Running Head: MY NURSING PHILOSOPHY My Philosophy of Nursing Allan J. Martel University of Southern Mississippi School of Nursing My name is Allan Martel, and I am a proud Nursing student at the University of Southern Mississippi. I am currently 25 years old, and have previously completed my Bachelor of Biological Sciences in the year 2008. Over the past two years I have not only worked various jobs, but started to search for a gratifying and life-fulfilling career. Even at a young age, I have always dreamed of pursuing a career in healthcare.
Whether it was becoming a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist, I knew that improving the overall health of others was a personal long term goal. Over the next few years, I will be practicing as a nursing student under the supervision of the prestigious nursing faculty at the University of Southern Mississippi. Throughout this journey, I know the education and advice I receive from the teachers and faculty will not only benefit me throughout my nursing career, but bring me one step closer to accomplishing my personal long term goal.
The nursing definition that best reflects my idea of nursing is derived from the American Nursing Association’s definition of nursing, which states, “the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations” (Nursing’s Social Policy Statement, Second Edition, 2003, p. 6 ; Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, 2004, p. 7). The creation and development of nursing was inevitable.
I believe that nurses are necessary for the overall health of the human race. Without the physical, mental, and emotional care given by nurses, the world would be far more unhealthy, unhappy, and disease ridden. I have chosen nursing as a career because I feel there is nothing more fulfilling than improving someone’s overall health and well-being. Patients are the centerpiece of healthcare. Without patients, there would be no healthcare. Patient’s rights, wants, and needs should be at the up most of importance, and should be the number one priority of physicians, nurses, and all other healthcare professionals.
I also believe that educating the community and patients on proper healthcare is somewhat overlooked. Educating and informing communities on the prevention, transmission, and proper treatment of diseases can reduce the spread of diseases. Educating communities can single handedly improve the overall health of a specific area, and intern improves the overall health of our country and world. Most healthcare providers focus exclusively on the physical treatment of patients, and they forget that these patients have mental and emotional needs as well.
Improving a patient’s mental and emotional health can also assist in the process of curing and preventing diseases. Focusing on improving a patient’s overall health gives the healthcare provider a sense of accomplishment, while also giving the patient a fulfilling healthcare experience. There are four major domains in nursing: Person, Health, Environment, and Nursing. These domains are intertwined and work together to benefit the function of each individual domain. As well as being intertwined, the four domains are also dependent on each other.
If one domain is missing or is not functioning like it should, then the other three domains will be affected. The environment is absolutely essential to our health, and affects people both positively and negatively. Humans obtain oxygen and water through the environment, both of which are two essential elements for life survival. Although many food products are processed and artificially flavored, the majority of one’s nutrition and supplements may be directly gained from the environment. The environment also can negatively affect people and their health as well.
Tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs are made from environmental resources, and the use of these can lead to disease states and widespread unhealthiness. Health essays is the functional level of a person’s body and its functions. A person’s health may be affected by genetics, the environment, the amount of healthcare they receive, and the influence of life choices. Personal health is also affected by a person’s educational and financial status. For instance, a person with minimum education and low financial status may lack knowledge regarding proper hygiene and personal maintenance, as compared to a person with a higher education and financial means.
This may also affect the lifestyle choices people make, including the level of adequate nutrition that one can afford. These factors involve a control factor that may be influenced at a time during one’s life by interaction with a nurse, or healthcare professional. However, genetics serve as a very little control at all towards one’s health. Nursing is a combination of all four major domains. Nursing is an essential profession to the health and well-being of individuals and communities of all kinds.
Nurses not only help to improve and maintain the health status of the people in their own community, but are also affected by their own personal health, and serve as an influence to others through their own actions. Improving people’s health should be on a physical, mental, and emotional level. All three facets should be thoroughly evaluated before a person can be deemed “completely healthy”. The future of nursing is extremely bright. The promise of new caring techniques and new discoveries in healthcare is right around the corner.
As our society grows and advances technologically, so does nursing. There will be new and better ways to give people the essential healthcare that they deserve. While nursing will inevitably change, it will also keep its basics principles of providing proper healthcare in a timely, nurturing, and professional manner. The advanced nursing practices will continue to grow and become a greater part in primary healthcare as well. Nursing and the need for nurses will be around forever, and will continue to be one the premier and most respected professions in the world.
I believe that I will face many challenges as a Registered Nurse. Whether the challenge is mental, physical, emotional, racial, or cultural, I feel that I will be well prepared to take on any obstacle once I complete the program at USM. What makes nursing fascinating to me, is the idea of never knowing what you will encounter from one day to the next. A career of nursing will be full of surprises and unexpected twist and turns, and with the proper preparation and knowledge, nursing will provide me with a satisfying and fulfilling life long career.
My personal nursing goal is to one day become an advanced practitioner. After I finish my BSN, I would like to pursue a career as either a CRNA or a FNP. Other than furthering my education, my career goals as a nurse are not very specific. I will obtain satisfaction and joy by helping others rehabilitate, educating people on ways to live healthy lives, and knowing that the work I have done has changed someone’s life for the better. I am endeavoring to become the most successful nurse that I can possibly be, and I am confident that one day I will succeed in this.
