WGU’s Personal Theoretical Framework for Advanced Practice Nursing

Introduction

Nursing theories are an essential aspect of the nursing profession. They provide a model for the provision of care to patients in diverse healthcare settings. Nursing philosophy outlines the values, beliefs, and ethics as well as the motivating factors in the nursing profession. Humanistic theory is one of the theoretical frameworks commonly used in nursing practice. The framework supports my nursing philosophy as an advanced care nurse. However, there are certain situations where it contradicts or conflicts with my philosophy.

My Philosophy Statement

Looking back to the first time in nursing school, my main focus has always been providing quality and holistic healthcare services to the patient and building a working relationship with the other healthcare team members. Nursing has always been challenging, and that’s why my philosophy has evolved from the time I was practicing under the lower level of nursing. My main aim will remain to treat the patients the same way I would treat my family members. This will enable me to provide humanistic healthcare services to my patients by supporting them holistically. My foundational theoretical framework is based on the humanistic model of care. I always try to treat the patients with respect and compassion. Respect and compassion yield improved patient outcomes and increased patient satisfaction (Feo et al., 2017).  I always try to respect all my clients regardless of their physical characteristics and their places of origin. Every patient has a right to receive care regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, color, and economic status.

My other aim has always been to ensure the nurses under me and other nursing students are always guided while undertaking their clinical practice. I usually ensure I am professional so that they can emulate my deeds and behaviors. Additionally, I like offering specific clinical skills and competencies while interacting with them. All my efforts focus on ensuring my colleagues and nursing students gain the necessary skills and competencies in the clinical setting.

I also believe in ethical decision-making in the nursing profession. Various ethical issues arise in the healthcare setting. I usually ensure that I adhere to the moral principles in certain situations in healthcare (Haahr et al., 2017). Strong ethics always enables me to deal with particular ethical dilemmas which frequently arise in nursing practice. I often thrive on recognizing ethical situations as they appear in healthcare and apply the core values and ethics in my decision-making and judgment. I am well conversant with the various principles of ethics, including autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice. Each of these ethical principles will always continue to guide my nursing practice, even when practicing as a nursing practitioner.

My main belief in holistic care is the emphasis on building my relationship with the patient.  A good therapist and patient relationship ensure that the patient grows healthily and creatively (Schmitz et al., 2020). In training, I will focus on improving my ability to interact and relate with the patients. This will enhance the outcome of healthcare interventions.

Finally, I vow to uphold the ethical codes of the Joint Commission Standards and the American Nurses Association by providing safe care, protecting the patient’s rights, and ensure confidentiality and privacy of patient information (Valentine et al., 2020). I have vowed to be a patient advocate, nurse educator, and supporter of strong family values within a community. Nursing has always been more than a career. Sometimes I always feel comfort and a sense of satisfaction if patients under my care thank me for the services I provide to them.

I have developed long-term and short-term goals in my nursing profession that will guide the delivery of patient care to the patient and ensure multidisciplinary collaboration. The short-term and long-term goals motivate me towards achieving my professional goals and visions as a nursing practitioner. My long-term goal is to continue updating my knowledge and technological skills based on current evidence-based practice by continuing my education to provide quality evidence-based care to my patient. My short-term goal is to learn the skill sets required to serve a particular population during the semester.

Humanistic Theory

The humanistic theoretical model fits my advanced practice nursing philosophy. The theoretical framework views the patient as a whole person rather than an illness or injury (Cavalho & Cordeiro, 2018). This approach is referred to as the holistic approach.  It helps foster the emotional, physical, and mental health of the patient.

The theoretical framework can be compared and contrasted to my personal philosophy in many ways. First, it focuses on the patient as an individual and that every situation is unique. This is in line with my philosophy in nursing. The person or the patient as being holistic in nature. The patient in the theoretical framework should be valued. My philosophy also ensures that the care offered to the patient should be of high quality. Often, the focus is to ensure improved patient satisfaction with care. Respecting the patient and their significant others’ choices and the right to informed decisions is the foundation of increased satisfaction with care (Nwozichi et al., 2019). The ability to build a working relationship often influences the outcome of the healthcare interventions. The nurse-patient relationship enables me to meet all the patient’s healthcare needs, including mental and social needs.

Secondly, the humanistic approach views nursing as related to the health-illness quality of humans. Nurses have a fundamental role in ensuring the survival of a patient. The theoretical framework is in line with my philosophy. My main aim has always been to ensure patients receive high-quality care in diverse healthcare settings. Any nursing services I provide focus on the quality of the patients living by minimizing any suffering caused by mental, physical, or social conditions. According to the theoretical model, health is viewed to be necessary for survival and the main goal of the nursing profession (Nwozichi et al., 2019). Nurses need to engage in health promotion and health education. Through my interpersonal relationship with the patient, I often ensure that the patient has the necessary health-related information to improve their health. I always view the patient beyond the narrow concept of health described as the absence of illness.

Thirdly, the theoretical framework proposes the environment as the place where nursing care services are delivered in the world or community. It is the place and time where the nursing experience occurs (Zamaniniya et al., 2021). Certain factors in the environment impact the outcome of care and the level of patient satisfaction with care. The environment also involves the attributes such as timing, comfort, empathy, and communication technique in the patient’s environment. Space, according to this model, belongs to the patient and the nurse. Therefore it needs to be personalized to enhance the interaction between the patient and the nurse. My philosophy does not focus more on the environment of the patient. However, it focuses on the building of good interpersonal relationships to boost healthcare outcomes.

Finally, the model views nursing as a helping, affecting, and evolving relationship where the nurse and the patient engage in a dialogue. The nurses need to be aware of themselves and their patients as unique individuals. Nurses need to understand the needs, conditions, individual perspective experiences, and the patient’s identity to be able to provide the appropriate healthcare services to the patient. The nurse needs to understand their scope and the values of nursing practice. This nursing component is related to my nursing philosophy. I always ensure I practice according to the code of conduct and the ethical standards of nursing.  In ethical dilemmas, I often ensure the ethical decision made is often acceptable to the patient and the diverse healthcare team.  Summarily, I often ensure the patient’s human-ness and uniqueness are often safeguarded with ethical thinking and reasoning.

Situations Where Humanistic Model May Conflict or Not Fit My Philosophy.

The theoretical framework often assumes that ensuring autonomy and the right to free will means that the patients will often make the right choices. In some situations, the patient often makes decisions that may lead to poor health outcomes. In these situations, conflict often arises. The nurse is torn on whether to respect the client’s right to autonomy and self-determination or not. I have often experienced these cases in my clinical practice (Nwozichi et al., 2019). I can remember one scenario where the patient had been diagnosed with stage 2 cancer of the esophagus. The patient refused to commence treatment despite educating the patient on the importance of commencing chemotherapy. In such cases, conflict arises. The humanistic theory advocates for providing interventions to improve healthcare outcomes while respecting the patient’s right to self-determination and free will.  There is no way I could choose one of the frameworks without violating the other in that specific case. In such cases, ethical decision-making is crucial.

Humanistic theory is not scientific. This aspect contrasts with my nursing philosophy. Most of the evidence and conclusions are not made from scientific studies. The main focus in humanistic theory is human behavior. The ultimate objective is to enable client-centered care regardless of the interventions taken to actualize it.  Most of its concepts are untestable. Due to this, what be considered right for one patient may not work for the other. My philosophy is to ensure the provision of scientific and evidence-based care to the patients. All the interventions I engage in need to have been proven and regarded as the standards of practice. My decision-making is also based on scientific and ethical reasoning.

The theoretical model places a focus on the individual as a whole. Due to this, the role of society and the family members may be ignored (Nzwozichi et al., 2019). Family members play a crucial role in the health and wellbeing of the patients. Family involvement improves patient safety and the quality of care. Family involvement also enables the provision of culturally sensitive care to the patient. This contradicts my nursing philosophy. My main aim is to involve the family members in the care of the patient. I usually view the patient from all dimensions, including their originality, as it is critical for patient satisfaction with care. The family also helps me in certain ethical situations that may arise in healthcare settings.

References

Carvalho, J. C., & Cordeiro, R. A. (2018). Theories of the interpersonal relationships, transitions and humanistic theories: Contribution to frameworks of psychiatric/mental health nursing in Europe. In European Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing in the 21st Century (pp. 49-58). Springer, Cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-31772-4_5

Valentine, J. L., Sekula, L. K., & Lynch, V. (2020). Evolution of forensic nursing theory——Introduction of the constructed theory of forensic nursing care: A middle-range theory. Journal of forensic nursing, 16(4), 188. https://dx.doi.org/10.1097%2FJFN.0000000000000287

Nwozichi, C. U., Locsin, R. C., & Guino-O, T. A. (2019). Re-thinking nursing as humanization of caring. International Journal for Human Caring, 23(3), 213-220. https://publication.babcock.edu.ng/asset/docs/publications/NRSG/9538/4267.pdf.

Zamaniniya, Z., Khademi, M., Toulabi, T., & Zarea, K. (2021). The outcomes of humanistic nursing for critical care nurses: A qualitative study. Nursing and Midwifery Studies, 10(2), 114-120. https://www.nmsjournal.com/text.asp?2021/10/2/114/314156

Feo, R., Rasmussen, P., Wiechula, R., Conroy, T., & Kitson, A. (2017). Developing effective and caring nurse-patient relationships. Nursing Standard (2014+), 31(28), 54. https://journals.rcni.com/nursing-standard/developing-effective-and-caring-nursepatient-relationships-ns.2017.e10735

Haahr, A., Norlyk, A., Martinsen, B., & Dreyer, P. (2020). Nurses experiences of ethical dilemmas: a review. Nursing ethics, 27(1), 258-272. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F096973301983294.

Schmitz, E. L., Gelbcke, F. L., Bruggmann, M. S., & Luz, S. C. L. (2017). Philosophy and conceptual framework: collectively structuring nursing care systematization. Revista gaucha de enfermagem, 37. https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-1447.2016.esp.68435.