NUR1100 Introduction to Nursing Praxis: Caring Story & Reflection

This essay explores the concept of nursing care through a personal caring story and reflection on nursing practice. The author recounts an experience of caring for their sick grandmother, emphasizing the importance of respecting her spiritual beliefs alongside her medical treatment. The essay delves into the definition of nursing care, highlighting its role in providing high-quality, personalized healthcare that addresses patients' physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. It further examines how nursing care can be demonstrated within the Standards of Practice, specifically focusing on maintaining capacity for practice through lifelong learning and engaging in professional and therapeutic relationships by incorporating spiritual care. Reflective learning is demonstrated through an image analysis and personal insights gained from the course, which will influence future nursing practice by prioritizing therapeutic relationships, respecting patient beliefs, and continually pursuing professional development. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of holistic and person-centered care in creating a positive and optimistic environment for patients.

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Nursing Care
My Personal caring story
I have a personal experience where I demonstrated care to a patient. Not long ago, I
was left to look after my sick grandmother and help her take her prescription. She is over 70
years of age and she has been a staunch Christian since she was young. I was supposed to help
her take meal, keep her company, and ensure she took her prescription. The prescription was
very strict to help her relieve pain and recover successfully. While together, she requested me to
get her Bible. My relatives thought that grandma was spending much time reading the bible that
made her pay less attention to her prescription. I brought the Bible and helped her read her
favorite verses loudly. After reading the Bible I allowed her time to pray. In this situation, I felt it
was important to respect grandma strong faith that affirmed her spiritual that she was to get well
soon. I gave her the support and reassurance that taking her prescription was just a treatment and
it was God who would heal her. I showed concern and cheerfulness when providing helping her
take her prescription. I also allowed grandma to discuss her fears and anxieties with me. During
this moment, I saw grandma mood change and she was happy, full of hope that she will get
healed and optimistic about her prescription. It was interesting how I cared for grandma that day
that left her happy and in good alignment with her spiritual belief.
The concept of nursing care
Nursing care is a very important aspect in provision of high quality and personalized
healthcare. Nurses have a responsibility to care for families, individuals, and communities with
an objective of attaining, maintaining, or recovering optimal health to enhance quality of life.
White (2014) defines care as services that are rendered by nurses for the benefits of the patient.

According to Watson & Woodward, (2010) nursing care are therapeutic actives that are in
addition to intermittent services and includes private duty nursing. Watson & Woodward (2010)
stated that nursing care has to involve showing and feeling concern or kindness towards patients.
Patients experience other stress apart from the medical aspect that requires attention when
providing nursing care for quality life. According to Heslop & Lu (2014) nurses need to treat
physical ailments together with emotional and spiritual needs. Nursing care approach leads to
positive outcomes that include; shorter hospital stays, decreased anxiety, alleviated pain and
optimism outlook about recovery (Watson, 2011). Nurses should therefore act professionally
within standards of practices to enhance provision of holistic nursing care.
Nursing care can be demonstrated in several ways within the Standards of Practice.
First, is Standard 3 that requires nurses to maintain capacity for practice ("Nursing and
Midwifery Board of Australia - Registered nurse standards for practice", 2016). Nurses can
demonstrates this standard of nursing care by continually learning through professional self
development. They evaluate what skills or knowledge that is inadequate and figure out the
appropriate learning avenue for the skill or gain knowledge. Nurses use lifelong learning
approach that continually improves their capacity for practice. According to Hoeve, Jansen, &
Roodbol (2014) nurses need to maintain their capacity for practice by keeping their knowledge
current, pursuing wide variety of interests, and learning new skills. Watson & Woodward, (2010)
stated that lifelong learning improves patients’ health outcomes. Therefore nurses can
demonstrate Standard 3 of maintain capacity for practice by continually assessing their
knowledge and skills and adopt lifelong learning approaches to learn them.
Another standard of practice is standard 2 that require nurses to engage in professional
and therapeutic relationship ("Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia - Registered nurse

standards for practice", 2016). This standard can be demonstrated by incorporating spiritual care
to patients. This can be done by recognizing a patient’s spiritual welfare in a dignified manner
and allowing them to perform their spiritual rituals. Nurses have to communicate effectively and
respectfully to dignify a person’s values, culture, and beliefs (Ramezani, Ahmadi, Mohammadi,
& Kazemnejad, 2014). According to Jones, Hamilton, & Murry (2015) all patients have spiritual
needs regardless of their religion. They all need respect for their religious or non religious beliefs
that they hold and affirm to them for optimism for recovery. Murdaugh, Parsons, & Pender,
(2018) stated that nurses need to align physical, emotional, and spiritual needs in order to
provide a holistic nursing care that is person centered. Therefore, Standard 2 requirement of
engaging in a therapeutic and professional relationship with patient can be demonstrated by
addressing patients’ spiritual needs for a holistic and person centered nursing care.
Reflective learning
Getty Images (2017).

From the image, it evident that the nurse is having an impressive therapeutic
relationship with the patient that is show by a beautiful smile on their faces. This smile indicates
that the nurse has engaged in a therapeutic relationship that is based on mutual trust and respect.
The smile also indicates that the patient is happy and optimistic of his recovery. This image is
admirable to me as it shows what I would ultimately want to relate with my patients. I think and
feel that hospital shouldn’t be a place of despair but instead a place full of hope and optimism for
recovery. It is something to value when a patient is able to smile while in his or her hospital bed.
Therefore, the above image shows excellent nursing care skills that are within the standard of
practice and I highly admire to attain in my provision of holistic and person centered care.
I have learnt much about caring from the start of this course. I have been able to
understand that caring is an important aspect to nursing practice. Nurses have to act within the
standards of practice in order to provide high quality nursing care to all patients. I have therefore
learnt a comprehensive guideline on how to provide nursing care. From my personal experience
as documented on the first part of this assignment, I can now understand why grandma was
happy with my actions in relation to her spiritual needs. At that time, I thought I was just being
good to her and trying to keep myself busy to pass time. Allowing grandma read the Bible and
pray together made her happy and optimistic about her recovery. This aspect of nursing care falls
under standard 2 that involves engagement of therapeutic and professional relationship with
patients. I engaged with grandma with respect to her belief that helped care for her spiritual need.
The prescription was then aligned to her spiritual belief that God would heal her soon. This made
her happy and optimistic that she would recover. I was therefore surprised by the extent to which
caring is involved in provision of a holistic and person centered care.

My new understanding of caring will have influence to my future nursing practice.
First, I will be keep to build and engage in a therapeutic relationship with patients that
recognizes, dignifies, and respects patients’ beliefs. I will always ensure that the patient is in
good alignment to his or her faith by ensuring their spiritual needs are addressed. Secondly, I will
continually undertake professional development approach for long life learning to ensure I
perfect my nursing care skills and gain current knowledge that will maintain and improve my
capacity for nursing practice. Therefore, I will be able to put a smile to my patient by having
outstanding nursing care skills.

References
Getty Images Inc, (2017). A Nurse Smiling with a Patient. Photograph. Retrieved from
https://www.gettyimages.com/
Heslop, L., & Lu, S. (2014). Nursing‐sensitive indicators: a concept analysis. Journal of
advanced nursing, 70(11), 2469-2482.
Hoeve, Y. T., Jansen, G., & Roodbol, P. (2014). The nursing profession: public image, self‐
concept and professional identity. A discussion paper. Journal of Advanced
Nursing, 70(2), 295-309.
Jones, T. L., Hamilton, P., & Murry, N. (2015). Unfinished nursing care, missed care, and
implicitly rationed care: State of the science review. International journal of nursing
studies, 52(6), 1121-1137.
Murdaugh, C. L., Parsons, M. A., & Pender, N. J. (2018). Health promotion in nursing practice.
Pearson Education Canada.
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia - Registered nurse standards for practice. (2016).
Retrieved from https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-
Statements/Professional-standards/registered-nurse-standards-for-practice.aspx
Ramezani, M., Ahmadi, F., Mohammadi, E., & Kazemnejad, A. (2014). Spiritual care in nursing:
a concept analysis. International Nursing Review, 61(2), 211-219.
Watson, J. (2011). Human caring science. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Watson, J., & Woodward, T. K. (2010). Jean Watson’s theory of human caring. Nursing theories
and nursing practice, 3, 351-369.

White, L. (2014). Mindfulness in nursing: An evolutionary concept analysis. Journal of
Advanced Nursing, 70(2), 282-294.