APN Philosophy
Ensuring that a well rounded nurse is serving the community and is educated makes a difference. An
Advanced Practice Nurse is a Nurse who has a role in leadership, as a nurse practitioner, a midwife, or an
educator and so much more. A license is not enough to define an Advanced Practice Nurse but a Masters
degree, community involvement and participation in political advocacy is just the surface to a lifelong
commitment to Nursing.
In addition to being an advanced practice nurse, nurses use philosophies. A philosophy is a set of beliefs
about the nature of how things work and how the world should be viewed (Black & Chitty, 2011, p. 304).
A philosophy provides a broad, general view of nursing that clarifies values and answers broad
disciplinary questions such as the following: “what is nursing?”, “what is the profession of nursing?”, “
what do nurses do?” , “ what is the nature of nursing practice and the development of practice expertise?”
(Black & Chitty, 2011, p. 303).
Gaining valuable experience in nursing can assist to develop culture care by witnessing the care provided
to behavior and needs. Becoming an advanced practice nurse means you have a foundation to understand
transcultural nursing, which involves more than simply being aware of different cultures. It involves
planning nursing care based on knowledge that is culturally defined, classified and tested and then used to
provide care that is culturally congruent (Black & Chitty, 2011, p. 316). The nurse should respect the
patients culture and health belief. The nurse should develop a patient –nurse relationship to achieve this
type of care. Once this is achieved the patient will feel comfortable, open, and trust the nurse/ medical
professional. This is key to the success for advanced practice, especially when considering a leadership
role.
Nursing philosophies vary among history but personal philosophies is one in which nurses believe and
follow. The personal nursing philosophy that guides my practice in nursing is as follows: As an
emergency nurse I believe that each patient I come in contact with I must put myself in their shoes and
identify the issue at hand, even when the patient cannot communicate. As I provide care to my patient, I
consider age, gender, privacy, family, religion and culture to provide healing. I also believe that the
emergency room can be a scary environment, it is my due diligence to provide a calm and comfortable
environment by informing the patient of care provided and being the face of the organizations missions.
My personal philosophy can be linked to providing transcultural care to all patients as I pursue Nursing
Leadership.
Reference
Black, B., & Chitty, K. (2011). Professional nursing concepts & challenges (6th ed.). Maryland
Heights: Saunders Elsevier.
DeNisco, S.M. & Barker, A.M. (2016). Advanced practice nursing: Essential knowledge for the
profession. (3 ed). Burlington, MA: Jones & Barlett Learning