1

Nursing Philosophy

Melissa Santos

Benjamin Leon School of Nursing, Miami Dade College

NUR2811C: Professional Nursing Leadership

Prof. Roberto Hernandez

November 23, 2020

 2

Nursing Philosophy

Every career has a unique focus that defines it from the rest. For nursing, it is the

metaparadigm composed of nursing, environment, health, and person. These four domains are

the pillars of nursing practice and the core of nursing philosophies. This writing will analyze the

domains and provide a comparison between the nursing philosophies of Miami Dade College

Benjamin Leon School of Nursing, Baptist Hospital of Miami, and that of a nursing student.

Definition of Four Domains

Nursing is regarded as a profession of care and support for those who are ill. However,

the act of nursing has evolved to be much more than providing attention to the infirm. As

recently defined by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2020), “nursing encompasses

autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities,

sick or well and in all settings. When evaluating the factors that influence nursing practice the

environment is of upmost importance. As stated by the theorist Jean Watson, “providing a

supportive, protective/or corrective mental, physical, societal, and spiritual environment yields to

healing, promotes comfort, dignity, and peace (Potter et al., 2017, pp.80-81)”. Moreover, the

third domain of nursing, health. One globally recognized description is that health is a state of

complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or

infirmity (WHO, 2006). Lastly, at the core of nursing lies the person. As defined by Potter et. al,

“person is the recipient of nursing care, including patients, groups, cultures, families, and

communities (Potter et al., 2017, p.42).” The nursing metaparadigm proposed by the theorist

Jean Fawcett embodies the nursing practice though every nurse incorporates a bit of their own

perspective to each domain.

Personalized Definition of Domains

 3

As a future nurse, I will be sure to adapt the nursing paradigm to align with my style of

nursing. Nursing is the perfect union between science and art; combining the skills, evidenced-

based knowledge, and experience, with the care and compassion for others, to help and support

individuals in their attainment of health. Consequently, I define health to be the state of

wellbeing both physical and mental.

Additionally, like the nursing theorist Watson, I also believe that recovery and health can

be attained through caring-healing environments. The environment can produce negative feelings

such as anxiety, or in opposition, a calming effect. I believe that the right environmental setting

in nursing care, is just as therapeutic as a pharmacological treatment in many instances. Lastly,

the person is the center of nursing care. For me, the entire focus of the nurse is on the person. As

previously stated, the person may be an individual, a family, or a community. I believe that

nursing care is tailored to the person and all interventions, and actions are focused on patient-

centered care. Because I believe that the person is the center of nursing care, and the

environment has a therapeutic effect, my philosophy as a nurse is to combine evidenced-based

knowledge and experience with care and compassion in order to support and help others attain

wellbeing both physiological, and psychological.

Analysis of Two Institutions

Miami Dade College’s Benjamin Leon school of Nursing (BLSON) is renowned for their

dedication to nursing education. BLSON’s mission is to change lives through accessible, high-

quality, evidence-based education, and embraces its responsibility to serve as a diverse, civic,

and health care leader for the advancement of our community. Additionally, its vision is to be

nationally recognized as a leader in nursing education, innovation and strives to improve health

outcomes in our diverse community (Miami Dade College, 2020). Similar to the Benjamin Leon
 4

School of nursing, Baptist Hospital of Miami is recognized for nursing quality and its

outstanding contributions to the community it serves. The vision of Baptist Hospital is “to offer a

broad range of clinical services that are evidence-based and compassionately provided to ensure

patient safety, superior clinical outcomes, and the highest levels of satisfaction with a patient-

and family-centered focus (Baptist Health South Florida, 2020a)”. Both institutions have a

commitment to the communities they serve. The vision of BLSON is focused on nursing, while

the vision of Baptist Hospital is stated generally to include all disciplines within its institution.

However, Baptist Hospital is recognized for its nursing excellence; they attribute this to “the

philosophy and structure of sharing authority and responsibility for decision making which is

designed to build collaboration, communication and trust, and to empower all members of the

nursing staff (Baptist Hospital South Florida, 2020b, para 5).”

Summary

Nursing is multifaceted. The four domains of nursing compromise the essence of the

profession, and serve as pillars to nursing philosophies. Many theorists and world-renowned

organizations provide definitions of the domains; however, these serve as a bases for nursing but

are ultimately paired with the nurse’s own philosophy. For example, my philosophy as a nurse to

combine knowledge and experience with care and compassion to support and help others attain

wellbeing both physiological, and psychological, was inspired by the definition of the four

domains with emphasis on what I believed to be required of an exemplary nurse. Additionally,

the institutions that provide nursing education and care such as, the Benjamin School of Nursing,

and Baptist Hospital of Miami, adapt these domains to structure their mission and vision for

nursing and patient care.

Reflection
 5

In preparation for my writing, I read about theorists such as, Watson, and Fawcett, and

analyzed their perspective standpoints as well as the common thread amongst their ideas. This

analysis helped me capture what I felt defined the four domains, and what my nursing

philosophy would be. I learned that I have a whole-being approach to wellness that includes both

physical and psychological, to which I add spiritual as well. I believe my philosophy will guide

my practice in a way that I will consider all aspects of a person to provide individualized care

that focuses on their unique needs. I consider my viewpoint to connect well with both BLSON

and Baptist Hospital of Miami, because like them, I too will incorporate evidenced based

practice to provide optimal nursing care.

References
 6

Baptist Health South Florida. (2020a). Fulfilling Our Mission.

https://baptisthealth.net/en/about-baptist-health/pages/fulfilling-our-mission.aspx

Baptist Health South Florida. (2020b). Our Journey to Nursing Excellence.

https://baptisthealth.net/en/nursing/pages/our-journey.aspx

Miami Dade College. (2020). RN-BSN Student Handbook. Retrieved from

https://www.mdc.edu/nursing/docs/BSN-Student-Handbook.pdf

Potter, P., Perry, A., Hall, A., & Stockert, P. (2017). Caring in Nursing Practice. Fundamentals

of Nursing. Elsevier.

Potter, P., Perry, A., Hall, A., & Stockert, P. (2017). Nursing and the Health Care Environment.

Fundamentals of Nursing. Elsevier.

World Health Organization. (October 2006). Constitution of the World Health Organization.

https://www.who.int/governance/eb/who_constitution_en.pdf

World Health Organization. (2020). Nursing and Midwifery.

https://www.who.int/health-topics/nursing#tab=_1