Running head: SELF REFLECTION

Self Reflection
Jessica Organt
Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing
Transition to Baccalaureate Nursing
NUR 3240
Professor Karyn Schultz
February 22, 2015
Honor Code I Pledge
Self Reflection
Nursing is a profession that requires someone who holds the ideals of honesty and
integrity, compassion, leadership, respect and advocating for the patients, just to name a few.
Many of the Bon Secours values overlap and intertwine with these ideals. The Bon Secours
Values not only call for respect, compassion, and integrity, but also for growth, justice,
stewardship, quality and innovation. (Bon Secours Health System, 2015). The mission of Bon
Secours is to bring forth those values listed, in order to provide compassionate health care to
those in need, especially the poor and dying. (Bon Secours Health System, 2015). The author

hopes to incorporate all of the values of a Bon Secours nurse into their practice, and to maintain
the values of a servant leader.
The servant-leader is servant first It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to
serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply
different from one who is leader first. (Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, n.d.,
p. About: What is Servant Leadership). A servant leader is one who believes that serving for the
better of the community and population is essential; leading will follow.
The Bon Secours Values are essential for molding and shaping nurses to be the best
caregivers to patients possible. The first value, respect, means not only having respect for the
patients and their families, but having respect for the process of nursing as well. In the field of
nursing, it is easy to come across people of all walks of life. It is critical that as a nurse, each
patient is treated with respect. This means respecting their life choices, although not always
having to agree with them, respect for each patients religious choices and their lifestyle choices.
This means never treating a patient differently because of their race, ethnicity, sex and gender.
Integrity is essential not only to nursing, but to life in general. Integrity implies a high
ethical standard and a great moral character. (Bon Secours Health System, 2015). With integrity
in mind, a nurse practices with honest principles, maintaining high ethical standards for
themselves and for their patients. This means that the nurse will advocate for their patient when
ethical standards are not being met or upheld. It means that the nurse holds the responsibility for
calling attention to supervisors, doctors, ethics boards, etc. to document and notify them when
ethical standards have been breached. Not only does a nurse need to maintain ethical standards
for themselves and their patients, but for all other colleagues and health care professionals alike.
This means that a nurse needs to report any unethical practice that they may see or come in

SELF REFLECTION
contact with. The American Nurses Association states that the nurse promotes, advocates, and
protects the health, safety, and the rights of each patient. (American Nurses Association, n.d.).
Leadership, not just servant leadership, is essential in the nursing field. Many times the
floor may be understaffed, and each nurse needs to be their own leader, and needs to hold
themselves and each other accountable for their actions and duties. Each nurse needs to be self
motivated, not someone who needs to be told what, when and how to do something. Leadership
also means stepping up and being a mentor to new nurses and employees. This means being
available to new nurses and new employees as a resource on the floor. Leadership also means
that nurses should be available to begin and head committees, to come up with performance
improvement ideas and goals for the unit and hospital as a whole. Leadership also means being
available to patients for education; teaching patients about health maintenance, follow-ups, and
about medication. Being a servant leader means to be available as a leader, but having the
number one priority being to serve. It is the nurses responsibility to serve the hospital, the
patients, and the community as a whole.
Lastly, the author believes that compassion is one of the most important characteristics
that a nurse can hold. In this profession, nurses will come across people from all walks of life.
Different religions, races, sexual preferences, and backgrounds are what make the world an
exciting place to live in. As a nurse, its important to have respect and compassion for each
patient, and the journey that each patient is currently on. Compassion is being able to have the
empathy and ability to connect with each patient, regardless of circumstance and background,
and still have the desire and drive to help. Being compassionate means that even though your
nursing shift may be over, that a patient may still need their nurse to hold their hand, to pray
with, to cry with, and to share their fears and stories with.

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Nursing is not only a profession, but it is a way of life. Nursing means being available to
someone who needs support or advice, respecting each others lives and decisions, respecting
privacy for patients and families, leading each other for a change in overall health of their
community, and having the integrity to do so honestly and ethically. Almost anyone can be a
caregiver, but not everyone can be a nurse.

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References

American Nurses Association (n.d.) Code of Ethics. Retrieved February 04, 2015 from
http://www.nursingworld.org/code-of-conduct
Bon Secours Health System. (2015). http://www.bshsi.org
Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. (n.d.). https://greenleaf.org