As a core of the healthcare delivery system, nurses develop and articulate their worldviews to navigate their roles and responsibilities and understand their patients and health population. Worldviews help nurses to offer culturally sensitive care, especially in a highly diverse healthcare system. Nurses integrate their worldviews with appropriate nursing theories to implement the nursing process for different patients (Brewington et al., 2020). As nurses reflect on their past and experiences, their worldviews and application of appropriate nursing theories become important in defining and shaping their actions and decisions. The purpose of this essay is to describe my worldview and nursing theory that influence my practice.
Personal Worldview
Individuals develop worldviews influenced by different aspects of their lives; from beliefs, assumptions, and values. People interpret and assign meaning to their world through these aspects. A person’s worldview is essential in shaping their practice philosophy and approach to care, especially in working with patients from diverse backgrounds due to the diversity of cultures, practices, and spiritual influence. My worldview is rooted in Christianity and humanism. My faith and belief in God as a Christian and consideration of the common good based on philosophical teachings like utilitarianism and virtue ethics shape my worldview. I believe that God created man in His image to show His goodness to others. I consider my patients as unique based on their creation as human beings who deserve inherent dignity and respect. I strive to do my best and care for them through the Christian and inherent values like compassion, love, and self-sacrifice. These values shape and define my interactions and relationships with patients, their families, and health populations (Nunnery, 2019). My culture instills in me service-focused care. It also lays a robust foundation for holistic care by considering patients as individuals with a multifaceted life comprising spiritual, emotional, psychological, and physical aspects.
These perspectives are essential in offering support and considering the patients as part of the whole Christian community (Wei et al., 2020). I consider my patients and their families as the larger community that requires support and integration to help deliver holistic care based on their needs and concerns. Utilitarianism and virtue ethics implore me to do well for the greater common benefit of the majority knowing that one receives what they give and can only give what they possess through their character. My role as a nurse is to ensure that I practice to the best level of my skills and knowledge in maintaining and restoring lives. Guiding my patients in spiritual care and other aspects of their care plans is essential for the overall attainment of quality care.
Nursing Theory
Nursing theories allow nurses to develop care plans that meet patient needs and concerns, especially holistic care. The nursing theory that aligns with my Christian and humanistic worldview is Jean Watson’s holistic caring theory. At the core of this theory is the importance of transpersonal relationships and caring in the healing process. The theory presents caring as the foundation of effective and efficient nursing practice, emphasizing that nurses should implement the curative factors in their individualized plans (Watson et al., 2020). The theory implores nurses to express kindness and genuine concern in engaging patients, understanding their needs, and demonstrating altruistic values. The carative factors entail developing a humanistic approach to care, instilling faith, compassion, love, and hope, and being sensitive to oneself and others. The human caring theory by Watson enforces my approach to patient-centered care by prioritizing the basic human needs in the care provision process for quality nursing care.
At the core of this theory is a focus on holistic and humanistic care. The caring theory developed by Watson emphasizes the observance of values that are similar to Christian teachings. These include compassionate care, love, empathy, kindness, and genuine concern in interactions and relationships with patients (Nunnery, 2019). Both my worldview and nursing philosophy align with the theory based on the emphasis on hope, and faith which enhance positive healthcare provision. Watson’s theory shows that nurses and other healthcare providers can attain wellness and holistic care by focusing on shared ethical values that entail respect, justice, and integrity. These values are a core part of nursing practice as they help nurses and other providers make ethical decisions. Watson emphasizes teaching and learning for both nurses and patients, which are similar to the Christian culture that integrates support and community living (Mudd et al., 2020).
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