Philosophy of Nursing Practice

Reflect on your Nursing Experience, Expertise you have Developed, and Beliefs about Nursing and the Nursing Practice you have formed as a Result

As a family Nurse practitioner working in a clinical setting, I have gained a lot of experience taking care of sick patients and providing stabilities to their families. You must be a good listener to your patients to develop an appropriate diagnosis and provide them with the best treatment plan. Going to the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) has allowed me to look at how the nursing profession needs to be developed and versatile. It applies in different work environments that the nurses find themselves in. I have learned that nurses are a critical link between the doctors providing services and the patients’ families. Nurses have been attributed to be patient advocates in various cases and improve the quality of care delivered to patients (Bender, 2018). Nurses are also crucial in developing the right patient interventions because they spend most of their time with the patients. Nursing, more so DNP, is a vital profession that needs to be accorded relevant support and collaboration from other healthcare providers.

Consider How These Elements Shape your Philosophy of Nursing Practice

As an essential profession in healthcare facilities, my nursing philosophy is shaped by various elements, including the need for nurses to be the utmost caregivers’ inpatient service delivery (Dang & Dearholt, 2018). Nursing philosophy indicates essential values that nurses have possessed over time, and these values have led to the growth of the nursing profession. Over time, there is a lot of collaboration between doctors, who once used to see nurses as minors in service and care delivery. Therefore, nurses have a niche to fulfill. It is shaped by essential values such as empathy, professionalism, and getting relevant support from others in dealing with patients.

Consider Goals for Expanding your Professional Awareness through the DNP program and the Requirement as a Walden Student to Advocate for Social Change (e.g., embrace diversity, global health issues, collaboration)

The DNP program focuses on how nurses need to be great managers in healthcare institutions and the facilities they are put in charge of; the DNP trains nurses to embrace diversity and improve work efficiency by ensuring coordination and collaboration between various teams. The goals herein would include developing specific client-centric approaches when it comes to patient treatment. Other than this, dealing with other nurses in the work environment must be a free and fair process. No patient will be discriminated against in the process of care delivery, and that every nurse under a DNP will be treated well. Focusing on nurses’ welfare needs to be paramount such that there will be no chances of discrimination but giving equal opportunities for professional development (White et al., 2019). As a Walden student, I will provide all these positive changes and spread literacy to the community. Thus, providing a positive impact to your patients and society that help me to enrich my knowledge and work as a team player with other health care professionals.

How can your Philosophy of Nursing Practice Support you in These Areas?

The philosophy is that nursing is a critical profession in the healthcare sector, and the success of institutions in care delivery is achieved through collaboration between nurses and the other disciplines. DNP nursing offers an opportunity to look at some of the essential elements of fostering teamwork, strategies, interprofessional collaboration, and above all, focusing on the welfare of nurses. These management strategies taught through DNP will facilitate the much-desired cooperation between nurses and doctors or other health practitioners (Bender, 2018).

Explain the DNP’s Role as a Social Change Agent and Recommend at least one way to Advocate for Positive Social Change as a Walden DNP

As McEwen and Wills (2014) indicate, most professionals are deemed to have a massive contribution to society. Nurses do not fall short of this because they are also professionals. Through DNP, managing people from different backgrounds offers insight into embracing diversity and inclusivity. I will use this concept to advocate for positive social change in the workplace. As a Walden DNP, it will be my role to ensure that nurses’ welfare is well attended to and treated equally despite their race or background (White et al., 2019). Such will be an opportunity to increase job satisfaction and hence lead to positive social influences.

References

Bender, M. (2018). Models versus theories as a primary carrier of nursing knowledge: A philosophical argument. Nursing Philosophy, 19(1), e12198. https://escholarship.org/content/qt40z0f0cw/qt40z0f0cw.pdf?t=pc082o

Dang, D., & Dearholt, S. L. (Eds.). (2018). Johns Hopkins nursing evidence-based practice: Model and guidelines (3rd ed.). Sigma Theta Tau International.

McEwen, M., & Wills, E. M. (2014). Philosophy, science, and nursing. Theoretical Basis for Nursing. 4th ed. Philadelphia (PA): Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2-22.

White, K. M., Dudley-Brown, S., & Terhaar, M. F. (Eds.). (2019). Translation of evidence into nursing and healthcare. (3rd ed.). Springer.

My first degree was in biochemistry, and nursing is my second degree.  A career in healthcare has always been a goal. My decision to be a nurse was based on the flexibility and dynamic aspect of the nursing profession, and it also fulfilled my altruistic side. I completed an accelerated RN program and, while working as a registered nurse on a medical and surgical telemetry unit, completed my master’s degree in nursing as an Adult Nurse Practitioner in 2011. In 2017 I completed the Adult Gerontological Acute Care NP post-graduate certificate program. For the past nine years, I have worked as a hospitalist in diverse roles as part of a health care team. My education and experience in nursing and personal background have led to the development of expertise in emergency care, geriatrics, harmony, intuition, and the ability to recognize and respond to changing situations. I play an active role in novice nurses’ mentoring and professional development, which sometimes result in long-term, lasting professional or personal relationships.

A successful nurse is knowledgeable, has empathy, is compassionate and respectful, is a good communicator, and can problem-solve. Nursing philosophy has been described as “a statement of foundational and universal assumptions, beliefs and principles about the nature of knowledge and thought (epistemology) and the nature of the entities represented in the metaparadigm (i.e., nursing practice and human health processes [ontology]” (Reed, 1995, p. 76). My nursing philosophy is to provide competent, empathetic, and patient-centered care to the best of my ability. This philosophy is partly due to core values and beliefs instilled in me as a young child, including kindness, respect, integrity, perseverance, commitment, and education. My nursing philosophy has evolved over the years due to new knowledge, personal and professional experiences leading to changes in desires, and sometimes new goals.

Continued professional development is an essential component of a successful nurse. The rapid advancement in healthcare and broadening of the nursing roles has led to additional formal and informal learning. Active engagement in committee memberships like the Schwartz Center for compassionate healthcare, attending conferences, hospital grand rounds, to name a few, have all enhanced my ability to provide competent, high-quality care.

A personal goal as a nurse practitioner with a doctoral degree is to champion the nursing profession by helping to develop and implement healthcare policies and form a professional development tool that will promote recognition and advancement of nurse practitioners in clinical settings. Most healthcare institutions have a clinical ladder system showcasing career advancement for registered nurses but not for advanced practice nurses. Even though advanced practice providers continue to take on more complex roles, reimbursement inequalities and career progression remain an issue. Forming a structured professional development system that supports the contributions of advanced practitioners may lead to increased understanding and awareness of the advanced practice provider role, career progression, job satisfaction, and appropriate compensation.

A change agent is an individual who has formal or informal legitimate power and whose purpose is to direct and guide change (Sullivan, 2012).  Making a positive social change in the nursing profession requires a multifactorial approach. Joining well-established associations like the American Nurses Associations (ANA) and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) actively involved in policy initiatives and advocacy on the local, state, and national levels keeps one up to date on health care legislation. They provide the knowledge, tools, and support required for social change. Involvement in health policy committees within an organization allows one to actively engage in policy building, intervention, and evaluation. Engagement and building rapport with other disciplines, collaborative teamwork, communication, and promoting the nursing profession’s advancement by education will help facilitate positive social change in the nursing profession.

As Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) prepared nurses, we have been equipped with leadership skills, ability to translate research into evidence-based practice, knowledge in clinical practice, and health systems to effect change in healthcare and influence positive outcomes in patient care and the nursing profession. We need to be committed and have the will and zeal to push change through to make a positive impact.

References

McEwen, M., & Wills, E. M. (2018). Theoretical basis for nursing (5th ed.). Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

Reed, P. G. (1995).  A treatise on nursing knowledge development for the 21st century; Beyond postmodernism. ANS. Advances in Nursing Science: Volume 17 – Issue 3 – p 70-84.

Sullivan, E. J. (2012). Effective leadership and management in nursing (8^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson

Walden University. (2021). DNP glossary [interactive media]. Walden University Blackboard. https://class.waldenu.edu