Philosophies of Nursing include which elements?

• A. Theories and models
• B. Administrative procedures
• C. Beliefs, expression, values in nursing about person, environment, health, caring
• D. Legal statutes

Answer: (C)

Philosophies of nursing are built on the beliefs, expressions, and values about the person, the environment, health, and caring that guide how nurses think and act. These elements define how a nurse views the person receiving care, the setting in which care occurs, what health means, and why caring matters in every interaction. This belief system shapes ethical principles, the nurse–patient relationship, and decisions about what counts as good care, making it the foundation that directs practice.

The other ideas—theories and models—as frameworks for explaining nursing phenomena and guiding research and practice; administrative procedures as rules for running organizations; and legal statutes as laws that regulate practice—play important roles but do not establish the personal, value-laden stance that underpins a nursing philosophy.