Nursing Philosophy | Anisha Karki, MSN-FNP

Personal Philosophy

My Nursing Philosophy

Course: NURS 5670: MSN FNP Capstone

Institution: DeWitt School of Nursing, Stephen F. Austin State University

Instructor: Dr. Erin Bailey

Date: March 19, 2026

I chose to pursue my nursing career because I am passionate about caring for people who are ill and providing better care. In this personal nursing philosophy paper, I focus on four nursing concepts: people, nursing, health, and environment — and how providing holistic, high-quality, compassionate care to patients while integrating evidence-based research and knowledge constitutes good nursing care. When delivering care, it is important to practice compassion and respect for every person's inherent dignity, worth, and unique attributes (American Nurses Association, 2015).

People

What I consider nursing is providing compassionate, quality care to all patients, regardless of their background, race, color, sex, language, religion, politics, property, birth, or other factors — and this is essentially the golden rule of nursing (United Nations, n.d.). Everyone should be treated equally, without economic, political, social, religious, or any other form of discrimination. As the golden rule states, one should treat others as they would want to be treated. As nurses, we must offer compassionate care to those in need. I always abide by this principle, respect patients as people, and be mindful of them while providing quality care. I involve them in planning their healthcare to the extent possible. When delivering care, it is crucial to set aside prejudices and provide compassionate care to all patients, regardless of their disabilities or disease stigma (American Nurses Association, 2015). As an advanced nursing professional, I would always abide by this nursing concept of people.

Nursing

Nursing is an important nursing theory that we need to prioritize when caring for patients. We need to provide advanced practice nursing and evidence-based care to our patients by involving them in patient care planning. We need to focus on both the physical and mental well-being of our patients and engage in a therapeutic relationship with them. Delivering evidence-based care to patients to improve healthcare quality and patient outcomes will be my priority. It is our duty to provide safe and high-quality patient care.

Health

Health is an important concept that focuses on physical health and comprehensive wellness, including emotional and social well-being. Watson's theory of human caring, which emphasizes self-care, emphasizes that nursing involves facilitating therapeutic healing processes and nurturing relationships beyond the scope of nursing practice, including tasks, procedures, treatments, and technology (Leone-Sheehan, 2022). We should empower our patients to understand the importance of self-care and involve them in their care plans. This helps patients meet their basic needs and receive emotional support, fostering a harmonious nurse-patient relationship (Leone-Sheehan, 2022).

Environment

The environment — the surroundings around care — plays a significant role in the nursing concept. It influences health, recovery, and access to healthcare and impacts the physical, economic, social, and cultural conditions that an individual faces (Nevada State University, 2024). It is essential to create a safe environment for patients and ensure they have a supportive and safe home environment, as well as access to healthcare services. Additionally, as healthcare providers, we need to ensure that patients have someone to assist them in emergencies.

Conclusion

Caring for people with dignity and respect, applying evidence-based practice to provide holistic care, and creating an open environment, is my nursing philosophy. I will apply all nursing concepts and evidence-based, patient-centered care, and actively be involved in the community through advocacy, community engagement, volunteering, and peer-reviewed writing. I would practice quality patient care and involve patients in decision-making, resulting in better nursing and healthcare delivery. This will help to provide respectful and compassionate care to my patients that promotes healing and supports well-being.

References

American Nurses Association (2015). View the code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/ethics/code-of-ethics-for-nurses/
Leone-Sheehan, D. M. (2022). Jean Watson: Watson's philosophy and theory of transpersonal caring. In M. R. Alligood (Ed.), Nursing theorists and their works (10th ed., pp. 68–81). Elsevier.
Linton, M., & Koonmen, J. (2020). Self-care as an ethical obligation for nurses. Nursing Ethics, 27(8), 1694–1702. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733020940371
Nevada State University. (2024). Insights into nursing theories: Key concepts. https://nevadastate.edu/son/rn-bsn/insights-into-nursing-theories-key-concepts/
United Nations. (n.d.). Universal declaration of human rights. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

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"Caring for people with dignity and respect, applying evidence-based practice to provide holistic care, and creating an open environment, is my nursing philosophy."
— Anisha Karki

Theoretical Foundation

Four Core Concepts

People — Dignity, equality, and compassion for every patient regardless of background.

Nursing — Evidence-based, therapeutic, patient-involved care.

Health — Physical, emotional, and social well-being through self-care empowerment.

Environment — Safe, supportive surroundings that enable recovery and access.

Earlier Course Paper

Compassionate Care: Essential Part of Nursing Philosophy

Course: NURS 5301 — Nursing Theory for the Advanced Practice Role

Institution: DeWitt School of Nursing, Stephen F. Austin State University

Instructor: Dr. Sara Bishop

Date: September 17, 2023

Nursing is a discipline that requires both compassionate care and technical expertise to enhance patient well-being for superior health outcomes. This paper explores the critical role of evidence-based practice, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking in improving patient outcomes and providing high-quality care. My nursing philosophy revolves around providing compassionate care to the ill — an ever-evolving discipline that requires a foundation in theory and theory-based evidence to provide evidence-based practice to patients for high-quality care and improved outcomes (Pokorny, 2021, pp. 12–27).

Personal Philosophy of Nursing

As a nurse, my top priority is to provide exceptional patient care and advocate for patients through problem-solving skills and critical thinking. As Virginia Henderson (1966) stated, "the unique function of the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well, in performance of those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or to peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength, will or knowledge and to do this in such a way as to help him gain independence as rapidly as possible" (p. 63). My philosophy revolves around delivering compassionate care to those unwell.

Basis for Personal Philosophy

Abdellah (2004), in her book Patient-Centered Approaches to Nursing, emphasizes problem-solving skills to identify nursing problems to move the patient toward a healthy outcome, formulating 21 nursing problems based on a review of nursing research studies. Her problem-centered approach to diagnosing patient issues is essential for delivering evidence-based, high-quality care and improving patient outcomes.

Relation to Patterns of Knowing and the Structure of Nursing Knowledge

Carper (1978), in Fundamental Patterns of Knowing in Nursing, identified four patterns of knowing — empirical, ethical, personal, and aesthetic. In her empirical pattern, she describes caring for another as requiring the achievements of nursing science, knowledge of empirical facts systematically organized into theoretical explanations regarding health and illness, and the importance of critical thinking for alternative moral choices (Carper, 1978, p. 14).

Nursing is an art of science, and caring for patients for a better outcome requires evidence-based care where nurses care for patients with validated and scientifically proven methodologies. It takes critical thinking to find innovative and alternative solutions for moral and health choices. Carper (1978) suggested that the better a nurse is at understanding and empathizing with others, the more choices they will have to plan and give nursing care, and they will be better at critical thinking — essential for making complex and difficult decisions (p. 22).

Conclusion

Nursing is the art of providing compassionate care to patients. We can improve patient outcomes and provide high-quality care by prioritizing evidence-based practice derived from theory-based evidence. Furthermore, problem-solving skills and critical thinking are crucial in addressing the complex challenges in healthcare.

References

Abdellah, F. G., Martin, A., Beland, I. L., & Matheney, R. V. (1960). Patient-centered approaches to nursing. Macmillan.
Carper, B. A. (1978). Fundamental patterns of knowing in nursing. Advances in Nursing Science, 1(1), 13–23. https://doi.org/10.1097/00012272-197810000-00004
Henderson, V. A. (1991). The nature of nursing: A definition and its implications, practice, research, and education: Reflections after 25 years. National League for Nursing Press.
Pokorny, M. E. (2021). Nursing theorists of historical significance. In M. R. Alligood (Ed.), Nursing theorists and their work (10th ed., pp. 12–27). Elsevier.

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Theoretical Influences

Carper's Four Patterns of Knowing

Empirical — Science-based, evidence-driven care.

Ethical — Moral choices and advocacy.

Personal — Therapeutic use of self.

Aesthetic — The art of compassionate nursing.