Describe your own personal philosophy of nursing.
A definition of philosophy is: “an attitude toward life and reality that evolves from each nurse’s beliefs” (Edwards, 1997, p. 1089).
You will be developing a nursing philosophy paper. Start with finding a nursing theorist that fits your thinking about practice. You can google nurse theorists, and there is a Nursing Theory.org that is helpful.
Paper: Describe your own personal philosophy of nursing. Discuss, with an example, how you incorporate your nursing philosophy into your current nursing practice. How does the ANA Code of Ethics fit into your philosophy. Weave in work from a nurse theorist that supports your philosophy.
Here are some questions to ask yourself while writing your personal philosophy. Do not just answer these questions. Develop a paper that address these. I do not want a list of answers to this. The paper should flow from one concept to the other. You may use headings.
a. What is the role of the ANA Code of Ethics in your own philosophy?
b. Has anything from your reading in this course reshaped your philosophy of nursing?
c. How has your philosophy been influenced by nursing theory?
d. Are there particular work experiences that have shaped your philosophy of nursing?
e. Has a particular life event influenced your philosophy of nursing?
f. Has your philosophy of nursing changed over time?
g. Is your philosophy congruent with those of your employer? Review your employer’s philosophy.
h. What is the role of professional ethics codes, e.g., the ANA Code of Ethics, in development of your own philosophy?
i. Has the work of a professional association had a part in development of your philosophy of nursing?
j. Has the work of a nurse leader or colleague shaped your philosophy of nursing?
k. What is my vision for myself as a nurse?
Here are some suggestions that might be included in your philosophy:
a. How does your philosophy affect what you might do about the growing numbers of uninsured in our country?
b. How does your philosophy affect what you might do about health care reform?
c. How does your philosophy affect your response to disparities in healthcare, and social justice, in our society?
d. How might your philosophy affect care for vulnerable populations such as the mentally ill, children, or the elderly?
e. How does your philosophy affect your response to changes in ethnic and social demographics?
f. How might your philosophy be reshaped, or not, by the future trends in nursing?
g. How does the expanding knowledge of genetics/genomics impact your philosophy and/or practice of nursing
