Nursing Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nursing Philosophy - Essay Example People become patients when they seek assistance because of illness or for surgery. Some nurses believe that the word patient implies passive acceptance of the decisions and care of health professionals. With the emphasis on health promotion and prevention of illness, many recipients of nursing care are not ill. Moreover, nurses interact with family members and others to provide support, information, and comfort in addition to caring for the patient. For these reasons, nurses increasingly refer to recipients of health care as clients. A client is a person who engages the advice or service of another who is qualified to provide this service. The term client presents the receivers of health care as collaborators in the care, that is, as people who are also responsible for their own health. In 1995, the American Nurses Association (ANA) recognized the influence and contribution of the science of caring to nursing philosophy and practice. Their most recent definition of nursing acknowledges few essential features of contemporary nursing practice. (p.8) People's health beliefs influence their health practices. Thus a nurse's health values and practices may differ form those of a client. Nurses need to ensure that a plan of care developed for an individual relates to the clients conception of health. People are becoming increasingly aware of their environment and how it affects t