Professional Outlook Project

Beza Fissaha
Old Dominion University

Professional Outlook
*My Views; My outlook; My philosophy*

Philosophy of Nursing; My view

o Person
This is what nursing is essentially centered around, the patient. The person, in the
case of nursing and its profession, is an individual that seeks to repair any
damages to body, health, or spirituality.
o

Health
Health is the optimal goal that nurses assist patients on accomplishing. This is not
an object nor something that is easily retrieved, but rather a process of holistic
practice that helps the patient achieve their highest potential of functioning. This
is achieved through targeting the wellness of mind, body, and spirit.

Environment
The environment is not viewed as a setting but rather external and internal
surroundings of the person. A patients environment consists of their daily
surroundings such as home, colors, internal feelings, mindset, and other factors
that contribute to what the person experiences on a daily basis.
Nursing
Nursing is perhaps the catalyst for the patients optimal health, that is if it is done
well. The goal for nursing is to provide exceptional care to ensure that all
interventions are conducted to the best of the nurses ability to ensure the best
condition and outcome for the patient.

Symbolic Explanation; My Outlook

I chose to symbolize my philosophy in a diagram of the heart because it best captures the idea of
my outlook and explains how each idea is interchangeably used with another.
o

Right Atrium-This is the person. The person is the start of the other components (in this
case, the piece needed to start blood oxygenation). The person is the center to nursing. It is
characterized by Maslows hierarchy of human needs; a guide to ensuring the persons
healthy existence.

Left Ventricle- This is health. Health is the optimal goal for the patient. This is
characterized by the ultimate goal . This is what the patient and nurse is trying to achieve,
by altering and modifying factors that inhibit best possible health.

Left Atrium-This is the environment. This is essentially both the internal and external
factors that effects the person state of well-being. This can be patients room, nutrition,
circumstances, etc.

Left Ventricle- This is nursing. Nursing is provided when the nurse puts forth care that
exceeds limitations. It is ensuring that the patient is in the best care possible by following
code of ethics, standardized care, and following beneficence; doing good (in this case,
doing good for the patients well-being.

Superior Vena Cava, Inferior Vena Cava, Aorta, Pulmonary Artery, Pulmonary VeinThese symbolizes the idea of holism; the mind, body, and spirit. These are essential routes
in oxygenating the blood and delivering the oxygenated blood to the rest of the body. The
same idea applies to the holism perspective. Like these routes that all work together to
oxygenate blood and deliver it to the body, the mind, body, and spirit all work together to
achieve best level of health.

Colors explanation

My Philosophy/Theory
While the patient is the center piece in the profession of nursing, the nurse plays a pivotal role in
ensuring that the patient gets to their best level of health. This is done by taking a holistic approach,
identifying and adjusting factors that contribute to the well-being of the patient by focusing on the mind,
body, and spirit. These work interchangeably to put the patient in the best state of being. The holistic
approach allows the patient to gradually reach health by using the body to work with all of its influencing
factors such as the mind; effectively being in a positive state of mind, body; ensuring that the body is
working to reach health by adjusting environmental and nutritional factors, and spirit; making sure that the
individual has reached self-actualization (Frisch, 2014). My philosophy is perhaps relatable to that of
Florence Nightingale, often referred to as the founder of modern nursing. She believed that the patient
should be healed in more ways than simply curing by medication use. It is rather adjusting the bigger picture
and collectively healing the mind body and spirit (Frisch). This is done by the nurses ability to promote selfcare, responsibility, spirituality, and health. This can be achieved by exploring the patient in more ways than
diagnosis of diseases (Frisch). Nursing also is a discipline which consists of moral duty; this is a set of values
and beliefs that the nurse must occupy but also identifies the values and beliefs to possibly differ from patient.
Recognizing this, will help the nurse understand diversity; allowing for a culturally competent nurse. This is an
important element in providing holistic care.

Reference Page
Frisch, N. (2014, January 1). Standards for Holistic Nursing Practice: A Way to Think About
Our Care That Includes Complementary and Alternative Modalities. Retrieved December 1, 2014.