Nursing is a continuously evolving discipline, which changed its position from an occupation to a profession in the twentieth century. When thinking about nursing, one can imagine many different activities and ideas – all of them can pertain to this discipline equally. For example, for some people, nursing is the direct act of caring about people’s health through physical examination, diagnosis, or procedures. For others, however, nursing is a science field in which academics conduct research to improve population health. Thus, it is vital to accept nursing as a multidimensional discipline that takes knowledge from a variety of sciences of health and society.
As a profession, nursing can be regarded as mostly practical, especially if the nurse works in a clinic and cares for patients. In this way, the academic discipline of nursing also includes the process of teaching future nurses the necessary skills to provide healthcare services. Nevertheless, many scholars also add the ideas of nursing leadership, management, and science into the discipline’s view (McEwen & Wills, 2019). Finally, if one considers nursing as a science, the practice, while not disappearing, gives way to theory development and more prominent and more abstract questions.
Science and healthcare are inherently united in their use of the scientific method and the aim of discovery and evidence-seeking. Nursing, therefore, is also supported by science – evidence-based practice is one of the main pillars of this profession. However, questions such as what science is or how a scientific method can be reliable and applicable are also essential. This exploration into the deeper meaning behind science is termed the philosophy of science (Gray et al., 2017). In my opinion, this branch of philosophy is vital for nursing, as the latter unites the research behind healthcare and the human, holistic aspects of it. The process of caring for another human and trying to improve their health cannot follow a single unified route supported by limited evidence. People have different worldviews that impact their perception of the world, including their health.
Thus, the philosophy of science in nursing shows that absolute truth does not exist, and nurses have to understand that to connect to patients and to understand their personal growth as well. My nursing philosophy is based on the fact that this profession encompasses more than disease treatment. It is a holistic discipline to support and improve the wellness and health of individual patients and communities. Treatment, research, and advocacy contribute to this objective equally, creating a multifaceted approach to population health.
Philosophy impacts scientific research and also influences how nurses acquire or develop knowledge. This means that one’s beliefs or views of nursing and health can change how one interacts with information. Rega et al. (2017) explain that philosophy gives specific meaning to human life, illness, and health. By reviewing their philosophical approach to these ideas, nurses can acquire new knowledge, reject outdated or unsupported statements, or determine which knowledge path is more valuable in each particular situation.
Overall, nursing is widely understood as a combination of practice and theory. It unites actual perceived reality and the dimension of ethics that are difficult to measure or quantify. Therefore, each nurses’ philosophy influences how they interact with the field of nursing and their profession. My philosophy is based on holistic, patient-centered care that extends beyond treatment into advocacy and research.
References
Gray, J.R., Grove, S.K., & Sutherland, S. (2017). Burns and Grove’s the practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (8th ed.). Saunders Elsevier.
McEwen, M., & Wills, E. M. (2019). Theoretical basis for nursing (5th ed.). Wolters Kluwer Health.
Rega, M. L., Telaretti, F., Alvaro, R., & Kangasniemi, M. (2017). Philosophical and theoretical content of the nursing discipline in academic education: A critical interpretive synthesis. Nurse Education Today, 57, 74-81.