My Philosophy of Nursing

My Philosophy of Nursing

The main purpose of the paper is to express my personal philosophy of nursing. The paper provides an observation of a framework of my personal practice of nursing and the reasons why I choose nursing as a profession. The issue is extremely important to be studied, researched, and analyzed as it represents the theoretical basis of each nurse and highly supports one’s life philosophy and the system of interaction the nurse has with the rest of the society. Special attention is paid to the attitude that nurses have to their patients, family members, other nurses, and health care professionals as this has the major impact on the nursing practice in general.

In order to define a personal philosophy of nursing, it is very important to understand the meaning of the term “philosophy”. As for me, this issue can be perfectly addressed with the definition that presents philosophy as a specific attitude towards life and reality that evolves according to the beliefs of each nurse (Edwards, 1997). This definition is really useful as it gives the freedom to use my own beliefs and experience to talk about this issue. The real nature of nursing is quite diverse, and it has been always a subject for a discussion among professionals trying to define whether nursing is a science or an art. I see that there is a place for both these terms when we talk about real nursing practice (June, 2004). The attitude towards nursing in my personal life has been forming through the years, beginning with my first dreams of becoming a nurse that were motivated with the desire to wear white uniform like people that I saw on television. However, as the time passed, my vision of nursing has gone through serious changes. I understood that nurse is not just a person in a uniform, but a professional who can make differences in a patient’s life. During the period when I was trying to make my final decision about the future professional