Theory- Nursing Philosophy

Definitions

Philosophy

Allison defines philosophy as a theoretical work that revolves around one or all the metaparadigm concepts of health, nursing, environment, and person in a broad way (Alligood, 2015 51). Philosophy attempts to address questions like what is nursing or the nature of human caring. An example of a philosophy is Watson’s philosophy of caring that emphasizes on aspects of caring.

Nursing philosophy

Nursing philosophy is a broad statement of beliefs and values that suggests ideas in nursing and concerns of nursing (Alligood, 2015). Alligood offers that nursing philosophies establish the meaning of nursing phenomena by way of analysis and reasoning.

Metaparadigm

According to Alligood, metaparadigm carries philosophical concepts that are distinct to a discipline and delineates disciplinary boundaries of environment, person, nursing and health as a milieu to comprehend the interconnections among those elements (Alligood, 2015, 49).

Nursing Metaparadigm

A nursing metaparadigm refer to the nursing knowledge comprising of central concepts of health, nursing, environment, and human. The nursing metaparadigm helps understand what nursing is and what it does.

Metaparadigm

Nursing

Nursing refers to a helping process that focuses primarily on interpersonal interactions between a patient and a nurse (Chinn & Kramer, 2018, p. 40). The concept of interpersonal interactions is the primary focus as far as the nature of nursing is concerned. Chinn and Kramer describes nursing metaparadigm as a framework within which interpersonal interactions like medical, technical, and primary functions support primary interpersonal interactions (Chinn & Kramer, 2018, 40). The primary functions of nursing range from assessment to diagnosis, treatment and medication administration.

Person

Chinn and Kramer view the person in the realm of wholeness. “Wholeness means that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and cannot be reduced to its parts without losing something in the process” (Chinn & Kramer, 2018, 40). Nursing theorists who hold to the concept that the whole is equal to the sum of the parts are not consistent with the idea of wholeness.

Health

Health refers to the goals of nursing. Health is a dynamic process that varies with life circumstances and changes with time. Health is the state of being in relation to one’s values, lifestyle, and personality.

Environment

The environment encompasses society and culture. The environment encompasses all possible conditions that affect patients in their settings, such as temperature, medication, food, pollution, and bedding. Environment is a situation, circumstance or conditions surrounding the person.

Personal Thoughts and Beliefs

Health

Health component implies feeling well or the state of wellness. Health means being well and functioning normally. A person is said to be in good health if that person feels well or his body functions normally. A person with hypertension can still be in health state if he feels well.

Nursing

Personally I view nursing as both a science and art of touching people’s lives. It is a science in the sense that it is based on data derived from theory development and current research. The art of nursing derives from the experience of a nurse and the caring relation nurses develop with their patients. Nurses apply clinical judgment and critical thinking to offer evidence-based care to patients, families and community. The nursing component relates to a nurse caring for patients. This care is delivered to individuals of all ages, groups, well or sick. Nurses apply their skills and knowledge when delivering care to patients. Nursing include the care of the sick, prevention of illness and promotion of health.

Environment

Environment covers the geography and landscape of the person’s social experience, context or setting of experience. This geography encompasses personal, social, and global dimensions. Environment includes societal mores, beliefs, customs, values, expectations, and practices as well. Dimensions that influence health include historical, cultural, political, socioeconomic, psychosocial, developmental and physical processes.

Person

A person is the recipient of care, and may include individual patients and families. The person component is at the heart of the nursing care that practitioners provide. This component considers the patient’s social and spiritual needs in addition to healthcare needs. Because each person is unique with complex needs, individualized care is recommended. The person is more than the sum of eyes, muscles, heart, legs, and veins. It is impossible to define human beings because each person is unique from others and so does their needs.  The person is the reason for the existence of nursing profession and practice. I believe the human component is about individuals in a specific society, family or culture. A person can be empowered to take control over their own health and condition when they possess positive personal connections.

The health component and the person component are interrelated in that health viewed as the patient’s subjective perception. The same condition might be perceived as healthy or unhealthy by different persons depending on their experiences.

The interaction between the environment and the person components affect the person’s level of health and healthcare. Variables at school, workplace, or school all affect the level of these needs. Human beings can change their environment for better health outcomes.

The interrelationship between nursing and environment arises from the fact that nursing provides optimal environmental conditions to foster the person’s healing process.

The nursing and the person components are interrelated through nurse-patient relationship. The person and health are interrelated in that nurses focus on the wholeness of the situation of a person when providing care and support. The role of the nurse is to provide safe care and caring environment for optimal patient outcomes. This relationship allows nurses to connect with and understand patient needs.  Nurse-patient interactions enable the nurse to develop a unique perspective about the patient’s health values, beliefs and preferences.

Human beings depend on the environment for their survival.  This means that healthy environments keep healthy while unclean environment makes people unwell. Quality environment offers clean water, air, material inputs, energy and resources for our survival.  On the other hand, pollutants in the environment contribute to diseases.  As social being, the person interacts with their environment for optimal quality of life. They form relationships with family members, friends and community for their wellbeing.

Health and the circumstances of environment are interdependent in that health process stems from the environment.

References

Alligood, M.A. (2018). Philosophies, Models, and Theories: Critical Thinking Structures. In Nursing Theory utilization & application (pp. 49-52). St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Mosby

Chinn, P.L. & Kramer, M. K. (2015). Knowledge development in nursing: theory and process. St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Mosby