Running Head: MY PERSONAL NURSING PHILOSOPHY 1

My Personal Nursing Philosophy

Courtney Harmon

East Tennessee State University

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Nursing is defined as “autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages

families, groups, and communities, sick or well and in all settings. Nursing includes the

promotion of health, prevention of illness, and care of the ill disabled and dying people.

Advocacy, promotion of a safe environment, research, participation in shaping health policy and

in patient and health systems management, and education are also key nursing roles (ICN, 2014).

The previous sentence is the definition of what a nurse is- but what encompasses being a nurse is

so much more than a small definition. Nursing is more than meets the eye. For example, imagine

walking to your favorite coffee shop on a brisk fall morning. You see the sweet elderly man who

sits in the booth next to the register. You say hello, he comments about the weather as you are

waiting for your coffee to brew. You pick up your coffee from the counter, say “have a good

day”, and go on to work. As a nurse, we see an elderly man and wonder how he got there, if he

can perform his activities of daily living (ADLs), if the coffee and donut he is eating is the only

meal of his day, and if that equates to malnourishment. We see his veins and how hard of a stick

he would be, we see mentally list the diseases and comorbidities he is at an increased risk of

developing because he is an older adult.

As nurses, we constantly seek out problems do we can help everyone become the best

version of themselves possible, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. That, in its

simplest form, is what nursing is: helping a human being become the best person they can be,

physically and mentally, by ensuring you give the best care based on the patient’s needs

(Harmon, 2017, p.2).

A crucial part of nursing is leadership. Nurses make decisions relating to patient care

multiple times during one shift, as well as delegate tasks. A nurse integrates various leadership

styles together to develop his or her own ways of being a leader. There is not one specific
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leadership style that someone will find to suit them: it will be a combination of bits and pieces of

each. There are six specific leadership styles a person can choose from to develop their own:

autocratic, bureaucratic, charismatic, democratic/participative, laissez-faire, and transactional

(Amanchukwu, Stanley, & Oloube, 2015).

Personally, my leadership style is more on the democratic/participative side. I allow

everyone to voice their concerns and discuss other solutions to whatever problem is at hand. In

doing this, conflict is typically avoided. Having little to no conflict in the workplace is a sure-fire

way of increasing patient satisfaction and care, as few disruptions occur, allowing health care

members to focus on providing care for the patient. If people are not allowed a say in what

happens to them or the things around them, they may become hostile and disruptive in the

workplace. This can lead to poor patient outcomes, which goes directly against the core focus of

my personal nursing philosophy. It is crucial in understanding what composes your own personal

nursing philosophy, including leadership style, to be able to correctly communicate with others

to reach a common goal, such as getting the patient well enough for discharge.

My personal nursing philosophy is that I believe nurses and other healthcare workers

should become familiar with their patients on a personal level while maintaining professional

boundaries. The best way to provide patient-centered care is to determine what personal needs

the patient has, medically, personally, and spiritually, and to provide interventions based on

those needs. Pulling from past experiences and adapting that knowledge is also a way to provide

patient-centered care. Nurses also need to focus on the wellbeing of each patient, with the focus

on getting better, but also with a focus on prevention of further problems (Harmon, 2017, p. 6).

If leadership styles and the overall profession of nursing were combined, the product

would be various nurses, each with a very varying nursing leadership style and philosophy.
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Commingly known nursing theorists include Florence Nightingale, Faye Abdellah, and Betty

Neuman, to name a few. These theorists have developed their own nursing philosophies while

taking into consideration their leadership style to ensure they can proactively achieve the goals

set forth by their philosophies. In the following paragraph, I will discuss the theorist I relate to

the most, considering my own leadership style of democratic/participative.

The leadership theory that I find I relate the most to is Faye Abdellah’s “Patient-centered

Care” Theory. In this theory, the main focus is on nurses and how they should address 21

specific nursing problems in an effort to meet patient’s “physical, psychological and social

needs”, as well as to “strive to know each patient” (Potter, Perry, Stockert, Hall, 2017, p.47).

This theory also involves integrating knowledge from past experiences and involving the

patient’s family in the plan of care. This theory matches up with mine in the way that nurses

should use the knowledge gained from past experiences to better their care, and to make it more

personalized. Every mistake allows room for improvement. The different ways each patient

needs to be cared for is at the basis of patient-centered care, and my personal nursing philosophy.

Each patient is different, and needs personalized care. The difference between patients will

translate to a difference in each patient’s care.

As much as I agree with Abdellah’s therapy and find it to bear the most similarities to my

own, I would like to discuss the one factor I disagree with. Abdellah’s theory states that family

should be included in an attempt to make care more patient-centered. I agree in the sense that

family typically spends the most time with the patient and knows them the best, but I believe

they should only be allowed to help with care and have an input if the patient permits it. If a

patient does not want a particular family member to help, they will do everything in their ability

to prevent said family member from playing an active role in their care; Therefore, resulting in a
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significant decrease in the rate of recovery due to the amount of stress put on the patient. The

stress produced by this will perpetually inflict more harm than benefit, violating my personal

nursing philosophy.

Overall, it is evident how having a personal nursing philosophy and having knowledge of

your leadership style can aid you in becoming a professional, patient-care centered nurse. My

personal leadership style is democratic for the reasons mentioned previously, but that does not

mean it is not apt to change, but rather the contrary. Nursing is a profession that is always

evolving, and I cannot wait to delve into it. I will be guided by my nursing philosophy to help me

find my way through and to not lose sight of what I believe in the ever-changing world of

nursing.
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References

Amanchukwu, R. N., Stanley, G. J., & Ololube, N. P. (2015). A review of leadership theories,

principles and styles and their relevance to educational management. Management, 5(1),

6-14.

Harmon, C. M. (2017). Nursing Philosophy. Unpublished manuscript, College of Nursing, East

Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee.

Nursing Definitions. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.icn.ch/nursing-policy/nursing-

definitions.

Potter, P.A., Perry, A.G., Stockert, P.A., & Hall, A.M. (2017). Fundamentals of Nursing (9th

ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier/Mosby.