Nursing Is An Evolving Art

Nursing is one of the most intimate health care professions. They are connected to their patients as soon as they are admitted into their care right through until they are discharged into someone else’s care. With this, nurses have a strict professional identity and scope of practice to prevent a nurse from over stepping their professional boundaries. A nurses’ duty of care does go beyond the average healthcare professional but still does not impair the

Regrettably, the existence of nursing depends on the medical inadequacy of others. Unfortunately, nursing exists because people get hurt, cannot care for themselves, or need assistance with daily activities. Carol Taylor (2011), author of Fundamentals of Nursing: The Art and Science of Nursing Care, writes, “Nursing care involves any number of activities, from carrying out complicated technical procedures to something as seemingly as holding a hand” (p. 5). Taylor explains it is the duty of a nurse not only to learn the pertinent skills but also to bond with and comfort others. Nurses have to do and become many things: They must be stern when necessary, compassionate when needed, open minded

Nursing is as much science as it is a study in the human condition. Combining caring and the notion of human flourishing allows the nurse sharpen her understanding of patients’ needs by observing and understanding herself (Husted & Husted, 2008). A nurse is able to better anticipate the needs of her patients by noting similarities and differences between the two of them. With caring in the nursing corner, even under less-than-ideal conditions, one can still create havens of hope, nourishment, and the possibility for flourishing (MacCulloh, 2011).

Human caring is what sets nursing apart from other professions. As Watson (1998) stated, “care and love are the most universal, the most tremendous and the most mysterious of cosmic forces: they comprise the primal universal psychic energy. Caring is the essence of nursing and the most central and unifying focus for nursing practice” (p. 32-33). It is important to establish a good nurse-patient relationship in order to create a healing environment that would meet patient’s needs on all levels including physical, mental/emotional and spiritual, promote recovery, maintain health, and create positive outcomes. Jean Watson emphasized the importance of human

The framework used is made explicit and has been adapted by a previous theorist. The framework is detailed to clarify caring within a literature context (Enns, 2007). It conceptualizes that caring has both humanistic traits and physical behaviours from the perspectives of both the nurses and the patients (Enns, 2007). The research question is clearly stated as “(w)hat are the expressions of caring

The art of human caring is one of the most essential parts of the nursing profession. Caring is not something that you learn to do, but something that is within you. In nursing, it is important to know what kind of nurse you want to be as well as the care you intend to provide to your patients. The patient is the center of nursing, and it is your responsibility to make sure they are receiving the best care that they can receive. One of the most important things is to be able to set aside personal beliefs and morals in order to provide patient centered care. The way that you approach and care for a patient is either going to make or break the effect of the care you will be implementing to the patient.

Nursing is a complex and ever changing field full of new areas to advance, learn, and grow in. Some of the institutes available for nursing studies are Harkum College and West Chester University. Kristine Balay, the nurse I interviewed, attended Harkum College for her Associates degree in Nursing and she attended West Chester University for her Bachelors degree in Nursing. She has been practicing as a nurse for about 10 years now in various settings. When she was working on a trauma unit she was required to obtain an ALS certification, Kristine admits that she was grateful for obtaining this certification because it sets her apart from others in regards to job opportunities and promotions as well as gives her confidence in situations.

A nursing career and caring for the sick intertwine inseparably. It requires a tremendous amount of compassion and empathy to care for those who are in need. My philosophy of care is to treat others with dignity, respect and compassion regardless of their race, ethnicity or cultural background. It’s about treating people the way you want to be treated and to understand that sometimes the best medicine of all is kindness. In addition, not only is it important to provide effective and competent care to all patients, it’s extremely crucial to provide care that is genuine and compassionate. All health care consumers should be receiving care that reflects their values and beliefs.

There is no doubt that nursing is an ever changing field. Although nursing always has been about caring for others, at the present time, this field is more sophisticated and respected than in the past. Currently, there are standards of nursing practice and professional performance developed by the American Nurses Association (ANA) for American nurses to follow. However, there is some controversy about whether nursing is a profession or not. Also, in order to learn these standards as well as other norms, values, and behaviors of nursing, nursing students and nurses follow a lifelong process called socialization which is affected by many factors. Moreover, a way to learn more about these topics is to compare real nurses’ thoughts and experiences with what literature suggests. Therefore, after interviewing an experienced nurse and report on her demographics, I have been able to contrast her perspectives on nursing being a profession, the ANA standards of practice, and the socialization process to literature as well as reflect on my own thoughts and values.

Kristen M. Swanson’s Caring Theory is the solution in bridging the gap between nursing practice and theory. It offers an explanation of the links between patient well-being and the caring process (Tonges & Ray, 2011). Swanson explained that nurses should be able to demonstrate that they care about their patients, and that caring about their wellbeing is as important as their patients’ current medical problem (Tonges & Ray, 2011).

For as long as I can remember, I have been overwhelmed with a desire to care for those in need, and I feel this ultimately led me to the career choice of nursing. I chose nursing as my profession because I truly believe that the desire to help people through nursing is a calling, and I feel drawn toward helping those in need. Nursing is an honorable career, and should not be treated as just a job to earn a paycheck. My mission is to proudly provide nonjudgmental care to those in need regardless of race, spiritual beliefs, lifestyle choices, financial status, or disability. Before entering to the profession of nursing, it is important to explore my personal values and principles that will guide my nursing practice. My philosophy is that nurses have a responsibility to the public to provide safe, holistic, patient-centered care. This paper will explore the values I feel are necessary in relating to patients as well as health professionals, my personal work culture, and society as a whole.

This paper will discuss the functions of caring within the nursing practice, as well as my own personal views regarding caring. I will review the Benner model of Clinical Nursing and the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition in relationship to my own personal skills. I will identify my competencies within each domain of the Benner Model. I will reflect upon my own personal nursing practice in terms of my strengths and weaknesses. Also included will be a discussion of my own professional goals, areas of improvement needed within my practice and solutions for how I can improve in order to help me achieve these personal goals.

Swanson's (1993) Theory of Caring is structured around five principles that encompass the overall definition of caring in nursing practice. This theory states that caring revolves around five categories: knowing, being with, doing for, enabling, and maintaining belief. When applied to nursing practice, each of these five categories can fuel the caregiver's attitude and improve overall patient well-being. In nursing, as well as other areas caring can be defined as, "a nurturing way of relating to a valued other toward whom one feels a personal sense of commitment and responsibility'. Upon examination, the five processes of Swanson's Theory of Caring can be used in nursing practice to achieve an enhanced

The purpose of this paper is to define the concept of caring, provide a literature review and state why this concept is important to nursing and advanced practice nursing as well as in non- nursing theories, such as the Care Theory. We will also look at the critical attributes of the concept of caring, as well as how caring is recognized, assess and used in practice and research. Finally we will explain how caring is addressed in Dorothea Orem’s Self Care and Self Care Deficit Theory.

Gladly, nurses change hats at the threshold of the hospital door to transform into the role of patient advocates. For the most part, people select nursing as a profession to make a difference in patients’ lives. Florence Nightingale, a pioneer who defines the evolution of her philosophy in nursing by anticipating the needs of her patients, advocating on their behalf when they could not speak for themselves and educating the public about her theologies (Masters, 2017, pp. 51-52). For this reason, compassion is the key component of my nursing philosophy. Compassion renders hope, loves selflessly, and displays acts of kindness regardless of race, color, creed, sex, or economic status. An integral part of my nursing is taking time to adequately and compassionately assess my patient’s psychological frame of mind and give them my undivided attention to listen to their concerns, provide education evidence-based information on their diagnosis and encourage them to make informed decisions about their healthcare. Compassion delineates my personal existence and places the physiological, emotional, psychological and spiritual needs of my patients above any of my own desires.