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Therapeutic Nurse - Personal Philosophy of Caring

Student Name

Course

Professor

Date
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Therapeutic Nurse - Personal Philosophy of Caring

Caring in nursing means showing empathy and concern for a patient's well-being and

comfort. It also means being very thorough in things such as documentation. Caring requires

one to be compassionate, selfless, dedicated, and professional. Patients rely on caregivers to provide

the best care possible and entrust them with their most prized possession: the future of their lives.

Providing the proper care that a patient needs for healing is impossible without showing you

care for them. The only way to be the greatest caregiver possible is to conduct oneself professionally,

convey compassion to each patient, exhibit empathy, and treat others the way you would want to be

treated. This is why caring is a critical part of nursing. When nurses fail to show they care,

many patients may feel uncomfortable (Brousseau & Cara, 2020). Therefore, this could

interfere with the care they receive, as patients who feel uncomfortable or burdensome may

decline necessary care. When nurses fail to show they care by not documenting correctly, a

patient's care may be improper or compromised.

I always go out of my way to show those around me I care about them. Nobody is

perfect, but everyone is more than capable of making an effort. Caring is vital to me since I

have experienced what it feels like as though my presence is a burden to someone. I have also

reevaluated my philosophy on caring within the last few years. Two and a half years ago, I

began working as an Unregulated Care Provider at a retirement home. While working in this

environment, I learned to treat the older population with respect, how to care for them while

ensuring dignity, and be thorough in the care I provide. I have inevitably grown close with

many residents, and I can see my job as more than just a job. It became clear to me, primarily

through COVID when visitors were not allowed in the home I work in, that for many of the

residents, we as staff might be the closest thing they have to family. I developed a strong

sense of empathy for these residents, and I genuinely love taking the time to hear about their

stories. At the same time, because I care about them so much, it breaks my heart when it is
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clear that some people begin working there just for the paycheque. It saddens me when other

employees “cut corners” with care and dismiss the residents as they do not have feelings. I

learned that healthcare is not an industry to pursue if your reason for studying is simply the

paycheck. Putting yourself in the patient's shoes and seeing them as human beings with

emotions and needs far beyond their medical care is essential.

I plan to impact society by ensuring that those I work with, regardless of the

environment, show the patients the most excellent care possible. I am more than comfortable

informing someone that their approach to the care they provide is unkind. To our patients, we

may be the only interaction they have with another person all day. I want to ensure that

people know they are cared about, not just cared for. I want people to know that they have

value, no matter the circumstance, and I want people to know that their concerns and feelings

are heard.

My philosophy and values regarding caring are very similar to those of Jean Watson,

whose approach assists nurses with developing therapeutic interactions within the spiritual

setting. She believes nurses should understand a patient's body as "an embodied spirit; unity

of mind and spirit; person-nature- the universe as oneness; a transcendent evolving

consciousness, connected” (PN 128: Therapeutic Nurse- Client Relationships, slide 14).

Nurses should accept individuals as they are (Watson, 2018; Watson, 2019). Because of these

experiences and what I have learned, I aim to ensure that those I interact with know they are

essential and safe. Without caring within the nursing profession, healing times for patients

would be much longer, and without nurses who care, the healthcare system would be a much

different and more depressing place.

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References

Brousseau, S., & Cara, C. (2020). Nurse educators’ political caring literacy and power to

promote caring relationships in nursing education. An Educator’s Guide to Humanizing

Nursing Education. https://doi.org/10.1891/9780826190093.0008

PN 128: Therapeutic Nurse- Client Relationships.

Watson, J. (2018). Integrative nursing and caring science: Universals of human caring and

healing. Integrative Nursing, pp. 20–28.

https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780190851040.003.0002

Watson, J. (2019). Caring and Nursing Science: Contemporary Discourse. Assessing and

Measuring Caring in Nursing and Health Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1891/9780826195425.0002