Modules 1-2 Assignment: Written Philosophy of Nursing

Philosophy of nursing practice outlines the beliefs, ethics, and values of nurses that motivate them in their profession (St. Augustine University for Health Sciences, 2020). It plays an important role in decision-making processes given that nursing involves working with different stakeholders in diverse settings. Indeed, according to St. Augustine University for Health Sciences (2020), philosophy in nursing shapes the decisions that nurses make regarding patient care in different environments. However, it is often difficult for nurses to make effective decisions regarding their patients as individuals without applying theories of nursing and deploying theories from other disciplines. According to my personal philosophy, providing the best care for patients would require collaboration of various disciplines. Collaboration in nursing practice enhances communication thus improving patients outcomes (ODaniel and Rosenstein, 2008). This is more so the case given that nursing practice happens to be more than the treatment of diseases. Therefore, to be able to help patients and learn about their environment, it would be prudent to learn how their environment influences their health. For this reason, nurses would have to apply nursing theories such as middle range theories and theories from other disciplines to provide the best possible care. In this essay, I will review the middle-range theories that I applied in my philosophy of nursing. In addition, the essay will include a description of how the health behavioral model can further inform my philosophy of nursing.

One of the middle-range theories that I applied in my philosophy of nursing in psychiatry was the theory of self-efficacy. According to Bandura (1978), the ability of individuals to exercise control and social environment is determined by their beliefs, norms,...

Given that self-efficacy is based on individuals beliefs, nurses are able to base their interventions and provide care to patients by evaluating the beliefs of patients. In psychiatric nursing, nurses come up with interventions aimed at improving their patients self-efficacy. This is more so the case given that high self-efficacy improves resilience to symptoms related to mental health illnesses (Bandura 1978). For instance, patients experiencing stress owing to a mental illness can work through the said situation by improving their self-efficacy regarding behavioral change. The other middle-range theory that I applied in my philosophy was the social cognitive theory. It is important to note that human behavior is determined by their environment. Essentially a change in environment may have an impact on an individuals behavior - positively or negatively. For this reason, nurses in psychiatry can improve their patients health outcomes if they advocate for adaptation of environment....…information to persons at risk so as to help them understand the severity of risky behaviors to their health (Rural Health Information Hub, 2005). Further, nurses would be able to highlight the benefits of a perceived action to a targeted population and the actions they should take so as to reap maximum benefits. Moreover, nurses are involved in identifying and helping reduce the barriers that prevent people from changing their behavior and embracing better behaviors. Nurses could also be involved in education so as to improve individuals self-efficacy. According to Bandura (1978), individuals can improve their self-efficacy by learning from others, learning from past experiences, and through education. Therefore, nurses can act as role models by utilizing healthy behaviors in their life so that others can imitate them. Nurses can also teach or sensitize individuals through demonstrations so as to help such individuals learn the relevance of behavior changes (Rural Health Information Hub, 2005).

In conclusion, it would be prudent to note that nurses play a significant role in ensuring that individuals change their behaviors so as to achieve better outcomes in as far as health and wellbeing is concerned. One key goal of nursing practice is to improve patients overall health and reduce suffering. To achieve the said goal, those of us in nursing practice have…