Philosophy of Professional Nursing - Essay Example

All these influences are reflected in the radical changes in nursing philosophy and culture of the nursing profession. In nursing profession, 'an individual' is interpreted in terms of his relation to family and community, and as a unique personality suffered from health-related problems. For a nurse, a patient is an individual who is ill or injured, and needs professional care and medical treatment. The individuals do not exist in a social vacuum but are partly determined by the culture which surrounds them.

In nursing practice, the individual as a patient is a part of family and community. In general sense, every family has internalized values and traditions that influence ideas of health and illness (Blais et al 2006). Society both reflects change in families and that society effects change upon families over time in a feedback loop. Wherever families are struggling to maintain or restore equilibrium, to find ways of coping effectively with crisis or with long-term stress, nurses may find themselves in a supportive role.

In this case, nurses should develop empathetic intuitive responses to different situations, and provide skilled care to relief pain and sufferings of the patient and emotional stress of his family (Sines et al 2005). The role of the nurse within the healthcare delivery system is an important one, whether assessed in terms of in or out patient care, of hospital or community care settings. The importance of the professional nurse within the health care delivery system is acknowledged and supported throughout the world.

Nursing is quite often regarded as a science itself and many who are already in the field of nursing seek further studies to improve their status. As such they are considered to be "nursing practitioners" which tread a fine line between nursing practice and general medicinal practice (Sines et al 2005). The creation of this type of profession is made possible through a number of factors such as changes in the education system, advancement in technology, employment requirements and many more.

Health Care EnvironmentHealthcare environment involves treatment facilities and supportive climate, basic care services and managed care. Modern healthcare environment offers patients more flexibility in selecting providers but typically include many of the utilization management methods. Within a health environment, nurses assist in establishing a valid diagnosis early in treatment, crystallize a focus for brief treatment, enhance quality by effectively matching patients to treatment approaches, and reduce the length of treatment by assessing openness and attitudes toward therapy (Baily et al 2006).

Evaluation and testing also play a critical role in primary care settings, where the need to rule out health problems and consider their role in treatment compliance, is crucial to quality care and cost-effective utilization of services. Today's modern nurses are also held responsible for other achievements in the medical industry, from research to the design of more modern facilities that were never thought to be possible. Following the Department of Health: "good healthcare environments are key drivers of patient experience.

Good environments matter to patients, their visitors and to staff" (2007). Nurses are encouraged to develop a program of outcome evaluation within their own practice,