Introduction
Statement of philosophy in nursing defines the beliefs, ethics, and nurse’s worth and is a source of inspiration in this part of the medical profession. It is critical in the curriculum foundation and development and provides guidelines during the review. Philosophy in nursing describes the essence of nursing education, the mode of learning and evaluation process, and the interactions between the students and faculty staff (Iwasiw et al., 2020). These philosophies enable graduate nurses to provide quality care, enhance collaboration with patients and other medical personnel, and engage in evidence-informed nursing practice.
Main body
Philosophy in nursing has three purposes: knowledge, insight, and competence, which empower the graduate nurse to offer appropriate and quality services in society. It influences knowledge acquisition by enabling creative thinkers, good communication skills with patients and other medical personnel, and the ability to analyze and provide solutions to arising challenges affecting healthcare (Cheraghi et al., 2019). In addition, philosophy in nursing has an insightful impact on graduates. It gives them a better understanding of their expectations, environment, personality, and health situation, thus improving their ability to make critical decisions regarding healthcare provision. It is also helpful in building the competence of nurses. They know their work procedures, excellent communication skills, professionalism, and health management.
The nursing philosophy has four central concepts: human beings, environment, health, and nursing. It acknowledges that all human beings are unique individuals, deserve respect, and have the right to take part in decision-making on matters that affect their well-being (Billings & Halstead, 2020). The nursing philosophy acknowledges the environment, its impact on human beings, and how individuals can influence their surroundings. Individuals must provide a conducive environment to enhance a healthy community. Nursing institutions must consider their beliefs and values on health matters, including believing that health must be attained, maintained, regained, or promoted, and human beings must have access to affordable and quality health services. Finally, nursing philosophy embraces institutions to discuss nurses and nursing as a profession. This will elaborate on the roles of nurses, their collaboration with other medical specialists, and how they retain their noble identity as nurses.
Nursing theory plays a critical role in the development of philosophy. The theory defines the stakeholders, roles, and expectations as the ultimate results. “The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds to satisfy it afterward” (Billings & Halstead, 2020) describes that teaching is meant to trigger students to yarn for more knowledge or information about a given matter. The result would be a solution or contentment for the students.
“If the student is to grow, the teacher must also grow” and “The teacher learns from the student just as the student learns from the teacher with their encounters as examples of mutual openness to each other’s needs” (Billings & Halstead, 2020) are alike philosophies. They both describe the growth of the mutual benefit, that is growth, of both the trainer and the trainee through their interactions. “The secret of Education lies in respecting the pupil” and, “I think [education] refines you. I think some of us have rough edges. Education is like sanding down a piece of wood and putting the varnish to it” (Billings & Halstead, 2020) differ. The first philosophical perspective implies that teachers should let learners personally choose what they want to pursue without coercion; in contrast, the second expresses how education changes an individual to become an intellect.
Conclusion
I resonate with “The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds to satisfy it afterward” (Billings & Halstead, 2020). The philosophical perspective does not support the full impartation of knowledge; the students are shown the basic things to do and go the extra mile to quest for further details. The disseminated information in class is not enough for intelligent students since it should only trigger their curiosity to find out more. This has inspired me to research any new concepts I come across.
References
Billings, D. M. G., & Halstead, J. A. (2020). Teaching in nursing: A guide for faculty (5th ed.). Elsevier.
Cheraghi, F., Yousefzadeh, M. R., & Goodarzi, A. (2019). The role and status of philosophy in nursing knowledge, insight, and competence. Journal of Clinical Research in Paramedical Sciences, 8(2), 1–5. Web.
Iwasiw, C. L., Mary-Anne, A. & Dolly, G. (2020). Curriculum development in nursing education (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.