Philosophy of Advanced practice

1. Personal Philosophy: Write a brief page on your philosophy of advanced practice nursing in primary care.

Example below:

Advanced practice nursing is a unique discipline in that elements such as listening, evaluating, formulating, educating, negotiating, and collaborating are utilized in the process of providing a holistic approach to care with treatment that is rooted in evidence based practice. In doing so, he/she will focus on understanding and addressing the patient’s concerns, educating the patient on healthier lifestyles to maintain well being, negotiating tactics to ensure that the course of action will be followed, and collaborating with other healthcare professionals to facilitate the best practice and yield more positive outcomes. Although nursing may be viewed as a science, utilizing both a nursing model of care and medical model of care, with assessments and diagnoses obtained through the use of data and evaluations, there are aspects that are not scientific. A large part of nursing “comes from within the nurse”, such as treating patients with respect and dignity and acting with empathy. In this way, an advanced practice nurse interfaces with society by providing care with compassion, recognizing the importance of both physical and mental well-being, customizing care to respect the individual’s beliefs, and striving to educate patients on health maintenance and disease prevention that will promote quality living throughout the community.

As an advanced practice nurse, my ethical and professional obligations will coincide with the American Nurses Association’s Code of Ethics. I believe that each patient should be treated as an individual. I do not value organizations that have more concern with the number of patients being seen and treated rather than the quality of care being provided. I believe that a patient’s wishes come first, and therefore, each individual should be considered a partner in his/her own care. Keeping patients well informed and well educated before making a decision regarding health is vital. In addition, a nurse practitioner must stay current on new treatments and techniques and remain lifelong learners to remain a competent care provider (American Nurses Association, 2001). Acknowledging one’s own knowledge deficits and limitations are important, as are utilizing referrals or actively seeking collaboration from other healthcare providers in order to ensure effective care. Finally, I believe that in maintaining an honest relationship and conducting oneself in a professional manner, a strong and trusting partnership will ensue and further promote good healthcare practices. “Health” or “wellness” may be defined as being free from disease and having the ability to experience quality in living. As clinical knowledge and scope of practice of a post nursing graduate is expanded, an advanced practice nurse, whether in the scope of clinical nurse specialist, nurse practitioner, nurse midwife, or nurse anesthetist, will strive to bring his/her patients to good health through plans of care and disease prevention practices and education.

The philosophical underpinning of the term humility defines my practice. According to Dictionary.com (2012), humility is a noun described as “the quality or condition of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one’s own importance, rank, etc.” As a humble nurse practitioner, I will not focus on how large my practice may become or how many diplomas I may display. Rather, I will look to having my patients become a partner in their own care, and be able to gain control and understanding of their own health and well being. At the end of the visit, a patient may not remember the laboratory results or vital signs divulged, but hopefully they will remember how their practitioner made them feel valuable, empowered, and respected when choosing their provision of care.

References

Nurses Association. (2001). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. Retrieved June 20, 2014, from http://www.nursingworld.org/mainmenucategories/ethicsstandards/codeofethicsfrnurses/code-of-ethics.pdf

Dictionary.com. (2012). Humility. Retrieved June 20, 2014, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/humility?s=t.