Personal Philosophy and Theoretical Concepts

Introduction

The paper aims to present a personal philosophy of perception of basic concepts. At the same time, the report aims to discuss the basic ideas explaining the significance of the words patient, care, health, and environment. It is crucial to establish how these concepts are distinguished in theoretical development and practical application, and the paper will analyze the implementation of the concepts in nursing practice.

Autobiography

My professional experience as a registered nurse is based on long-term practice communicating with and supporting patients. The results of constant practice are a high level of responsibility and patient care, adherence to professional ethics, and mastery of the basics of psychology. I can find a common language with patients and their families and support all of them with words of encouragement. While working as a registered nurse, I cared for and assisted a patient who had stomach cancer. My responsibility was coordinating and executing his treatment plans, even though the patient’s relatives were skeptical about the treatment results.

Consequently, I have not only provided psychological treatment and moral support to the patient but also communicated with the relatives. I tried to explain that the proposed treatment would positively contribute to the patient’s health. Moreover, to convince them of the truthfulness of my statement, I referred to scientific facts and practical cases of patients’ recovery. This enabled me to improve the moral state of the patient’s relatives, and they, in turn, helped the patient to cope with fear and stress. Consequently, my proficiency in effective communication permitted me to provide psychological support, positively influencing the patient.

Moreover, I conducted training for new nurses who started working at the hospital. During the courses, I have discussed my experiences related to patient’s history taking, prescribing medications, and examining patients. Most importantly, I have explained to the new workers how to perform duties effectively in practice. This permitted the nurses to satisfy the high demands of the hospital and provide quality patient care. In addition, I have conducted practical drills, where I demonstrated effective therapeutic intervention. Thus, I have used the professional abilities of the registered nurse not only to help the patients but also to teach the new medical staff.

The Four Metaparadigms

The metaparadigm of care includes patient, health, environment, and care, which are the crucial areas for providing care to patients. The first part of the metaparadigm is the person, who refers to the individual patient and includes family members, friends, groups, communities, and populations. The second component refers to the person’s well-being and access to health care (Conoglu, 2017). The third component is the environment, which encompasses everything around the person that affects their disease, and the final metaparadigm involves knowledge, physical dexterity, and practical nursing care.

Patient

The patient is the basic concept in nursing, a notion that encompasses a person and a group of people. These social connections and relationships provide strength, hope, and meaning to a person’s life, which heals them holistically (Conoglu, 2017). The holistic concept of the person means that the person is viewed from a physical, mental, and social perspective, which implies that they have physical, psychological, and social needs.

Environment

The environment consists of many internal, external, and social factors, such as physical and mental health, financial status, and geographic location. At the same time, culture, religious affiliation, social support, and personal relationships are essential to a person’s health. It is absolutely essential for the patients that they are surrounded by an environment that promotes holistic healing (Conoglu, 2017). The supportive environment in the hospital allows the individual to feel secure and comfortable.

Nursing

Nursing is a professional activity that addresses the needs of the patient, with the modern understanding of nursing putting disease prevention and health maintenance through training and education at the forefront. The nurse should be capable of educating and counseling the patient so that they can manage as independently as possible in daily life (Conoglu, 2017). The primary modes of care are helping the patient, listening, conversations, support, caring, teaching, and counseling.

Health

Human health is composed of physical, intellectual, emotional, psychological, and spiritual well-being. A person can be considered in terms of health on a sphere, on one end of which is perfect health and on the other side of which is death (Conoglu, 2017). Humans perceive their health individually, adapting to illness in their own way. The nurse cares for patients and empowers them to manage their health.

Two Practice-Specific Concepts

The nursing philosophy is part of the general philosophy and is a system of views on the relationship between the nurse, the patient, the community, and the environment. Hildegard E. Peplau proposed nursing philosophy as a theory and described it as a strategy of interpersonal relations (Sher & Akhtar, 2018). In nursing philosophy, it is crucial to ensure effective communication between the patient and the nursing staff. Under the duties of a registered nurse, the basic concepts are the patient; this is the person who requires and receives nursing care (Sher & Akhtar, 2018). Additionally, there is nursing, which is a part of nursing care that addresses the patient’s existing and potential health problems.

Name of the First Concept: The Patient

A patient is a person who has requested medical care and is under medical supervision or receiving medical care. According to the paradigm, a client is a person who needs and receives nursing care (Sher & Akhtar, 2018). The biological, psychological, social, and spiritual components constitute the integral whole of the person, the patient. The nurse must be prepared to deal with patients, respecting their past and present life values, customs, and beliefs. In my practice, the patient is the key person for health care. In a registered nurse, all of the duties of a registered nurse are aimed at creating the best possible treatment environment for the patient and ensuring a prompt response to any changes in a healthy patient (Sher & Akhtar, 2018). In this way, the registered nurse establishes a relationship of trust with the person with illness and relatives to provide them with the most comprehensive support.

Name of Second Concept: Nursing

Nursing is part of patient care, the science and art of nursing, addressing existing and potential health problems in a changing environment. According to the paradigm, nursing should be focused on patient care (Sher & Akhtar, 2018). The nurse is used to promote their health. In practice, the nurse who develops a plan of care with the patient can only expect it to be successful if the nurse understands and considers that they are communicating with the individual. The patient should have clear biological, psychological, social, and spiritual problems. Therefore, the registered nurse can offer a treatment and care plan that will effectively enhance and monitor the patient’s health status.

Conclusion

Hence, the philosophy of nursing is based on four fundamental concepts, the patient as an individual, nursing as an environment, and health. Nurses have an important role in achieving public health and social welfare objectives and in enhancing the quality and effectiveness of nursing services. To accomplish these duties, it is essential to consider the four components of the paradigm when interacting with patients.

References

Conoglu, G. (2017). The effects of philosophic components on nursing education. New Trends and Issues Proceedings on Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(2), 225-229.

Sher, A. N. A., & Akhtar, A. (2018). Clinical application of nightingale’s theory. J Clin Res Bioeth, 9(4), 1-3.