This paper articulates a personal nursing philosophy grounded in the classical nursing metaparadigm of person, environment, health, and nursing. The author defines each metaparadigm concept, emphasizing the role of environment and cultural sensitivity in health outcomes. Drawing on Dorothea Orem's self-efficacy theory and Jean Watson's caring framework, the paper examines the nature of nursing practice and the centrality of compassion, patient advocacy, and interprofessional collaboration. The paper concludes by affirming nursing's social purpose in humanizing healthcare and empowering patients toward self-care and optimism.
The paper effectively uses theoretical synthesis: it integrates multiple nursing theories (metaparadigm, Orem, Watson) under a single coherent personal framework rather than summarizing each theory in isolation. Each theory is introduced through the lens of the author's own nursing identity, demonstrating how academic literature can inform and validate personal professional values.
The paper follows a clear thematic progression: it opens with a rationale for articulating a nursing philosophy, then defines each metaparadigm component, moves into specific theoretical applications (Orem on practice, Watson on caring), addresses nursing's broader societal role, and closes with a holistic synthesis. Each section is self-contained but builds logically on the previous one, mirroring how a nurse might develop clinical reasoning — from foundational assumptions to applied action.
Every nurse has a philosophy that guides her approach to care. Even if a nurse is not consciously aware of her personal philosophy, there is always some underlying construct in her mind that helps her cope with split-second decisions or profound ethical quandaries. A personal philosophy is even necessary when making technical, everyday decisions. It is best for the nurse to be aware of her underlying assumptions — rather than unconscious of them — to ensure those assumptions are positive and serve patient needs.
According to Deliktas et al. (2019), the classical nursing metaparadigm encompasses the person, environment, health, and nursing. For me, the person encompasses the patient, the patient's caregivers, and also the patient's community and the individuals close to the patient. The environment encompasses all the influences on the patient. This can include access to healthcare itself, as well as the built environment — such as physical incentives to walk and exercise, as well as proximity to fast-food restaurants (Sun et al., 2019). The environment can enable the patient to be healthy or unhealthy, sometimes in unavoidable ways (such as a child who grows up in a dusty, asthma-provoking household), or sometimes in ways where it is easier to make unhealthy choices versus healthy ones, or vice versa. Although some insist that everyone has a choice regarding health-related decisions, for people with the means to afford healthy food and vigorous physical pursuits, it is far easier to be healthy.
Health is the individual's personal definition of sickness and wellness, and how it intersects with evidence-based medicine's definition of health. A patient may need to be encouraged to take into consideration evidence that he or she can lead a healthier life — for example, through a better diet or improved glucose regulation. But the nurse must be sensitive to the patient's cultural beliefs regarding health, such as when planning a better diet or engaging in a discussion of end-of-life care.
I define the process of nursing as health facilitation. The nurse steps in with technical assistance and knowledge when the patient cannot provide such self-care. This may be as simple as advice, or as complex as a major intervention when the patient is not fully conscious. The nurse is the patient advocate, bridging the gap between the patient's beliefs and needs and the nature of modern medicine.
Nursing is the individualized face of medicine. Nurses must do their utmost to get to know their patients and the persons who are close to them, such as caregivers and family members. Understanding the patient's perspective does not mean that the nurse must agree with the patient's health beliefs, but the nurse must empathize with the patient and offer advice with knowledge of the patient's worldview, faith, and needs. On a personal level, Dorothea Orem's self-efficacy theory is the one that appeals to me most as a provider. Nurses can and must encourage patients to be independent and autonomous when possible, but also be willing to step in with information, care, and hands-on interventions when this is simply not possible given the patient's condition (Khademian et al., 2020).
The nurse must strive to offer a holistic and non-institutionalized view of the patient. The nurse must care for the sick patient and also send the patient home with the tools to manage self-care — whether that means providing directions to a family caring for a patient with mobility issues, or simply clarifying how to administer a complex prescription. Healthcare institutions are increasingly trying to incorporate caring and compassion into care delivery systems, acknowledging their importance in improving the health outcomes of patients. Nurses will always have a critical role in humanizing healthcare and instilling a sense of optimism in patients.
Deliktas, A., Korukcu, O., Aydin, R., & Kabukcuoglu, K. (2019). Nursing students' perceptions of nursing metaparadigms: A phenomenological study. The Journal of Nursing Research, 27(5), e45.
Khademian, Z., Kazemi Ara, F., & Gholamzadeh, S. (2020). The effect of self-care education based on Orem's Nursing Theory on quality of life and self-efficacy in patients with hypertension: A quasi-experimental study. International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery, 8(2), 140–149. https://doi.org/10.30476/IJCBNM.2020.81690.0
Norman, V., Rossillo, K., & Skelton, K. (2016). Creating healing environments through the theory of caring. AORN Journal, 104(5), 401–409.
Sun, P., Lu, W., Song, Y., & Gu, Z. (2019). Influences of built environment with hilly terrain on physical activity in Dalian, China: An analysis of mediation by perceptions and moderation by social environment. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(24), 4900.
Wei, H., & Watson, J. (2018). Healthcare interprofessional team members' perspectives on human caring: A directed content analysis study. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 6(1), 17–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2018.12.001
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