RUNNING HEAD: PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING

Philosophy of Nursing
Jennifer Fernandez
University of Saint Mary

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Philosophy of Nursing

Human beings in general all deserve the same level of respect. As the saying goes do
unto others as you would have done unto yourself. When it comes to nursing this is my main
focus of care, my philosophy if you may. Standards of care are put into place for a reason, that
reason being that everyone is treated the same, equally. I treat the priority patients with the
same level of care and social attention that I pay to my regular patients. Is that such a thing,
regular? Arent all people of all social classes, genders, race, etc. the same? We were all
created of the same blood. Our genetics may be different, but our souls are the same. Every
person deserves the same care and attention as everyone else. Human beings are holistic. They
are unique beings that encompass multidimensional, unique abilities along with health and needs.
Nursing provides care for all dimensions of needs pertaining to health, from illness to
psychological health to education. As nurses we provide a level of caring unmatched by any
other profession. Multiple fields work together to care for patients, and nursing is the link
between them all. Nurses are the masters of the boards of the circuitry in a patients health care
plan. We need all of the parts of healthcare to operate fully functionally. We need doctors and
therapies to improve our patients healthcare. Nurses provide a one to one continuum of care
though. We do so much more than pass medications. We provide respect with bed baths and hold
hands of scared or upset patients. We hug and cry with them. We feel their pain and their joy. We
give them our compassion and empathy until we feel empty and full at the same time. When I
work on units, after a 12 hour shift, I feel like I have emptied my body and soul into my patients
to give them everything I have in me, from my knowledge down to my essence of heart and soul.
I pray with them and love them as family. When we come home we have families and live our
lives, but our innate caring for our patients doesnt just leave us when we leave the hospital.

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As a nursing instructor, I get to provide my students with not only the knowledge of how
to medically care for patients based off of their diagnosis, but also how to give their patients
respect and compassion. Teaching students to care for patients as if they were family, and
remember that someday another nurse will take care of them, is a part of my teaching focus.
Nurses dont become nurses for the perks. We become nurses to care for other human beings.
Learning respect and empathy is just as important as the medical knowledge to provide nursing
care. Nurses are the sum of their parts to make a whole, just like the patients we care for are
holistically viewed. As nurse educators we provide students with the knowledge to save lives and
the compassion to touch souls. Human caring as the moral ideal of nursing is the central focus of
professional practice. Human care and human care transactions seek to protect, enhance, and
preserve human worth and dignity. Caring in this curriculum mandates that the nurse possess the
characteristics of empathy, respect, altruism and caring (AACN, p. 8).

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References

American Nurses Association. (2010). Standards of Professional Nursing Practice. Retrieved

November 18, 2014 from http://ferris.edu/HTMLS/colleges/alliedhe/Nursing/Standardsof-Professional-Nursing-Practice.htm
Cowen, P.S. & Moorhead, S. (Eds.). (2014). Current issues in nursing. (8th ed.). St. Louis:
Mosby Elsevier.
Fowler, M. D. M., Guide to the Code of Ethics for Nurses. 2010 Appendix A. Code of Ethics for
Nurses with Interpretive Statements (2001) p. 151.
Institute for Healthcare Improvement. (2011). Transforming Care at the Bedside. Retrieved from
www.ihi.org/Engage/Initiatives/Completed/TCAB/Pages/default.aspx
Lee, B., Shannon, D., Rutherford, P., Peck, C. Transforming Care at the Bedside How-to Guide:
Optimizing Communication and Teamwork. Cambridge, MA: Institute for Healthcare
Improvement; 2008
McEwen, M. & Wills, E. M. (2014). Theoretical Basis for Nursing. Philadelphia, PA : Wolters
Kluwer Health/ Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Purnell, L. D. (2009). Guide to culturally competent health care. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Co.