Worldview and Nursing Process Personal Statement

Originally, the sick in the society were healed by the spiritual leaders who up to date, make the most important healthcare contact for many people. In addition, religious practices are always closely linked with healthcare practices. For instance, treatments and nursing care as well as the acceptance of the illness depend on one’s belief (Erikson, 2015). However, the technological advancements that the world has experienced in the past few years has shifted medical focus from caring and service oriented care to technologically oriented and cure model. In other words, technology has resulted into phenomenal advancements in the field of medicine hence giving human beings the ability to prolong life. Nevertheless, in the past few decades, physicians have tended to change focus to the spiritual roots of medicine in-order to find a balance in their care. As a result, more physicians have been able to recognize that spirituality is indeed closely linked to healthcare.

In-order to serve patients effectively, nurses need to spend more time with them. As such, they will need to engage in activities such as holding their hands and engaging them in a dialogue about important matters to them. More importantly, patients highly value such experiences with their physicians. According to Agyemang, Bruijnzeels and Owusu-Dabo (2016), compassionate care requires the physicians to walk with the patients in the midst of their pain and suffering. Additionally, it calls for the physicians to partner with their patients instead of becoming experts who dictate information to the patients. Suffering does not in any way destroy man but rather, man is destroyed by suffering without meaning (Clay, Talley and Young, 2015). However, physicians are often confronted by one major problem of finding meaning and acceptance during the patient’s suffering and during chronic illnesses. But, according to medical ethics, religion and spirituality form the basis of purpose and meaning for several individuals.

My personal world view is characterized by the belief in the supreme God who is the creator of the earth and everything in it. As such, God is the ultimate being with the ability to provide purpose and meaning and to direct human beings in the universe. Furthermore, when God created man, he did so in-order for them to live healthy in the universe. In addition, I believe that the concern of healthcare providers should go beyond simply providing physical well-being. According to Jackson C. (2014), the concept of sensitive care refers to the process of giving respect and includes the basic human values of religious and cultural diversity as well as freedoms. Therefore, it entails that in-order for sensitive healthcare to be provided in hospitals, the nurses should be able to relate to the different cultures and faiths of the patients. In certain cases, the backgrounds of the patients may be similar to those of their physicians. Nonetheless, this does not necessarily mean that they share the same beliefs.

According to Murphy and Walker (2014), much of the contemporary healthcare put emphasis on the diagnosis and treatment of physical conditions. However, according to my personal worldview, healthcare should be centered on the patient and as such, it should be customized based on the needs of the patients. In addition, healthcare ought to consider issues such as the preferences, choices and values of the patients. Thus, the system should anticipate their needs instead of reacting to the events. Based on this, nurses should always be encouraged to provide services that extend beyond the diagnosis and treatment of the physical conditions. Instead, healthcare providers should always strive to deliver care that is in tandem with the spiritual dimensions of nursing which is also inseparable from the science of nursing.

Noteworthy, one of the most fundamental problems in the practice of nursing is lack of incorporation of the theoretical concepts into nursing and the poor clinical observation (De-Graft et al, 2014). However, certain clinical situations may become troubling to individuals who lack theoretical knowledge of the situation at hand. For instance, nursing students who lack theoretical knowledge become passive learners instead of being active learners. The result is that there will be poor integration and understanding of both theory and practice. The use of theoretical research enables a nurse to increase professional power (Alligood, 2014). Fundamentally, nurses who use theory and theory-based evidence in their practice contributes to quality of care. 

As stated by Ahtisham and Jacoline (2015), Virginia Henderson came up with the need theory in which she referred to the practice of nursing as a concept and emphasized on the importance to enhance the independence of the patients in-order to speed up the process of recovery after being hospitalized. Henderson came up with 14 categories of nursing activities depending on the human needs. Fundamentally, Henderson described the role played by the nurses as being substitutive, i.e. performing a task for a person (Henderson, 2015). In addition, she believed that the nurses played a supplementary role which includes helping the person. Finally, Henderson also described the role of the nurses as being complementary which entails working with the person. More importantly, all these roles are geared towards helping the person to become as independent as possible. Generally, she defined the role of the nurse as that of assisting an individual, whether sick or well, in carrying out activities that lead to health recovery and strengthening knowledge. 

Therefore, the theory by Henderson reinforces my worldview by advocating that nurses should strive to ensure that humans live as healthy as possible. The belief of nurses about God assists in shapes their understanding about humanity and the environment. In-turn, this informs their concept of health and directs them to the means of nurturing one another towards healing and health (Schoonover-Shoffner, 2013). The Christian worldview advocates for empirical science and appropriate use of technology in the field of nursing. In addition, technology needs to be perceived as gifts from God that should be employed in the process of benefiting the creation. More importantly, spiritual care entails serving the patient as a whole including his/her emotional, physical, spiritual and social needs. As such, this goes hand in hand with the need theory as postulated by Henderson.

In conclusion, the recognition of the association between healthcare and spirituality is pivotal in my future practice since it will enable me contribute towards the provision of quality care. As aforementioned, God is the creator of all human being and he created them to live healthy. Therefore, as a nurse, I ought to respect the wishes of the Supreme Being by ensuring that all patients under my watch are subjected to the best quality care. Although technology has penetrated the healthcare sector in the contemporary world, it is important to recognize that these are gifts from God meant to ensure that all human beings are provided with the best healthcare possible.  

References

Agyemang C., Bruijnzeels M.A., Owusu-Dabo E. (2016). Factors associated with hypertension awareness, treatment, and control in Ghana, west Africa. J Hum Hypertens.

Ahtisham, Y. and Jacoline, S. (2015). Integrating Nursing Theory and Process into Practice; Virginia’sHenderson Need Theory. International Journal of Caring Sciences May-August 2015 Volume 8 Issue 2. 

Alligood, M. R. (2014). Nursing theorists and their work, (8th ed.).Maryland Heights, (MO): Mosby-Elsevier. 

Clay K.S., Talley C., Young K.B. (2015). Exploring spiritual well-being among survivors of colorectal and lung cancer. Journal of Religion Spiritual Social Work.

De-Graft A. A, et al. (2014). Lay representations of chronic diseases in Ghana: implications for primary prevention. Ghana Medicine Journal. 2012;46(2):59–68.

Erikson, E. (2015). Psychosocial Stages. Simply Psychology. 

Henderson, V. (2015). Virginia Henderson’s Nursing Theory. Current Nursing.

Jackson C. (2011). Addressing spirituality: A natural aspect of holistic care. Holistic Nursing Practice, 25(1), 3-7.

Murphy, L.S. and Walker, M.S. (2014). Spirit-Guided Care: Christian Nursing for the Whole Person. Journal of Christian Nursing.  

Schoonover-Shoffner K. (2015). Holistic or wholistic? Journal of Christian Nursing, 30(3), p. 133.