n.

Philosophy of Nursing: Theoretical Foundation(s) & Experiences

Among the theoretical foundations that will influence my nursing philosophy is Orem’s

theory of self-care deficit. My nursing philosophy will encompass always helping patients

manage various self-care challenges to foster patient independence. Another theoretical

foundation is the Leininger’s transactional theory which emphasizes on providing culture

specific care. My nursing philosophy, will therefore, put into consideration my devotion to

enhance to provide holistic care to patients from diverse cultures. The other key theoretical

foundation is the need theory which emphasizes on meeting all the basic needs of patients. My

nursing philosophy will encompass staying committed to meeting the psychosocial needs of

patients in my practice. Lastly, is the Nightingale’s environment theory. Based on this theory, my

nursing philosophy will encompass staying devoted to promoting a healing environment for

patients to promote speedy recoveries.

The RN-BSN coursework has made me view the nursing practice as an embodiment of

both care and courage. The caring aspect of the nursing practice is achieved when a nurse

exhibits the courage to attend to patients dealing with a wide range of health conditions. Through

self-reflection, a nurse gets to draw on their work experiences to set personal goals aimed at

helping them thrive in other neglected areas of their lives. Self-reflection also offers nurses the

opportunity to discover their areas of weakness in their practice, and how to improve going

forward (Dubé & Ducharme, 2015). Change proposal activities enable me to always stay up to

date with the latest advances in the nursing profession. These activities push me to be more

open-minded about my personal learning needs. Additionally, these activities enable me to take

advantage of career advancement opportunities that will increase my competency in the nursing

practice. Among the challenges faced include work overload which forced me to at times

multitask, and handling difficult patients which can be quite draining. To manage work overload,

I have developed the habit of breaking down a major task into smaller achievable units, as this

makes it easier to navigate through demanding tasks, as agreed by Alghamdi (2016). When

dealing with a difficult patient, I choose to look at an issue from a patient’s perspective. I also

avoid taking a defensive posture and I extend genuine empathy to calm them down.

References

Alghamdi, M. G. (2016). Nursing workload: a concept analysis. Journal of nursing

management, 24(4), 449-457.

Dubé, V., & Ducharme, F. (2015). Nursing reflective practice: An empirical literature. Journal of

Nursing Education and Practice, 5(7).