations and maintain and positive attitude to improve our patients quality of care and movement towards a better state of health.

       The four tenets of the nursing metaparadigm may seem difficult to understand and apply in everyday situations, however, without even thinking about it we do it every shift as nurses. From the moment we enter the patients room and introduce ourselves, to the moment we change shift and give the next nurse report we are continuously using the four tenets of the metaparadigm. It is important to me as a nursing professional to recognize my patient as a person, to provide them with a positive and safe environment, to maximize their health, and to provide them with high-quality evidence-based nursing care.

References

Alligood, M. R. (2018). Nursing Theorists and Their Work (9th ed.). Elsevier.

Boynton, B. (2017). Nursing Tips: How To Build Rapport With Your Patients. Nurse.Org. https://nurse.org/articles/building-rapport-with-your-patients/