Differentiate among the concepts of nursing philosophy, nursing science, and philosophy of science

 

The nursing philosophy refers to an individual’s perspectives and attitudes which are part of his or her held beliefs regarding the nursing profession. It is a reflection of the purpose of their nursing practice since they will have goals of creating a specific type of impact on the population (Meehan, Timmins & Burke, 2018). Therefore, it involves a person’s perception of the nursing profession and the reason why they want to take part in that field as professionals (McEwen & Wills, 2014).

For example, some individuals view it as an opportunity to help others to achieve better health outcomes, to save lives through evidence, and to employ physiological and psychological interventions where needed. Therefore, it features nurse educators, emergency room nurse professionals, the mental health nurses, neonatal care nurses, and many others in various units that deal with the care of patients.

There are those who believe that nursing is a career which features a spiritual meaning beyond medicine, physiology and psychology (Meehan, Timmins & Burke, 2018). Such an individual is likely to become a holistic care nurse or an alternative medicine nurse whereby the personal beliefs of the patient are also considered alongside the emotions and religion when deciding on the type of care to offer. Many others perceive nursing as a form of connection between other family members whereby former generations took part in the same career.

Therefore, in such a case, working as a nurse may be a form of respect to previous generations within the family of nurses, whereby one works to represent the educational and academic lifestyle of the family. This is mostly the case for families which focus a lot on prestige and accomplishments. The parents expect their children to follow in their footsteps by taking up the career that they also chose because of the family members before them.

Thus, it is evident that nursing philosophy involves an individual’s beliefs, attitudes, actions, hopes, desires, and dreams (Meehan, Timmins& Burke, 2018). These tend to drive the ethical behaviour of this individual or group within which the nursing philosophy exists. Hence, philosophy is quite essential in nursing practice and for the patient population’s well-being. In the absence of this philosophy, the nurse’s purpose may not be as clear.

It may lead to a significantly poor commitment to the profession, a low drive and negative attitudes towards the profession. Although there can be no particular nursing philosophy as a result of the varying perspectives, it is still imperative that a nurse establishes a good foundation for his or her philosophy, beliefs and purpose.

Nursing science, on the other hand, features a branch of science which works with the nursing principles and applications. Through the bachelor’s degree, an individual is prepared to take on various roles such as leadership, researching, and patient care among many others (Meehan, Timmins & Burke, 2018). Generally, the path work features nursing science, leadership, research other related sciences, humanities, mathematics, and even social sciences.

Nursing science features a systematic knowledge that must be organized and accurate. Here, it is always better to possess more knowledge than is required. It should also e confidential especially when the information is patient related. This Nursing science may either be used directly or indirectly when being used in nursing practice. Lastly, the philosophy of science involves the study of elements of scientific inquiry (Han, 2014). It analyses the metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical issues that are related to the modern practice and goals of science today.