Worldview and Nursing Philosophy Megan Reid Worldview Eccentric

Worldview and Nursing Philosophy Megan Reid

Worldview • Eccentric • Unconventional • Tendency to gravitate toward Eastern philosophies • Constantly changing • Evolving through experience • Always learning more

Growing Up • Raised Catholic • Never strict or devout • Parents divorced - church attendance became less regular • Confirmation (8 th grade)

Teenage Years • High school • Culture shock • Exposure • Acceptance • Open minded

Angels and Demons Dan Brown ”Religion is like language or dress. We gravitate toward the practices with which we were raised. In the end, though, we are all proclaiming the same thing. That life has meaning. That we are grateful for the power that created us. ”

College Years • Difficult times due to family situations and circumstance • Refusal to become a victim of circumstance • Control over how adversity is perceived, and how to react, learn, and grow • Turning point • Never felt the presence of any higher power • Felt strong presence of family, friends, and humanity

Through struggles… • Golden rule • Rather than relying on God, relied on humanity • Moral life simply because • Life seemed random, not under control of higher power • Good things happen to bad people too often • So much is out of our control, I learned to control what I could, and learn from the rest

Thoughts on Religion • Benefits of religion in society • Moral life can be led without religion • Agnosticism • There may be no answer

Marcus Aurelius "Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones. I am not afraid. ”

Taoism • Basis for individual and spiritual life • The Tao or the Way – live in harmony with the natural course of things • Harmonize with nature by: • Balancing Yin and Yang • Developing chi through meditation and disengagement. • Chi - life-force -- that which animates all forms of the world • Yin and Yang - two polar energies, that by their fluctuation and interaction, are the cause of the universe • Meaning and energy are found in all natural things

Taoism • Three jewels - compassion, simplicity, humility • Going with the flow, accepting things as they happen • Life of simplicity • Reality unfolds with its own rhyme and reason, impervious to human intervention • “It just is”

The Tao of Pooh Benjamin Hoff “There are things about ourselves that we need to get rid of; there are things we need to change. But at the same time, we do not need to be too desperate, too ruthless, too combative. Along the way to usefulness and happiness, many of those things will change themselves, and the others can be worked on as we go. The first thing we need to do is recognize and trust our own Inner Nature, and not lose sight of it. . In each of us is something Special, and that we need to keep. ”

The Te of Piglet Benjamin Hoff “Without problems, there can be no personal growth, no group achievement, no progress for humanity. But what matters about problems is what one does with them. ”

The Te of Piglet Benjamin Hoff “There may be difficulty at the moment, but I will not lose the Virtue that I possess. It is when the ice and snow are on them that we see the strength of the cypress and the pine. I am grateful for this trouble around me, because it gives me an opportunity to realize how fortunate I am. ”

Taoism on Health • “Once you face and understand your limitations, you can work with them, instead of having them work against you and get in your way, which is what they do when you ignore them, whether you realize it or not. And then you will find that, in many cases, your limitations can be your strengths. ” • “When we give up our images of self-importance and our ideas of what should be, we can help things become what they need to be. ”

Confucianism • Inherently good • Main principle • Jen - human heartedness; goodness; benevolence; what makes man distinctively human (that which gives human beings their humanity). • Faith in the possibility of ordinary human beings to become awe-inspiring • Human beings are teachable, improvable, and perfectible through personal and communal endeavor • Heaven (T'ien) - a positive and personal force in the universe

Mencius • Elaborated on the Confucian ideal • Believed that people are basically born good • All men have a mind which cannot bear to see the sufferings of others • Origin of evil: • External circumstances • From society and culture being is disarray • From lack of knowledge

Margaret Newman Health as Expanding Consciousness • Health not the opposite of illness • Manifestations of a greater whole • Human beings unitary and inseparable from the larger unitary field • Mind, Body, Spirit, Emotion • Change – unpredictable and transformational • Expanding consciousness occurs when people dedicate energy to something greater, and learn to build order against disorder • Presence - Let go of judgments and transcend cultural beliefs and values

Margaret Newman Chaos and Change • Nurse-client relationships often begin during periods of chaos and uncertainty • Nurses should not strive for stability during chaos, but realize disorganized time presents an opportunity for growth • Disruption presents a choice point for the person to either continue going on as before, or shift into a new way of thinking

Margaret Newman Nursing • Reciprocal • Nurses must develop tolerance for uncertainty

Health • The highest level of overall physical, mental, and social functioning for an individual. Not the opposite of illness, and can be reached even with illness present.

Illness • Any disruption that causes a person to not be at their optimal level of health. Illness is usually initially negative but can lead to positive change and a higher level of functioning and health

Environment • Any external factor that is able to exert some influence, whether positive or negative, over an individual.

Nursing • The science and art of accurately assessing and sensing meaningful manifestations of a person’s underlying pattern. Nurses do whatever is needed to assist that person to reach their optimal level of health, focusing on what is important to that individual, and remaining within the professional scope of practice.

Dignity • Human Right • Needs to be maintained in order to maintain optimal level of health • Especially important at the end of life, because of dependence on others at end of life.

References • http: //www. religioustolerance. org/agnostic 1. htm • http: //www. religionfacts. com/a-z-religionindex/confucianism. htm • http: //philosophy. lander. edu/oriental/main. html • http: //factsanddetails. com/china. php? itemid=91 • Parker, M. E. , & Smith, M. C. (2010). Nursing theories and nursing practice (3 rd ed. ). Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Company.

Painting Questions?