Running head: PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICE 1

Philosophical Practice

Katherine Humphrey BSN, RN

University of St. Mary

Dr. Linda King

PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICE 2

Philosophical Practice

There was a moderate amount of time between my undergraduate and graduate

coursework. In that period of time, Im fairly certain philosophy was not my mainstay. Sure, on

occasion I pondered Why am I here? but, with the current state of emergency nursing that

answer leaned more towards my role in the opioid epidemic or the verbal and/or physical abuse

inflicted by patients upon my staff. Little did I realize at the time, that cynical thought process is

philosophy.

The state of current being and practice is philosophy in nursing. Granted, it is not pleasant

pondering the lack of safety your staff encounters or the health of thousands of new healthcare-

induced narcotic addicts, however, in these instances, philosophy can assist in managing the

ethical issues related to these situations. Regardless of the individual instances of each patient,

we must always be compassionate in an attempt to best care for patients (University of St. Mary,

2017). Through the eyes of philosophy and compassion, my cynical statement would look very

different. How do we assess and modify our process to maintain patient privacy and nurse

safety? How do we appropriately decline to facilitate narcotic abuse, and rather support patients

in finding resources and assistance in treating their addiction?

Philosophy Applied

Philosophy is defined as the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being,

knowledge, or conduct (Dictonary.com, n.d.). For nurses, philosophy envelopes knowledge,

justice, attitudes, actions, ethics, and much more. These important tenants of nursing are based

on philosophy and apply, although not evenly, to all nursing disciplines. The idea of philosophy

is not an easy sell for the bedside nurses of the world. Be it the inability to regularly interact with

academia or the idea that training is complete, so its time to move to practice rather than theory
PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICE 3

and philosophy, bedside nurses are just as inclined to use philosophy and less inclined to

acknowledge it as such.

Bruce, Rietze, and Lim (2014) discuss philosophy in the context of three frameworks: as

content in nursing, method, and a way of life. Through the explanation of these frameworks,

nurses of all disciplines can see how philosophy applies to and is used in daily practice.

Philosophy used as content in nursing examines core phenomena as it is related to the tenants of

nursing. This framework applies the ideas of personhood, morality, and the examination of

proper nursing care. From this place of content in nursing, we learn to care for those with which

we do not agree, without judgment or prejudice, all human beings, patients or students, deserve

the best we have to offer. We examine patient-centered care and the nursing paradigm.

Philosophy as the method is used to examine, question, and critique nursing practice

(Bruce, Rietze, & Lim, 2014). Also described by the American Association of the College of

Nursing, as scholarship or activities that systematically advance the teaching, research, and

practice of nursing through rigorous inquiry(AACN, 2017). This is the place from which we

derive research, evidence-based practice, and growth as a scientific profession. Through

questioning and examining practice, we have bettered the care of every patient we have touched.

This framework also allows for the examination of the methods we are using to teach our next

generation, as evidenced by the use of simulation laboratories, flipped classrooms, nurse

residency programs, and the introduction of new technology.

Lastly, philosophy as a way of life is characterized by actions (Bruce, Rietze, & Lim,

2014). The philosophical reasoning is no longer simply a concept, but rather a deed. For

example, a nurse that adopts the concept of justice works just as diligently to save the life of a

known terror suspect, shot by police, as she does the innocent mother of four he injured. Every
PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICE 4

patient is treated equally and to the best of our ability, it is simply unethical to consider

otherwise. In academia, this concept can be applied to equal education for all, allotting that an

instructor would not spend more time with one student over another. Regardless of race, gender,

age, sexual orientation, or just plain dislike, the educational circumstances and offerings are

equal.

Conclusion

Philosophy in current nursing disciplines is not a mythical creature. It is used daily, by

many who simply do not realize it. The disconnect is in part due to lack of understanding of the

initial philosophical and theoretical basis of the care provided. Personally, I have also heard

statements that encourage scientific practice over philosophy, although they are intertwined and

inseparable. As nursing advances as a science, the idea that philosophy prevents us from

advancing as a science becomes more prominent, however, if using philosophy as a way of life,

this cannot be the case. Hopefully, with education, the realization will teach nurses that they do

practice philosophically with guiding theories and frameworks that advance their evidence-based

practice. Its all interconnected, denial or the inability to recognize it does not change that.
PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICE 5

References

AACN. (2017). Position statement: Defining scholarship for the discipline of nursing. Retrieved

from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/publications/position/defining-scholarship

Bruce, A., Rietze, L., & Lim, A. (2014). Understanding philosophy in a nurses world: What,

where and why?. [PDF]. Nursing and Health, 2(3): 65-71. Retrieved from

http://www.hrpub.org/download/20140701/NH2-16802412.pdf

Dictionary.com Unabridged. (n.d.). Philosophy.Retrieved from

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/ philosophy

The University of St. Mary. (2017). The 5 Cs of Caring. Retrieved from

http://online.stmary.edu/rn-bsn/resources/the-5-cs-of-caring