Personal Statement on Individual Worldview and Nursing Theory

Typically, the personal belief philosophy or system about people and nursing practice guides the delivery of care in healthcare settings, particularly the process of decision-making during difficult situations. Articulating and clearly defining a personal philosophy plays an integral role in assisting nurses to understand and comprehend the reasoning and motivation behind their role as care providers (Catherine, 2018). Identifying a personal nursing philosophy has become a fundamental ingredient in every nurse’s approach to growing as a nurse educator and a professional nurse. Besides professional development, nursing philosophy is fundamental to determining individual beliefs, values, as well as future directions. The overall objective of a personal philosophy is to improve patient experiences and outcomes, including promoting safety and quality of care, reducing the cost of care, enhancing satisfaction levels, and lowering the duration of hospital stay.

It is also important to note that various personal worldviews, including cultural, spiritual, and religious, about nursing practice can influence the role of a nurse, as well as his/her attitudes and beliefs, towards patient care. If paired with relevant nursing theories and philosophies, these personal worldviews can significantly impact how a nurse delivers care services to patients, which subsequently impacts healthcare outcomes, such as patient safety and the quality of care. In the next section, I will try to give my personal worldview (including cultural, spiritual, and religious elements) about the aspects that most shape a nurse’s personal attitudes and practice philosophy towards patient healthcare. I will also discuss and relate how this personal philosophy is related to a specific nursing theory and how it underpins or supports the approach to care. Further, I will highlight a specific example of a current practice issue and explain how nursing theory and personal worldview help resolve it. Finally, I will elaborate on how nursing theory and personal worldviews will help in the growth of future practice.

Personal Worldview and Philosophy of Practice, and other Elements that Influence Attitudes toward Patient Care

My philosophy of practice and personal worldview states that nurses must prioritize the health and well-being of patients, provide compassionate care, respect the inherent uniqueness, worth, and dignity of each patient, as well as observe cultural integration and collaboration in the workplace. Several elements, including religious, spiritual, and cultural aspects, play an important role in shaping my attitudes and personal philosophy of practice toward patient care. Specifically, I believe religion is critical in controlling habits and behavior, while spirituality is essential in regulating emotions and feelings. Holmes & Kim-Spoon (2016) argue that religiousness (such as service attendance and affiliation) influences self-regulation behaviors and health habits, such as seeking medical help, screening, and so on. Therefore, my perspective of care is that nurses must ensure and promote the health and well-being of patients; for example, by ensuring that they subscribe to a particular religion that can help them fight self-esteem and stress and acquire coping skills. Several studies have shown that religious practices (including worship) can significantly contribute to mental and physical health. Practicing regularly can promote marital and familial contentment, build self-esteem, and reduce depression. It can also enhance a patient’s chances of recovering from a disease, increase their lifespan, and lower the incidence of several illnesses (Zaidi, 2018).

On the other hand, spirituality (such as self-transcendence and meditation) usually affects the feelings and emotions of patients, as well as the attitudes of nurses toward patient care. My personal approach to care is anchored on respect and compassion for the inherent uniqueness, worth, and dignity of each individual. In terms of spirituality, I believe nurses should be guided by the need to provide compassionate care – which entails service to the whole patient, including their spiritual, social, emotional, and physical needs. By providing compassionate or spiritual care, I believe the primary objective is to help patients get meaning in their lives amid their suffering and address their spirituality. Serving patients, in this case, entails talking to them about the things that matter to them most, holding their hands, and spending quality time with them (Isaac, Hay, & Lubetkin, 2016).

Finally, my philosophy of practice is based on the understanding and respect of the cultural differences in my workplace, including cross-cultural beliefs and practices of patients. I believe each individual should be treated equally and fairly, irrespective of cultural background, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, gender, and sex. I firmly believe in collaboration with other healthcare workers and patients and their families from different cultural backgrounds to ensure that personalized, safe, and quality care is delivered to patients based on their health needs. My philosophy, therefore, is to promote intercultural collaboration in the workplace and respect the rights and dignity of patients, irrespective of their cultural backgrounds.

Specific Nursing Theory in Line with the Personal Philosophy of Practice and Approach to Patient Care

My philosophy of practice and personal worldview is that for nurses to deliver effective and quality care to patients, they must provide care that is compassionate and respects the inherent uniqueness, worth, and dignity of each individual, care that considers the behaviors and emotions of these patients, as well as care that observes interpersonal relationships and collaboration in the workplace. One nursing theory that resonates with this personal philosophy is Hildegard Peplau’s theory of Interpersonal Relations. Peplau defined nursing as “an interpersonal process of therapeutic interactions between an individual who is sick or in need of health services and a nurse specially educated to recognize and respond to this need for help” (Gonzalo, 2019). The similarity between this nursing theory and my personal philosophy is that both emphasize the need to form strong ties or good relationships between healthcare providers and patients to promote the delivery of quality and patient-centered care. The nursing theory, however, particularly reinforces my approach to care in the sense that it advocates for nurses to identify the health needs of sick patients and respond to them. This simply implies that nurses must be able to provide bespoke interventions based on the unique needs of patients. They must be able to first identify these unique needs before delivering personalized or tailored care.

Specific Examples

Substance addiction is one of the few mental conditions that can be solved by both using the nursing theory and the worldview philosophy because it requires collaboration between the therapist and the patient (Hagerty et al., 2017). According to the Addiction Center (2019), approximately 21 million U.S. citizens suffer from at least one substance dependence condition, yet just 10 percent are receiving therapy. In resolving the case using the worldview, the first step is for the therapist to form a close, open relationship with the patient during rehabilitation. They can then identify the religious and cultural elements that impact behavior and habits and the spiritual factors that impact emotions and feelings, especially causing drug dependence. The therapist can then develop a specific treatment plan, such as cognitive behavior therapy, that addresses these specific needs. Similarly, Papleu’s interpersonal theory can help resolve the case through four major steps, including orientation (problem-defining stage), identification phase (selection of suitable professional help), exploitation phase (patient utilizes available services fully), and resolution phase (client surrenders addiction behavior).

How Worldview and the Nursing Theory Will Assist in Further Developing Future Practice

My worldview and nursing theory will help create better nurse-patient relationships in the future, significantly improving patient outcomes and experiences. The two tools will likely provide a breakthrough in analyzing various nursing situations from an interpersonal perspective. In general, nursing is an intervention by itself because it connects sick patients who need care with professional nurses. Specifically, Peplau’s theory will help nurses successfully orientate, work, and terminate patient relationships (Knetch, 2020). Nurses will be able to integrate their aspects (such as preconceived ideas, expectations, past experiences, beliefs, culture, race, and values) with patient elements (such as expectations, past experiences, beliefs, culture, race, and values) to form personalized solutions and interventions to patient problems.

References

Addiction Center. (2019). Statistics on addiction in America. Retrieved from https://www.addictioncenter.com/addiction/addiction-statistics/

Catherine, G. (2018). A philosophical model of the nature of nursing. Nursing Research, 67(2), 93-98.

Gonzalo, A. (2019, Aug 24). Hildegard Peplau: International relations theory. Nurse Labs. https://nurseslabs.com/hildegard-peplaus-interpersonal-relations-theory/#:~:text=Peplau%27s%20theory%20defined%20Nursing%20as,involving%20an%20interaction%20between%20two

Hagerty, T. A. et al. (2017). Peplau’s theory of interpersonal relations: An alternate factor structure for patient experience data? Nursing Science Quarterly, 30(2), 160-167. doi: 10.1177/0894318417693286

Holmes, C., & Kim-Spoon, J. (2016). Why are religiousness and spirituality associated with externalizing psychopathology? A literature review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 19(1), 1-20. doi: 10.1007/s10567-015-0199-1

Hountras, S. C. (2015). What guides your nursing practice? Journal of Christian Nursing: A Quarterly Publication of Nurses Christian Fellowship, 32(3), 179-181. doi: 10.1097/cnj.0000000000000181.

Isaac, K., Hay, J., & Lubektin, E. (2016). Incorporating spirituality in primary care. Journal of Religion and Health, 55(3), 1065-1077. doi: 10.1007/s10943-016-0190-2

Knecht, P. (2020). Success in practical/vocational nursing – E-book: From student to leader. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Zaidi, D. (2018). Influence of religion and spirituality in medicine. AMA Journal of Ethics. Retrieved from https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/influences-religion-and-spirituality-medicine/2018-07

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