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My Nursing Philosophy

Jennifer Canizares

Benjamin Leon School of Nursing, Miami Dade College

NUR 2811C: Professional Nursing Leadership

Marisela Duque

April 18, 2021

My Nursing Philosophy

Nursing as a whole can be defined as a discipline in caring for other humans and their

respective inner circle that affects their care. However, interdisciplinary care means multiple

references of knowledge merge together to provide that patient-centered care. The nursing

metaparadigm separates these synchronicities and establishes a set foundation to follow when in

practice. The core foundation of nursing can be explained through its four domains: nursing,

person, health, and environment (Alligood, 2011, p.7). These major components have been

explained by theorists and used as models in hospital philosophies time after time. This paper

aims to compare and contrast these theories and philosophies to construct a personal nursing

philosophy.

The Four Domains

Nursing theories are one of the first concepts that are introduced in nursing school,

fortunately so. Since nursing places human lives in the hands of strangers, these theories

complete the theoretical to practical and bring emotion to action. These domains enlighten the

true meaning to holistic care: advocacy for every aspect that comes together to make up an

individual. Florence Nightingale, founder of modern nursing, differentiated nursing from

physician care by stating that “care of the sick is based on knowledge of persons and their

surroundings—a different knowledge base than that used by physicians in their practice”

(Alligood, 2014, p.3). What completes a patient’s care is the coming together of all these forms

of knowledge, but what sets nursing apart is the structure based around not only the patient’s

health but their culture, background, and family.

Watson (1988) better explains this concept by describing “the human as a valued person

in and of him- or herself to be cared for, respected, nurtured, understood and assisted.... The

human is viewed as greater than, and different from, the sum of his or her parts” (p. 14).

This view of care humanizes a patient into a living and breathing member of society.

Health is not just the absence of illness, but instead “an evolving life experience” as noted by

nursing theorist and author Nola Pender (2011, p.3). She continues that health can be seen “as the

actualization of inherent and acquired human potential through goal-directed behavior,

competent self-care, and satisfying relationships with others”(2011, p.3).

Lastly, Erik Erikson, a developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst, outlines in his

theory of psychosocial development the tasks that dictate how an individual develops through

various stages of life (Alligood, 2014, p. 499). In other words, how their environment affects

their maturation and growth as a member of society. Logically, if one's environment impacts

one's upbringing and even personality, subsequently it would be a crucial role in either bettering

or deteriorating health.

Personalized Definitions of Domains

After careful consideration for each theorist’s point of view regarding the domains, I have

fabricated my own personal definitions as well as philosophy. Nursing is the profession of caring

holistically for a person that is unwell, or not entirely healthy, through analyzing human response

rather than a medical diagnosis. In nursing, holistic care encompasses the client’s physical,

emotional, social, and spiritual wellbeing. A person is not just their diagnosis; they are a parent, a

sibling, and a working member of society.

Likewise, health is all encompassing of every aspect that affects an individuals

well-being, not only medically but their sense of fulfillment and purpose. Sometimes it can even
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be subjective. Environment can be a major deciding factor in one’s health status. It can be a

change in scenery, cultural norms, or social customs. I believe that if every other variable were

controlled, and only the environment were changed, it would make a tremendous difference in

whether one’s health would flourish or wither.

In sum, I believe that a person is all encompassing of all their attributes and background,

and an environment acts as a medium to culture these said traits. Thus, my philosophy as a nurse

is to treat my patients as greater than the sum of their parts, and ultimately change the

preconception of health into a more comprehensive view of the whole individual.

Analysis of Philosophies

In the same manner that nursing theories set a foundation for evidence-based practice,

institutions base their competencies and goals on their mission statement or philosophy. Miami

Dade College Benjamin León School of Nursing (BLSON) thrives “to change lives through

accessible, high‐quality, evidence‐based education” (Miami Dade College [MDC], 2021, p.7).

Baptist Health South Florida (BHSF) aims to “improve the health and well-being of individuals,

and to promote the sanctity and preservation of life, in the communities [they] serve” (Baptist

Health South Florida [BHSF], 2021, para.1). With core differences in their functionality (school

vs. hospital), these philosophies differ in their approach to improving lives. MDC uses education

while Baptist Health focuses on health in order to also change lives. Nevertheless, both mission

statements pertain to nursing and use key components like evidence-based education and practice

to promote well being and advocacy.

Summary

A nursing philosophy ties theoretical knowledge to actual practice, and nursing, person,

health, and environment encompass the main paradigms that unite all nursing theories. Theorists
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create their own philosophy to attempt to grasp their personalized view on nursing, and not one

person is entirely correct while dismissing the others. The discipline of nursing is made to be

ever changing and shaping according to new current evidence and especially to each vastly

different patient. To conclude, the preservation of life, like BHSF highlights, is most important

because every individual can have a different meaning of purpose and health. I believe that

preserving and promoting their original idea of well-being is what nursing is about.

Reflection

With careful consideration, I have decided that my philosophy aligns more with Baptist

Health’s mission statement of preserving life and promoting well-being. Nursing can only be

taught so much through theoretical knowledge. The most important piece of information that I

grasped from developing my own philosophy and analyzing others, was that nursing allows room

for care in all aspects of well-being. The discipline of nursing puts workers in a very real world

environment where neutrality is not always possible. After reading theory after theory, I realized

that working in a profession dealing with human lives means understanding the little details that

makes up that person that I am taking care of today. My nursing philosophy will remind me to

preserve my patient’s comfort during their very uncomfortable stage in life.

References

Alligood, M. R. (2014). Nursing theorists and their work. MO: Elsevier/Mosby.

Baptist Health. (2021). Fulfilling our mission.

https://baptisthealth.net/about-baptist-health/fulfilling-our-mission#:~:text=The%20missi

on%20of%20Baptist%20Health,and%20the%20Judeo%2DChristian%20ethic.

Miami Dade College. (2019). Benjamin Leon School of Nursing student handbook.

https://www.mdc.edu/nursing/docs/BSN-Student-Handbook.pdf

Pender, N. (2011). The health promotion model manual.

https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/85350/HEALTH_PROMOTIO

N_MANUAL_Rev_5-2011.pdf

Watson, J. (1988). Nursing: Human science and human care. National League for Nursing.