Nursing Knowledge: Philosophy to Practice

Running head: ESSAY
Nursing knowledge: Philosophy to practice
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ESSAY
Introduction- My practice placement involved an encounter where an individual (Mr
A) was admitted to the respiratory ward, following COPR diagnosis and presenting
complaints of shortness of breath, aphasia and pain in chest. Some other issues with the
patient were hearing impairment and lack of verbal communication that made his friend Mr B
ask for all information and procedures to be communicated in a written format. Connection
with the patient was established by Mr B via British Sign Language (BSL), in addition to
showing adherence to the codes of conduct. Nonetheless the patient refused treatment and
suffered from insomnia, which made the hospital authorities employ me for delivery of
person centred care. Upon encouraging him to change his seating position, informing him
about the care process in a written manner, and seeking his permission, prior to caring,
significant improvements were observed in his response to the situation. He was also
subjected to different pathological tests for determining the blood sugar, ketone, and protein
bacterial count and pH levels. Hence, adopting a care delivery approach that is centred on the
person, facilitated better management of the signs and symptoms manifested by the patient,
thus enhancing his health and wellbeing. This essay will describe the philosophy of nursing,
in relation to person centred care and will also elaborate on contemporary strategies and
developments in nursing.
Historical and political influences- Historical records validate the fact that nurses
have been in reality since ancient periods, and their characters have progressed from that of a
familiar caregiver to the untaught nurses, to the skilfully qualified nurses of present days. The
word nurse originated from “nutrire”, a Latin word that referred to wet-nurse or suckle, and
attained the modern meaning of an individual caring for the unwell in the late 16th century.
According to Egenes (2017) together the Muslim World and Christendom produced a stream
of devoted nurses from their initial days. Much prior to the footing of modern nursing in
Europe, military and Catholic nuns had the role of delivering nursing-like services.

2ESSAY
Nonetheless, nursing practice became a profane profession in 19th century. The profession has
undergone several changes under the influence of Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale.
During the initial years, the nurses did not have any involvement or stake in the formulation
of healthcare policies owing to lack of knowledge, skills, and expertise. This called for the
need of gaining expertise in in-patient care, informatics, evidence based practice
implementation, and interdisciplinary teamwork (Heydari and Fatemi 2015).
The Crimean War is considered as a noteworthy event in nursing history that
made Florence Nightingale lay basics of professional nursing with her philosophies abridged
in ‘Notes on Nursing’. Furthermore, national regulation of nurses was initiated in New
Zealand in 1901, followed by foundation of the Lethbridge Nursing Mission in Alberta in
1909. The late 19th and early 20th century were marked by nursing professionalization in the
US and France, respectively. This was gradually followed by the construction of nursing
training schools, and hospital-based educational models, which in turn began strengthening
the cultural typecast of nursing being a profession, exclusive to women. Progressively, nurses
began transforming hospitals, delivering compassionate care to patients, establishing a
systemised and orderly environment, and maintaining aseptic conditions in the setting.
Philosophical influence- The philosophy of nursing encompasses the thoughts and
beliefs about the nature and kind of the profession, thus providing a foundation for all nursing
activities. In other words, philosophical underpinnings are found to endorse set of ethical
values that are considered basic for the theory of nursing practice (Morley and Jackson 2017).
This is supported by Foucault who invented the term medical gaze" for denoting
dehumanizing therapeutic separation of the patient's physique from the patient's being and/or
identity (Springer and Clinton 2015). During the case scenario, person centred care was
delivered to the patient Mr A, with the aim of putting him and his friends and families at the
hub of decisions and regarding them as specialists, thus allowing them to work in conjunction

3ESSAY
with professionals for obtaining best outcomes. Owing to the fact that this form of care takes
into account consideration of the values, desires, social circumstances, lifestyle, and
individuality of the service user, all efforts were taken to make a clear distinction between the
body and the mind (Brooker and Latham 2015). This was in accordance with the mind-body
dualism philosophy that mind and body are separable and distinct.
In the words of Brown (2018) it focuses on observing a human being as a biological
organism (materialism), and establishes the need of scrutinising their constituent fragments
(reductionism) based on the principles of physiology, anatomy, and biochemistry.
Compassion has long been considered as an important component of person centred care and
requires all healthcare professionals to deliver care services in a manner that maintains
dignity and respect of the clients (Bramley and Matiti 2014). Hence, while caring for Mr A,
all efforts were taken to involve his friend Mr B in the sharing decision making process that
involved use of written communication with the utilisation of BSL. Distinction between the
body and the mind of person has also been confirmed by Jean Watson's Theory of Human
Caring that elaborates on the fact that human beings should not be treated as objects and
cannot be separated from others, nature, self and a greater workforce (Arslan‐Özkan, Okumuş
and Buldukoğlu 2014). These philosophical theories were followed while caring for Mr A in
order to deliver care for his presenting complaints, in a way that the services delivered were
flexible according to the patient needs and preferences. Time and again it has been proved
that the act of dehumanisation typically originates during denial of human beings of their
dignity, in the absence of compassion and respect (Kompanje, van Mol and Nijkamp 2015).
Nonetheless, the patient encounter did not encompass any such dehumanising activities since
prior approval was taken from Mr A before providing him the necessary assistance.
According to Freeth, (2017) the theoretical model of humanising nursing care focuses
on the need of putting clients at the core of care and the health profession. It also emphasises