Nursing Fundamentals
1.Is nursing a science, an art or both? Explain your answer.
Nursing can be considered as a science and an art. Scientific nursing practice involves the academic knowledge in social, physical, behavioral, and biological sciences. On the other hand, the art of nursing is established through issues such as respect for human dignity, effective communication, compassion and wisdom. The art of nursing occurs as nurses dedicate themselves to care proficiently for others, accepting ethical, legal and moral responsibility integral in the practice of nursing (Jasmine, 2009). As nurses value science, they should also value the art of their profession since it contributes a lot to the effectiveness of their performance. For the nurses to gain competence in both science and art of nursing, they must dedicate themselves to life-long learning. The best systematic way to learn is carrying out research activities that are related to nursing field.
2.The metaparadigm of nursing generally is defined by the following 4 concepts: person, environment, health and nursing. Do you agree with this global representation of nursing? Why or why not? Would you add any other components or sub-components?
In my own opinion, I agree with the global representation of nursing which is defined by the four concepts. One of the reasons why I agree with this representation is that the four concepts entirely cover what the nursing discipline entails. Person is the concern of nursing, health is the wellness or illness state of the person, environment describes where the nursing care takes place, and nursing is the interactions and actions of the nurse with the person (Daniels & Daniels, 2004). This means that the four concepts have covered everything that involves nursing. The four concepts help members of nursing field to identify and communicate boundaries of the subject matter specific to nursing field.
3.Up until now, has nursing theory or philosophy been important to your own practice? Why or why not?
Nursing theory is very crucial to my own practice since it has helped me understand the general meaning of nursing and nursing phenomena. It has contributed to my practice by clarifying values, forming a foundation for theory development and providing direction. The good thing about nursing theories is that they represent different realities as well as addressing different aspects of nursing. Through the knowledge of nursing theories, I will be able to adhere to all the issues that govern nursing profession.
