Running head: MY PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING 1

My Philosophy of Nursing
Kaytlyn Stephens
Dixie State University

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My Philosophy of Nursing
The philosophy of nursing is sculpted by your experiences in the health care setting.
Nursing has a reputation for being one of the most caring professions in healthcare. Everyone
should receive appropriate nursing care no matter what condition they may have. The number
one priority in Jean Watsons nursing theory is caring. Jean Watson has shown this through er
Caritas. My philosophy of nursing is that caring is a crucial part in the nursing field and Jean
Watson Caritas had a great impact on how I view nursing and the four concepts addressed in all
theories of nursing; the environment, patient, nurse, and health. The purpose of this paper is to
describe why care is an important attribute that should be found in all nurses, I provide an
experience I had when working as a first semester nursing student, and demonstrate how
Watsons theory and the four concepts are important in the development of my nursing
philosophy.
Caring
Caring is necessary in nursing. Caring is showing kindness, empathy, and providing the
opportunity for each patient and their family to express their needs and feelings. Chipman (1991)
studied three categories of nursing behaviors that emerged while watching nurses provide care.
These three behaviors were giving of self, meeting patients needs in a timely fashion, and
providing comfort measures for patients and their families (p.171). Possessing these qualities
makes a patients stay in the hospital much more enjoyable. The qualities ensure that you give
the patient everything which is developed in the plan of care, and ensures that the nurse keeps all
promises while providing care to the patient and the family. Caring is not just an act, it is an
attitude which provides the proof that nurses truly care.

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My Experience
I was assigned to complete a care plan on a patient. I decided to do my care plan on a
lady who had kidney failure, pneumonia, and fibromyalgia. I completed my assessment and then
made it a point to check on her every hour. This plan changed when the patient felt the need to
have a bowel movement and couldnt go. She was returned to the bed. This same action by the
patient occurred multiple times and the nurse that I was working with that day became frustrated
and started complaining about the patient. I volunteered to answer the call light and help the
patient as needed. It was obvious that my nurse had a bad attitude by complaining about wasting
her time trying to help this irritating patient. The next time the patient put on the call light, I went
to her room. This time the patient did not call soon enough and she had diarrhea all over herself,
the floor, and her bed linen. I helped her to the shower to clean her up, changed the bed linen,
and whipped up the floor. The patient expressed her appreciation for what I had done. I felt even
more grateful for having the opportunity to really demonstrate how much I care for and about
this lady. I was able to provide comfort, a clean and healthy environment. I did not judge here
but enabled her to feel healthier than when she was covered with stool. I finally felt like a nurse
and knew that I had chosen the profession I could love.
Watson and the Four Nursing Concepts
The above experience helped me understand the four nursing concepts fit into the role of
a nurse. Watsons theory of caring contains ten caritas which involve the four concepts. In her
caritas it explains that nurses have patient for whom they care for to improve their state of health.
The ten caritas are guidelines for accomplishing the four necessary concepts in all nurse/patient
relationships. The one that stands out for me is create a healing environment for the physical
and spiritual self which respects human dignity (Caring Science Theory & Research, 2014, Para
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2) This explains to have good health, you need to have an appropriate environment to improve
the health state of a patient. In her theory, Jean Watson also talked about the future of nursing
care. Nursings future and nursing in the future will depend upon nursing maturing as a distinct
health, healing and caring profession that it has always represented across time, but has yet to
actualize. (Caring Science Theory & Research, 2014) The nurse is the most important concept,
as the nurse actually provides the patient with an environment which improves outcomes or the
patients state of health.
Conclusion
In conclusion, caring is essential to my philosophy of nursing, Watson helped me see that
providing a patient with a healing environment enhances health, patient outcomes are improved.
It is also clear to me that to be able to provide my patients with this type of caring, I must ensure
that I take care of myself or I will not have the energy or proper attitude to provide the kind of
care I so much want to provide to my patients.

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References
Chipman, Y. (1991). Caring: Its meaning and place in the practice of nursing. The Journal of
Nursing Education, 30(4), 171-175.
Watson Caring Science Institute & International Caritas Consortium (2014), Caring science
defined, Caring Science Theory & Research. Retrieved from h
ttp://watsoncaringscience.org/about-us/caring-science-definitions-processes-theory/