Personal Philosophy of Advance Nursing Practice Narrative

Nursing theories are crucial because they guide education, practice, and research in this field. However, any theory should be congruent with the metaparadigm of nursing to be accepted as a nursing theory. The metaparadigm of any discipline represents the broadest perspective on this discipline (Smith & Parker, 2015). Further, the metaparadigm defines concerns of the discipline and sets the boundaries of what is acceptable as a part of this discipline. Therefore, the metaparadigm of nursing identifies its central concepts and themes. Concepts of nursing metaparadigm are used to enhance the knowledge base during the development of advanced nursing practices, which focus on health promotion, disease prevention, and caring for sick, disabled, and dying people (McGee & Castledine, 2003). An advanced nurse practitioner is responsible for the clinical decisions of sick, disabled, and dying people. He/she is answerable to the patients, families, and professional organizations. Experience and professional growth have resulted in the fact that advanced nursing practices are a combination of art and science, which entails increased gaining of knowledge, applies evidence-based techniques, and requires complex decisions made through critical evaluations. Four metaparadigms of nursing include a person, nursing itself, health, and the environment, which are interrelated, according to the advanced nurse practitioner.

Person

For an advanced nursing practitioner, it is necessary to consider the concept of a person. A person refers to individual clients, their families, and communities. People have inherent dignity, value, and entitlement to respect because they have unique physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, cultural, and social characteristics (Smith & Parker, 2015). Additionally, each person is entitled to self-expression and should participate in life to the fullest extent, depending on their perspective and experience. Consequently, clients should be allowed to participate in developing their health care plans to be satisfied with the provided care. Further, advanced practice nurses ought to view their clients holistically, clearly understanding that a person comprises many parts and should not be perceived just as a physical human being (Romaine-Davis, 1997). Adopting a patient-centered approach ensures that everyone receives appropriate care, shows respect, and encourages patients to develop their full potential. Furthermore, an advanced practice nurse should recognize racial disparities and cultural diversity, strive to care for each individual, establish trust, and build relationships with patients and their families.

Health

Health is the second concept in the metaparadigm of nursing. Good health is a balance between physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being and is more than just an absence of a disease (Smith & Parker, 2015). Health is not constant, and it changes during the whole life due to the interaction of environmental and genetic factors. The ability of people to afford health care services, their choices of health practices, as well as access to health care are some of the environmental factors that influence health. Nurses should be aware that health is not constant; therefore, they need to be good health care providers to themselves and their clients. Further, nurses should continuously learn about the latest technology to improve the provision of care to their clients at different levels of health.

Additionally, nurses can assist people in remaining healthy through sharing information concerning disease prevention, child care, and nutrition (Sullivan-Marx, McGivern, Fairman, & Greenberg, 2010). Moreover, they can help implement such prevention programs as health screenings, immunization, and blood pressure checks. Nurses are trained to help patients who cannot take care of themselves. In this case, nurses prepare a plan, depending on the client's diagnosis, and adjust it anytime necessary to achieve the optimal level of health for this client and meet his/her needs. The practitioner applies an integrative approach, which uses different treatment techniques to familiarize their patients with the available opportunities and ensure optimal care is delivered. Health is related to a person because it is the state of a person’s well-being.

Environment

In advanced practice nursing, the concept of environment is a broad term that denotes physical, social, and cultural settings in which patients live. Thus, environment refers to a person's internal and external surroundings (Smith & Parker, 2015). Advanced practice nurses should follow healthcare delivery models and implement new legislation, which is significant for the successful operation of the healthcare system (Romaine-Davis, 1997). By being aware of the environment in which a patient lives, nurses can invent new means of providing care to the community. For instance, the era of new technologies makes it possible to install applications that allow the use of home monitoring services available to the entire community. Installing such technologies, which are simple to use, can create an online environment focused on early interventions. It can help prevent frequent emergency department visits and inpatient admissions. Nurses must consider their clients' cultural differences while delivering care and realize that what is culturally acceptable to them is not always acceptable to their clients (Sullivan-Marx, McGivern, Fairman, & Greenberg, 2010). Nurses should provide a comfortable healthcare environment to their clients because it is crucial for better care delivery and quick recovery.

Nursing

Nursing is the final concept in the metaparadigm. It refers to the knowledge obtained from theory development, logical analysis, and research (Smith & Parker, 2015). Nursing theories are significant for the development of advanced nursing practice. Advanced practice nurses apply critical thinking and clinical judgment while providing evidence-based care to individual clients, their families, and communities to attain optimal client health in different nursing environments. I believe the core purpose of advanced nursing practice lies in promoting health, preventing illnesses, increasing wellness, caring for the sick, and comforting the dying (McGee & Castledine, 2003). Nursing is both a science and an art, and each concept is essential in achieving the primary goals of advanced practice nursing. The scientific part of nursing encompasses health care theories applied in nursing if they benefit health.

On the other hand, the art part deals with providing care to clients. Theories teach nurses that each client has special needs. However, it is the art of nursing that involves the ability of a nurse to identify and satisfy a client's needs and determine necessary interventions that will help improve the patient’s environment and health. The advanced practice nurse is equipped with adequate knowledge, clinical expertise, and decision-making skills necessary for providing high-quality care to individuals, families, and communities. This concept is related to other metaparadigms because nursing aims to promote and maintain a person's health by adjusting the environment to his/her needs.

Conclusion

Due to the constant changes in the healthcare system, there is a growing need for advanced practice nurses, whose role is constantly increasing. As a nurse, I believe that the time spent with a client is more than just diagnosing and prescribing treatment. A nurse should provide holistic care to his/her clients to ensure their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. It can be facilitated by establishing mutual respect and reciprocity relationships, which is necessary for building trust with the clients. Therefore, the four metaparadigms of nursing are interrelated.