Philosophy of Nursing

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Below is my philosophy of nursing. I welcome any criticism or discussion. And maybe you could post your own philosophy of nursing. All nurses should have one, right?

Monistic Nursing

"The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

-- St. John 17:22-23 (NRSV)

When I think of myself as a solitary being in a world full of other solitary beings I am a victim of my own illusion. The multiplicity of individual beings is an illusion. There is only one being, and we are all it. Therefore, when I care for others, I care for myself; when I fail to care for others I hurt myself. In short: I am the other person, as much as I am me.

I call this philosophy of nursing "monistic nursing," and it centers on the idea that there's no real separation between the caregiver and the one receiving care; there's only the illusion of separation or differentiation. Nursing, in this regard, is a selfish act but with a twist: the definition of the self is extended outward to include other selves, and in so doing, the natural force of self-interest becomes the driving motivation to provide comprehensive and quality care.

In addition, monistic nursing doesn't stop at the patient; it includes everyone the nurse comes in contact with. It includes the patient's family, the nurse's coworkers, the management, and personnel from other departments. Monistic nursing considers all persons to be just one person. I am the housekeeper. I am the woman at the bedside suffering anticipatory grief. I am my coworker who's having a hard day.

So, the definition of nursing becomes an act whereby we demonstrate the belief that the word "I" is universal rather than solitary. "Nursing" and "Love" become synonymous.

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Specializes in CCU/CVU/ICU.

Whatever you just smoked needs passed around.. :p (teasing)

If you honestly 'live' by this code, you're certainly a nice person, and i suppose if everyone felt that way the world would be a better place....

There are some schools of thought that beleive authentic 'altruism' doesn't exist, and that the altruistic person is really doing good things so that he/she feels good about himself/herself (i should stop...this type of post may belong on the 'philosophy/ethics 101' thread...)...anyway, your twist on selfishness is a neat way of turning that whole thing around...

i dont beleive i've ever considered a personal 'nursing philosophy'. I think i'm a bit more grounded than you however...or just more cynical.

btw, do you like tie-dye?

(again, teasing!)

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Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

My personal and professional philosophy for nursing is to do unto others as I would have them do unto me. If I don't want to be abused, I wouldn't abuse anyone else. If I don't want to be gossiped about, then I won't gossip about anyone else. If I want to be treated kindly, then I must treat others kindly. If I expect to be respected, then I must show respect to others......the list goes on, but I think my position on the philosophy of nursing speaks for itself here. :nurse:

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Funny, my yoga instructor, who isn't Christian, meantioned the same thing the other day. That we are all one.

I tend to agree. Christians believe we all come from the same two people Adam and Eve. Even a nonChristian as myself believe that we all come from the same dust that created the universe and that we are all one. No one is greater, no one is less. All my patients are worthy of my respect. Of course, I don't have to like all my patients. Just respect they are human as I am. I'll stop before I babble on and give myself a headache. :)

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hello!

My philosophy on nursing is a tad different, but with most of the same ends...

I am not a christian... I try to live my life within the realm of the Wiccan Rede... Do what thou will, and harm ye none is the short of it... kinda the golden rule... unfortunately, its not that cut and dried...

I also attempt to follow near the footsteps of a partictular Celtic Goddess-- Brighid..... the christian equivalent/saint is Saint Brigit..

Brighid is a triple goddess, in other words, she can fall into the role of Maiden, Mother or Crone... and, within our practice, our patients may need us to fall into different varients of these roles... an elderly resident might need someone to impart knowledge onto... someone to talk to to tell about the old times... another resident might need someone to care for them... a patient might need us to be wise and 'all knowing', tempered by experience, and willing to share the knowledge freely; but, these are not the only roles...

Brighid is a goddess of healing, poetry and armor making... these skills/abilities are definately within the realm of the nurse of today... we want to be able to heal our patients, we need to be able to carefully word what we have done and put it to paper, and we need to be able to protect ourselves and others with an armor of PPE and good sence (as well as being able to fix things and improvise setups on the go...)

I also believe in 'paying it forward'... the world is too small, and each lifetime too short not to be kind to your fellow man... :)

Blessed be

--Barbara

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Originally posted by Dinith88

Whatever you just smoked needs passed around.. :p (teasing)

If you honestly 'live' by this code, you're certainly a nice person, and i suppose if everyone felt that way the world would be a better place....

There are some schools of thought that beleive authentic 'altruism' doesn't exist, and that the altruistic person is really doing good things so that he/she feels good about himself/herself (i should stop...this type of post may belong on the 'philosophy/ethics 101' thread...)...anyway, your twist on selfishness is a neat way of turning that whole thing around...

i dont beleive i've ever considered a personal 'nursing philosophy'. I think i'm a bit more grounded than you however...or just more cynical.

btw, do you like tie-dye?

(again, teasing!)

I think you were teasing when you first said you were teasing and then explained that you were only teasing.

But imagine if smoking pot could really make a person "monistic." I'd say it would be more important than even the "-statin" drugs or aspirin. But to answer your curiosity--no, I find it very difficult to live my philosophy, but who knows, if I keep plugging away at it, by the time I'm 70, perhaps I'll have it down.

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Originally posted by cheerfuldoer

My personal and professional philosophy for nursing is to do unto others as I would have them do unto me. If I don't want to be abused, I wouldn't abuse anyone else. If I don't want to be gossiped about, then I won't gossip about anyone else. If I want to be treated kindly, then I must treat others kindly. If I expect to be respected, then I must show respect to others......the list goes on, but I think my position on the philosophy of nursing speaks for itself here. :nurse:

But what drives you to live by your philosophy of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you? After all, we know that no good deed goes unpunished, so even though you don't gossip, others will gossip about you. Even though you don't abuse anyone, someone may abuse you. If your philosophy is merely striking a deal with other humans, you might find yourself the plantiff in People's Court way more than you would like.

I'm not bashing your philosophy, it's Christ for sure, I'm only hoping you will expand on how you make it work.

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Originally posted by 3rdShiftGuy

Funny, my yoga instructor, who isn't Christian, meantioned the same thing the other day. That we are all one.

I tend to agree. Christians believe we all come from the same two people Adam and Eve. Even a nonChristian as myself believe that we all come from the same dust that created the universe and that we are all one. No one is greater, no one is less. All my patients are worthy of my respect. Of course, I don't have to like all my patients. Just respect they are human as I am. I'll stop before I babble on and give myself a headache. :)

I don't like all my patients either. But then I don't like myself in many ways.

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Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.

Like your philosophy, ADNRN.

We're all here.

We're all equal.

We're all the same.

We're all one.

We're all love.

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Originally posted by Yeti1313LPN

hello!

My philosophy on nursing is a tad different, but with most of the same ends...

I am not a christian... I try to live my life within the realm of the Wiccan Rede... Do what thou will, and harm ye none is the short of it... kinda the golden rule... unfortunately, its not that cut and dried...

I also attempt to follow near the footsteps of a partictular Celtic Goddess-- Brighid..... the christian equivalent/saint is Saint Brigit..

Brighid is a triple goddess, in other words, she can fall into the role of Maiden, Mother or Crone... and, within our practice, our patients may need us to fall into different varients of these roles... an elderly resident might need someone to impart knowledge onto... someone to talk to to tell about the old times... another resident might need someone to care for them... a patient might need us to be wise and 'all knowing', tempered by experience, and willing to share the knowledge freely; but, these are not the only roles...

Brighid is a goddess of healing, poetry and armor making... these skills/abilities are definately within the realm of the nurse of today... we want to be able to heal our patients, we need to be able to carefully word what we have done and put it to paper, and we need to be able to protect ourselves and others with an armor of PPE and good sence (as well as being able to fix things and improvise setups on the go...)

I also believe in 'paying it forward'... the world is too small, and each lifetime too short not to be kind to your fellow man... :)

Blessed be

--Barbara

Do as you will, but harm ye none? Why? I mean, why should I not harm anyone?

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Christians aren't the only ones who think we are all one. This is the basis of metaphysical thought as well.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

It is a noble ideal ... but I wonder how consistently and how deeply you have been able to meet this ideal over time.

Are you able to maintain enough "separation" between you and your patients to avoid burnout? Sometimes having a few boundaries and separating yourself from some of the pain we see in nursing is necessary to keep ourselves healthy. We sometimes need a bit of a respite from the burden.

How long have you been a nurse? How many years have you been able to maintain a professional practice based on this philosophy? Do you find yourself sometimes pulling back a little to give yourself a needed respite sometimes?

Just wondering about the burnout factor.

llg

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