Worldview and Nursing Process Personal Statement
Worldview refers to an individual’s intellectual response to basic life questions. It is based on a set of beliefs about essential aspects of reality that establish and influence a person’s perception, thoughts, knowledge, and actions. Worldview is an essential concept in making health providers aware of their beliefs and assumptions that may influence the delivery of patient care (Spronk et al., 2021). The purpose of this paper is to describe my worldview, describe a nursing theory aligning with my philosophy of practice, and explain how the worldview and nursing theory will help me develop my future practice.
Personal Worldview
The worldview that drives my nursing practice is that life begins at conception and ends in the process of death. However, as individuals engage in the process of living, their position on the lifespan influences their capacity for independence. I believe that progress in the lifespan influences individuals’ capacity for independence, but the progress is unidirectional (Fawcett, 2022). Furthermore, I believe that nursing interventions are usually needed when an individual cannot be independent in any activities of living, and the family or social grouping cannot ensure that the activities are performed. People’s need for nursing interventions is relatively short; thus, my role as a nurse is to promote the resumption of normality.
My worldview is influenced by Christianity scriptures that, as Christians, we should let our light shine before others so that they may see our good deeds and glorify God. My spirituality is based on being of service to other people who need my help. Thus, it influences my worldview since I believe that God will reward me by being of service to others, just as Christ was of service to the Church (Rieg et al., 2018). I believe that the best way to serve others is by providing quality patient care that will improve patients’ quality of life and enable them to resume their daily activities. Furthermore, the worldview is influenced by the cultural practices of helping individuals in need in society to get back on their feet. Thus, I seek to deliver interventions that will enable patients to acquire, maintain, or restore maximum independence in their activities of living.
Nursing Theory
The Roper-Logan-Tierney Activities of Living Model for Nursing is one of the nursing theories that most aligns with my philosophy of practice and approach to patient care. The model demonstrates that a person’s health status and lifestyle are closely connected. It seeks to equip nurses with an approach to planning and delivering patient-centered care (Williams, 2018). The model has five components: The activities of living (ALs), Life Span, The dependence/independence continuum, Factors influencing the activities of living, and Individualizing nursing. The model outlines 12 activities of living that can be used as a framework for assessment: Maintaining a safe environment, Breathing, Mobilizing, Eating and drinking, Communicating, Personal cleansing and dressing, Eliminating, Controlling body temperature, Working and playing, Sleeping, Expressing sexuality, and Dying (Williams, 2018).
The Activities of Living Model is similar to the philosophy of nursing practice since the two hypothesize that the goals of nursing are to help the patient acquire, maintain, and restore maximum independence in the activities of living. Both the model and philosophy of practice acknowledge that individuals cannot always carry out each of the activities of living independently. They recommend implementing medically prescribed treatment interventions to overcome an illness or its symptoms, leading to recovery and independence (Williams, 2018). The two support nursing interventions that enable individuals to perform preventive health activities independently to avoid injury and disease. Besides, the model and philosophy of practice emphasize providing patients comfort and implementing strategies to promote recovery and ultimate independence.
The model’s component on lifespan asserts that the progression along the lifespan is characterized by recurrent change as a person moves through a sequence of developmental stages, each related to the expression of varying levels of physical, cognitive, and social function (Fawcett, 2022). This is similar to my philosophy that asserts that individuals’ position on the lifespan influences their capacity for independence. The Activities of Living Model influences my approach to care since I focus my nursing interventions on preventing and comforting activities. Under preventing activities, I identify care interventions that seek to prevent factors impairing a patient’s living, like disease and accidents, and thus provide preventive education (Williams, 2018). Besides, I direct nursing care with regard to comforting activities by implementing interventions to give patients physical, psychological, and social comfort.
Application of the Worldview and the Nursing Theory in a Past or Current Practice
I previously worked in a care home where I provided care to an 89-year-old female patient with moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD) progressing to the severe stage. The patient’s basic ADLs were gradually getting impaired, including her ability to eat, dress, groom, bathe, and toilet independently. The client’s relatives were worried that their patient had lost her capacity to care for herself, which led to significant psychological distress in the patient. Consequently, the patient would insist on dressing and going to the bath herself because she believed that she was not as incapacitated as the providers perceived. In this case, I would have applied the Activities of Living Model to assess the patient to establish what the patient could and could not do in each of the activities of living considering the physical, physiological, sociocultural, environmental, and politico-economic factors influencing the patient.
During the patient assessment, I would have documented the activities the patient could perform independently and those activities she could not perform without assistance. All the activities that could not be performed independently would have been treated as problems during the assessment. Besides, I would have identified nursing actions to address the identified problems by assessing how I would promote the patients’ independence in the activities of living (Motamed-Jahromi & Kaveh, 2021). In addition, I would have applied the worldview by implementing comforting activities to prevent complications like infections and slow AD progression.
How the Worldview and Nursing Theory Will Assist in Further Developing Future Practice
The worldview and Activities of the Living Model will help to develop my nursing practice further by guiding me on actions to promote independence in the activities of living with patients. The model recommends a problem-solving process that nurses can use, which includes: Assessment of the patient; Identification of the patient’s problems and developing a statement of expected outcomes; Planning of care; Implementation of care; Evaluation of the outcomes of care (Williams, 2018). In my future practice, I can apply the model to identify patients’ health needs and establish their ability to perform ADLs. Based on the assessment results, I will identify patients who need total, partial, or no assistance in ADLs. Besides, I will identify the interventions to implement to help patients achieve independence, which will align with my worldview of promoting independence.
Conclusion
My worldview is based on independence, and I believe that progress in the lifespan influences individuals’ capacity for independence, but progress is unidirectional. The Activities of Living Model focuses on the patient as a person engaged in living throughout his/her lifespan and moving from dependence to independence based on age, living circumstances, and environment. The model and my philosophy of practice support nursing interventions that enable patients to carry out preventive health activities independently to avoid illness. I can apply the model in future practice to assess patients, identify problems in carrying out ADLs, and identify interventions to enable them to attain independence.
References
Fawcett, J. (2022). Thoughts About Teaching: A Nursing Discipline–Specific Perspective of Lifespan Growth and Development. Nursing Science Quarterly, 35(4), 494–497. https://doi.org/10.1177/08943184221115
Motamed-Jahromi, M., & Kaveh, M. H. (2021). Effective Interventions on Improving Elderly’s Independence in Activity of Daily Living: A Systematic Review and Logic Model. Frontiers in Public Health, 8, 516151. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.516151
Rieg, L. S., Newbanks, R. S., & Sprunger, R. (2018). Caring from a Christian Worldview: Exploring Nurses’ Source of Caring, Faith Practices, and View of Nursing. Journal of Christian Nursing: A Quarterly Publication of Nurses Christian Fellowship, 35(3), 168–173. https://doi.org/10.1097/CNJ.0000000000000474
Spronk, B., Widdershoven, G., & Alma, H. (2021). The Role of Worldview in Moral Case Deliberation: Visions and Experiences of Group Facilitators. Journal of Religion and Health, 60(5), 3143–3160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01246-1
Williams, B. C. (2018). The Roper-Logan-Tierney model of nursing. Nursing2020 Critical Care, 12(1), 17–20. doi: 10.1097/01.CCN.0000508630.55033.1c
Personal worldview forms an important part of a person’s life at it represents the beliefs and assumptions that they have relative to the world around them. These notions are mostly influenced by the religious, spiritual and cultural environments that one interacts with throughout their lives. As an individual therefore, I believe that there is as Supreme Being called God who created me to fulfill a specific purpose on earth. This belief is accentuated by the fact that I participate in prayers on a daily basis before and after each shift as well as validated by the miracles that I have seen happen in my life and those of my patients. Indeed, I believe that God is the standard bearer of doing good deeds in this world and this should be reflected in one’s life as regards caring for others since we are all created in His image. Moreover, the spirituality of a person also plays a significant role in formulating their worldview. Given that my worldview is powered by the belief that God had a purpose of caring for the sick for me, I know that the Spirit that stays inside of man is greater than the one on the outside.
As such, this allows me to love the Lord with all my strength and my heart so as to gain his favor in achieving my purpose. As mentioned in theological teachings, spirituality forms an important cog in the worldview that a Christian will hold in their lives. Lastly, a worldview will not be complete without the presence of a cultural element. My Christian community and friends that I was raised with have had a profound impact on my personal worldview. Since childhood, I have known nothing but the need to aid the sickly and the less deserving in the community irrespective of their age, race, or gender. That such a mixed society stayed together in harmony also influenced my belief that we should love one another since each one of us is created in the image of God, something that is important when one pursues a career in the profession of nursing.
As a nurse, the cultural and spiritual competence demonstrative from the above elements influence my personal philosophy of practice and attitude towards patient care. The philosophy that I uphold is typified by empathetic, holistic and culturally sensitive care to my patients as well as their relatives. I also believe that nurses need to exercise leadership, advocacy, teachership, and leadership on behalf of patients so as to ensure high quality care that will improve patient outcomes as posited by Porter-O’Grady and Malloch (2016). Personally, I subscribe to the ideal that nursing encompasses compassion and attempting to comprehend patients at scientific, physical, and emotional levels. The exercise of such compassion is rooted in human care as the central tenet of nursing (DeNisco & Baker, 2016). In order to improve on this, I also feel that continuous life-long learning via formal education and experiences that better oneself and their nursing knowledge is paramount. In all these aspects, the religious, spiritual and cultural competences from my worldview play an important role.
My personal philosophy of practice and approach to patient care are closely associated with Jean Watson’s Theory of Nursing Care. As mentioned above, my personal nursing philosophy defines nursing using four meta-paradigms inclusive of person, nursing, environment, and health. This implies that nursing is steeped in the concept of a holistic approach to improving the quality of health of a patient (DeNisco & Baker, 2016). Watson’s theory of human caring supports the extension of caring from patient-centered practices to human-to-human interactions. In his transpersonal conceptualization of the theory, he argues that caring should transcend ego to a greater spiritual caring influenced by caring moments (Sitzman & Watson, 2014; Clark, 2016). These caring moments should be holistic in nature hence my application of the same in practice. Additionally, whereas the centrality of human beings to the concept of care cannot be questioned, it becomes necessary to extend nursing care beyond the person to the environment where they live since they are part of a greater community. As such, separating patients from the environment is an impossibility due to the existing interrelatedness. Watson in his ten carative factors asks nurses to minister to rudimentary spiritual, emotional, and physical human needs as well as co-establishing a healing environment for the self and spiritual that respects human dignity (In Baird, 2016). Other tenets of Watson’s theory such as embracing altruistic values as well as exercising loving kindness to others, trusting others and self, and deepening scientific methodologies in problem solving concerning caring decision-making (Brewer & Watson, 2015) find relevance in my personal nursing philosophy. Therefore, the application of Watson’s Philosophy of Nursing has fundamentally reinforced my approach to the profession and caring attitude towards patients.
The application of Watson’s theory of human caring is particularly relevant to home care nursing, which is the present author’s area of practice. I have applied it numerous times but the one moment that is outstanding is when I was helping a family manage a child who had a chronic illness. The situation was not tenable at the beginning until when I decided to offer the essential human care to the child. During the application of this element of the caring Caritas, I attempted to satisfy the child’s demand that were characteristic of childhood. To achieve this, I ensured that I gratified her spiritual, psychoaffective, social and biological needs as stipulated by Horton-Deutsch, Anderson, and Sigma Theta Tau International (2018). Therefore, I intervened in the situation in a manner that was balanced and humane; attempted to be present and be; for and with the child. The process succeeded when I listened to the child’s family members actively and proffered genuine care via permanently practicing sharing and love (Disher, 2017; Pajnkihar, McKenna, Štiglic, & Vrbnjak, 2017). This way, I managed to constitute a stable association of confidence and help with the child’s family. At the end of it, the child’s quality of life improved remarkably and she continued to enjoy life for an elongated period.
My worldview and nursing approach to caring are fundamental in my future plans as a nurse educator. In my present role, I have realized that newly graduated nurses lack the compassionate and spiritual aspects of care. According to most of them, a majority of the teaching models that they utilize in colleges do not have integrated Caring Science. Therefore, when I become a nurse educator, I will ensure that my adopted teaching model for nurses integrates the Tenants of Watson’s Science of Human Caring (Wiklund & Wagner, 2013). During this period, each nurse that will be under me will learn the currency of self-care via creation of specific practices so as to facilitate the espousal of the Caritas Process. Therefore, as I will be creating an enhanced caritas consciousness amongst nurses and nursing students, I will be guaranteeing a caring-healing environment for patients consistent with my personal worldview, philosophy of nursing and attitude towards patient caring.
References
Brewer, B., & Watson, J. (2015). Evaluation of authentic human caring professional practices. Journal of Nursing Adminstration, 47(12), 622-627.
Clark, C. S. (2016). Watson’s human caring theory: Pertinent Transpersonal and humanities concepts for educators. Humanities, 5(2), 21. doi:10.3390/h5020021
DeNisco, S. M., & Baker, A. M. (2016). Advanced practice nursing: Essential knowledge for the profession (3 ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Disher, T. (2017). Phenomenology of Illness. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 23(5), 1096–1098. https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.12812
Horton-Deutsch, S., Anderson, J., & Sigma Theta Tau International. (2018). Caritas coaching: A journey toward transpersonal caring for informed moral action in healthcare. Indianapolis, IN : Sigma Theta Tau International.
In Baird, M. S. (2016). Manual of critical care nursing: Nursing interventions and collaborative management. St. Louis: Mosby.
Pajnkihar, M., McKenna, H. P., Štiglic, G., & Vrbnjak, D. (2017). Fit for Practice: Analysis and Evaluation of Watson’s Theory of Human Caring. Nursing Science Quarterly, 30(3), 243–252. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894318417708409
Porter-O’Grady, T. & Malloch, K. (2016). Becoming a professional nurse. ( 2nd ed.), Leadership in nursing practice: Changing the lanscape of healthcare Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.
Sitzman, K., & Watson, J. (2014). Caring science, mindful practice: Implementing Watson’s human caring theory. New York, NY : Springer Publishing Company.
Wiklund Gustin, L., & Wagner, L. (2013). The butterfly effect of caring – clinical nursing teachers’ understanding of self-compassion as a source to compassionate care. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 27(1), 175–183. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6712.2012.01033.x
Worldview and Nursing Process
Personal worldviews have a direct effect on the care that nurses provide to their patients. A worldview refers to the collection of aspects such as values, attitudes, beliefs, and expectations of our surrounding world. A worldview forms the philosophy of nurses in their practice. It guides nurses in making ethical and legal decisions in patient care. Worldviews differ from one person to another. The difference is attributable to the influence of factors such as culture, socialization, and individual social and professional practices. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore my personal worldview, a nursing theory that relates to it and their influence on my professional nursing practice.
Personal Worldview
My worldview revolves around being empathetic with others and respecting their needs. I believe that nurses should be empathetic to their patients and others. They should place themselves in the experiences of their patients as well as others they interact with in their professional and personal lives. I also believe that nurses should show love to others. They should demonstrate behaviors such as respecting diversity, being honest and truthful in their personal and professional lives. I also believe that nurses should offer patient care with love. The symbols of love that should guide the care given to patients should encompass aspects such as patience, understanding, respect, honesty, and openness (Munoz-Day, 2019). By showing love, nurses learn to treat others the same manner in which they wish to be treated too.
I also believe that nurses should be kind in their practice and personal lives. Kindness is a virtue that entails being considerate or generous to others. Nurses should show kindness to their patients. It is important in nursing practice, as it enhances patient engagement in the care process. Kindness in nursing entails providing patient-centered and compassionate care to the patient (Yeşilçınar et al., 2018). The incorporation of kindness into the care process results in patient satisfaction with the care as well as empowerment with the disease management process. For example, the empowerment of patients results in their increased treatment adherence and engagement in self-management behaviors that improve the outcomes of treatment for their health problems (Ng & Luk, 2019). By being considerate of the healthcare needs of the patients, nurses can develop accurate plans of care that addresses both the actual and potential health needs of the patients. Therefore, kindness, love, and being truthful should guide the practice of nurses in patient care.
My worldview on religion is that nursing practice should entail the consideration of the religious beliefs and practices of patients. Nurses should ensure that the religious preferences of the patients are considered, as they influence the experiences of patients with the care process. The consideration contributes to holism in patient care for optimum outcomes. Similarly, care should encompass the spiritual and cultural values and beliefs of the patients. The cultural values and beliefs of great importance to the patients should be prioritized in the provision of patient care, as they influence the uptake of specific care services (Yeşilçınar et al., 2018). Therefore, I believe that religion, spirituality, and culture are important elements that should be considered in the provision of patient care.
Nursing Theory
Orem’s theory of self-care resonates with my nursing philosophy. The self-care theory by Orem asserts that nurses play a critical role in helping patients achieve their self-care needs. They assist patients who do not have the power or will to engage in activities that contribute to the realization of their daily needs. The activities or support that the nurse gives to the patients aim at maintaining their lives or functioning and correct the deviation of their health to normal. Orem also asserted that the support from the nurse aims at ensuring that the incapability of the patients in meeting their self-care needs is addressed (Gligor & Domnariu, 2020). Through it, the nurse and patients form a therapeutic relationship that contributes to the establishment of supportive system needed to compensate the needs of the patients either partially or wholly.
A number of similarities exist between Orem’s self-care theory with my worldview. The first similarity is the importance of therapeutic relationship between the nurse and patients. The relationship contributes to the understanding of the actual and potential care needs of the patients (Younas, 2017). I believe that nurses should strive to form positive, therapeutic relationship with their patients to understand their needs better. The understanding forms the basis of the empathetic, loving relationship that culminates to the realization of optimum outcomes in patient care. The other similarity between Orem’s theory and my worldview is the recognition of the critical role of the nurses in assisting patients to achieve their self-care needs. The nurse assists patients who lack will and energy to meet their diverse health-related needs (Gligor & Domnariu, 2020). I also believe in helping patients to achieve their diverse needs. The help offered should take into consideration the uniqueness and abilities of the patients in achieving the desired self-care. In helping the patients, nurses should demonstrate respect, kindness, love, and understanding to their patients.
Orem’s theory reinforces my approach to patient care. Firstly, it provides me with the understanding of the assumptions that guide my interaction with the patients. For example, I approach patients with the assumption that they need assistance in achieving their diverse self-care needs. Orem’s theory also provides me with benchmarks for evaluating the effectiveness of patient care. The evaluation informs the need for additional interventions should the anticipated care needs are not met. An example can be seen from the use of the universal self-care outcomes to evaluate the effectiveness of the care interventions that were adopted to address the care needs of the patients (Younas & Quennell, 2019). Lastly, Orem’s theory influences the nature of relationship I have with my patients. I strive to understand the actual and potential health needs of the patients during my interaction with them. The understanding informs the development of the appropriate treatment plans to optimize the care outcomes.
Example
An example of a recent experience where my worldview could have been applied is an encounter with a patient who did not want his child to a blood transfusion. The patient declined with the assertion that blood transfusion was against their religious beliefs and practices. The nurse and physician attending the child insisted that the child needed blood transfusion for him to live. This led to significant irritation and confrontation by the parent. My worldview could have been applied to the scenario. I would have aimed at understanding the concerns about blood transfusion and explaining to the parent its importance. I would have also demonstrated kindness by involving him in examining the different alternatives that existed and their benefits and risks. Through it, the parent could have made an informed decision about the need for blood transfusion for his child.
Influence of Nursing Theory and Worldview on my Future Practice
My worldview and Orem’s theory of nursing will assist me in developing my future practice. The worldview and theory will inform my future relations with my patients and other healthcare providers. They will strengthen my desire for improving my inter-personal and professional relationship skills to ensure that I address optimally the care needs of those I serve (Antonytheva et al., 2021). The worldview and theory will also influence my future practice by increasing my involvement in areas such as research in nursing. The worldview and theory will increase my awareness about the various aspects of nursing that influence patient care. The awareness will stimulate my interest in exploring the ways in which nursing research can inform evidence-based practice. Through it, I will be able to support the use of research and evidence-informed decisions in the provision of patient care (Munoz-Day, 2019). Therefore, I believe that my worldview and self-care theory by Orem will inform my future practice as a registered nurse.
Conclusion
In summary, worldview is an important aspect in nursing practice. A worldview informs the actions and decisions that nurses make in their daily practice. My worldview revolves around love, kindness, empathy, and being truthful to others. My worldview relates to self-care theory by Dorothea Orem. It recognizes the need for understanding and helping others achieve their needs in a manner that respects their values, beliefs, and practices. My worldview and theory will influence my future practice as a registered nurse. They will influence the relationship I have with the patients as well as my level of awareness about the different issues affecting nursing practice and patient care.
References
Antonytheva, S., Oudshoorn, A., & Garnett, A. (2021). Professional intimacy in nursing practice: A concept analysis. Nursing Forum, 56(1), 151–159. https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12506
Gligor, L., & Domnariu, C. D. (2020). Patient Care Approach Using Nursing Theories—Comparative Analysis of Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory and Henderson’s Model. Acta Medica Transilvanica, 25(2), 11–14. https://doi.org/10.2478/amtsb-2020-0019
Munoz-Day, E. R. (2019). Delivering Kindness: Creating a Healthy Environment by Role Modeling Caring in the Nursing Curriculum. https://sigma.nursingrepository.org/handle/10755/17662
Ng, J. H. Y., & Luk, B. H. K. (2019). Patient satisfaction: Concept analysis in the healthcare context. Patient Education and Counseling, 102(4), 790–796. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2018.11.013
Yeşilçınar, İ., Acavut, G., İyigün, E., & Taştan, S. (2018). Eight-Step Concept Analysis: Spirituality in Nursing. International Journal for Human Caring, 22(2), 34–42. https://doi.org/10.20467/1091-5710.22.2.34
Younas, A. (2017). A Foundational Analysis of Dorothea Orem’s Self-Care Theory and Evaluation of Its Significance for Nursing Practice and Research. Creative Nursing, 23(1), 13–23. https://doi.org/10.1891/1078-4535.23.1.13
Younas, A., & Quennell, S. (2019). Usefulness of nursing theory-guided practice: An integrative review. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 33(3), 540–555. https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.12670