¶ … Nursing Philosophy Perhaps the most fundamental tenet of my nursing philosophy is the administration of care in an intrinsically empathetic manner which benefits the patient. I unequivocally believe in patient-centered care and that nurses who are able to maintain this component of their practice as their primary goal are able to produce the greatest efficacy in administering to patients. Moreover, with all of the concerns of the contemporary healthcare market, including various facets of financial and technological concern, the shortage of various practitioners, and innovations in precision medicine, it is easy to forget that the most vital component of the health care industry is the patients themselves. Quite simply, patients have the most to gain and lose from the health care system. Therefore, I readily believe that keeping those patients as the center of the care delivered by me and others within my profession is the best way we can serve that population, fulfilling the cardinal goal of our profession.

However, it is equally imperative to denote the impact that evidence-based practices have had on my nursing philosophy as well. In fact, there are several ways in which a solid core of evidenced-based practice rooted in a firm foundation of knowledge validated by positivism theories is all but necessary to truly effect patient-centered care. By utilizing knowledge gleaned from empirical evidence (which in the most cogent examples pertains to that available from sensory perceptions), one can clarify which measures are effectual for providing patient-centered care. In fact, the evidence-based approach is one of the only verifiable means of improving upon one's practice in a manner timely enough to assist patients. Developing one's own approaches to supplement those advocated in population is to incorporate measures already proven to demonstrate efficacy -- such as those found within peer-reviewed journals delivering the results of clinical trials.
Additionally, the esteemed valuation of evidence-based approaches as a means of consistently implementing measures to provide patient-centered care provides additional utility which is also an integral part of my nursing philosophy. The continual interaction between the practitioner and the nursing profession as a whole, as largely facilitated by cognizance of germane studies to one' areas of interest and contribution of one's own research to that burgeoning body of knowledge, is a viable means to engage the practitioner with the surrounding nursing community. Moreover, I believe that such community interaction is actually the nucleus for the expansion of the body of knowledge apropos to the nursing (or any other) profession as well -- particularly those within the health care industry. Therefore, I make a point to frequently peruse a variety of peer-based sources to stay abreast of evidence-based ways to improve my practice, while simultaneously engaging in research to further the knowledge base of nursing in general.

Of the plenitude of philosophical underpinnings to influence my nursing philosophy, the most salient is the ecocentric perspective of nursing which has been advocated by numerous thought leaders within this profession. The basis of the ecocentric perspective is to create a synthesis of…