Running head: PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY AND REFLECTION ON NURSING 1

Personal Philosophy and Reflection on Nursing

Ashton M. Birdsong

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

Dr. Christine Turner, PhD, RN

NUR 4140

October 27, 2019

Honor Code: “I pledge”

PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY AND REFLECTION ON NURSING 2

Definition of Nursing

In the last three years, I have learned a wide variety of things through my time

being a student of Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing. While all aspects of

nursing school are important and vital in preparing nursing students to take on the role of

a nurse, the most important concept I learned was the uniqueness behind the profession of

nursing. Nursing is both an art and science, which makes it such an exceptional and

distinctive profession. In reality being a student really never ends in the nursing

profession. The best nurses are those continue to want to learn and leave each shift

knowing they’ve learned something new. I have found throughout my years of studying,

my own personal definition of nursing that is comprised of a few main tenets.

First and foremost, the tenet of caring. When I first began my nursing school

journey, I figured the act of caring was a simple as it can get. I remember thinking to

myself that in order to truly embody and carry out the nursing action of caring, I just

needed to “care” and how hard could that be? I soon realized that in the nursing world,

caring for a patient meant not just physically, but on a mind body and soul level. Health

is created through the unity and harmony of the triad of mind, body and soul. As

mentioned in our philosophy, caring involves application of nursing knowledge while

practicing, the art of critically, using interpersonal skills, using assertiveness, curiosity,

and remembering to always have courage.

A huge role nurses play that I wasn’t aware of before starting school is the role of

an educator to their patients. So much of a great nurse’s job that sets them apart from

other health care providers is the teaching role that nurses take on to educate patients

everyday. With the number of patients diagnosed with preventable diseases growing each
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY AND REFLECTION ON NURSING 3

day, I have learned the importance of nurses imparting knowledge on basic health needs

and how much patients really do rely on their nurses to pave the way.

The last tenet I would like to mention is the tenet of service. Personally, I feel it is

this quality that makes Bon Secours stand out from the rest. “Good help to those in need”

truly does depict the service that Bon Secours provides and I have learned so much in

regards to always advocating for vulnerable populations surrounding me. By utilizing the

values of respect, compassion, justice, integrity, quality and growth, I believe I will be

able to serve my patients throughout the entirety of my career.

Personal Philosophy

As I mentioned above, I have learned so much about myself during my time on

this path of becoming a nurse. My knowledge on my own philosophy of nursing has

really been focused into view and has become clearer to me as more time goes on. Our

philosophies serve as individual roadmaps that help guide our constantly developing

values and beliefs. Basically, it is the way we think and the way we act based on what we

believe in. With that being said, my personal philosophy comes into play with every

patient encounter. I believe that as cliché as it sound, I was “called” into this profession

and ever since I recognized that this is what I was meant to do, my life has seemed to

come full circle. I cannot think of one single thing I’d like to do the rest of my life other

than help those who need a helping hand, some empathy, or even a smile. Life, from what

I have seen in my 25 short years, is not fair all the time. Knowing this, I made a promise

to myself to aim to hold myself accountable to deliver the best care I possibly could. That

could be on any level of the mind, body, and soul, as long as I was adding something into

their day that made it just the tiniest bit better. I really tried to go into each clinical day
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY AND REFLECTION ON NURSING 4

with the mindset of bringing the best version of myself in to whatever room I was

assigned to I built some of the most incredible relationships with some of the patients I

have had the pleasure of working with since beginning this journey. Even on some of my

toughest days, which were a handful, I tried my best to establish caring and trusting

relationships with my patients and their families.

I also did my best to build and maintain professional relationships with nurse and

other health care providers during my time as a student in the clinical setting. I tried to

dismiss the thought of “I’m just a nursing student and am probably annoying them” to

“They were in my shoes at one point of their health care schooling and I can learn a lot

from them.” That mindset really broadened my learning experience and relationships,

which is all I could have ever asked for!

Values and Beliefs

Looking back on my first Personal Philosophy of Nursing paper back in NUR

1100, I can conclude that not much has changed, which I believe is a good thing. I noted

that I would use my kindness and trustworthiness to pave my way into each patient

encounter, which I do believe I have done since my first clinical experience. I also stated

that my faith in Christ and my belief in God drove me to this profession, and that I fully

intended on my faith to guide me throughout the journey of becoming a nurse. Granted,

this paper was written before I had ever experience a not-so-great clinical day, so there

have definitely been ups and downs! But even on those days that were tougher than

others, I tried my best to deliver the best version of myself as I possibly could, while

always remaining true to myself and my faith. My understanding of the profession of

PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY AND REFLECTION ON NURSING 5

nursing and the many facets that come along with the role of a nurse has evolved and

continues to grow even as I wrap up my time at Bon Secours.

Nurse Patient Encounter

A patient encounter that I will never forget is one was during my time on the

Ortho Unit at St. Francis. Before this specific clinical day, I truly hadn’t cared for a

really, and I mean really, sick patient. Dr. Smith, who was an incredible role model and

educator during my time at BSMCON, assigned me this particular patient the morning of

clinical, and told me that this patient would be the only one I would be assigned to that

day. I wondered why that was the case, because before that day I had been assigned to

two patients per shift, and my other peers all had two. Dr. Smith pulled me aside and

said, “Ashton, this patient is going to need all of your attention today. She is circling the

drain, and has been declining rapidly. She needs your kindness today and I know you’re

going to deliver the best care you can.” I nodded and smiled, and went into the room the

introduce myself to my patient just as I always had. I was greeted by her worried husband

who was at her bedside, and immediately noticed that this woman was a lot sicker than I

had anticipated.

She had more tubes connected to her than I had seen before, and wasn’t alert, but

intermittently moaned in pain. It was a hard scene to see. It got even harder once I began

to talk to her family and learned that this decline was sudden, and until 5 days prior, she

had been a healthy, busy woman who enjoyed staying active and being with her family. I

saw the pain in her family’s face as they stared at a woman they did not recognize who

was in agonizing pain. It was a lot to take in, and started to think “What could I , a

nursing student, possibly do to help her?” I expressed my concerns and doubts to Dr.
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY AND REFLECTION ON NURSING 6

Smith, who immediately comforted me and encouraged me to shift my way of thinking.

“Instead of thinking what you can’t do, start thinking about what you can do.”

After brainstorming, I realized that even the simplest of actions might be able to

go far. I washed her face, which truthfully looked like it hadn’t been done since her

decline. She immediately responded to that with a smile and a sweet, reassuring squeeze

on my hand. After speaking with the nurse assigned to the patient, I asked for

clarification on whether or not the NG tube inserted in the patients nose was still

necessary. After consulting with the provider, it was decided that the patient no longer

would need it. I removed the NG tube, brushed her hair, gave her a fresh set of sheets,

and in no time the patient looked like a completely different person. Where at 0700 she

wasn’t able to produce more than a groan in pain, by 1330, she was telling me all about

her dogs at home. Not only did my few actions ease the family’s mind, they physically

helped the patient. It was the first time in my nursing school career that I felt like I did

something and saw the positive effect of my action. It was incredibly humbling and I am

forever grateful for that opportunity.

Practicum Experience

The 4140 practicum experience has been such a unique and beneficial use of time

this semester. I have learned so much about this part of nursing that I wasn’t even sure

existed. Throughout our time together as a class and broken down further into groups, I

have seen first hand the research development that goes into problem solving in our

health care systems. We began with a problem, and took the lead on how we wanted to

go about researching and developing strategies and solutions to fix that problem. We
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY AND REFLECTION ON NURSING 7

have been immersed into a different, yet valuable, part of the nursing role that has caused

us to see and appreciate the research and problem solving that nurses face every day. We

have come so far since the first day of receiving our problem to focus on, and we have

really molded our findings and information into something I am proud and appreciatative

of and would love to see prosper further.

Benner’s Theory

Patricia Benner’s book From Novice to Expert has been such an interesting and

informative read this semester. In her book, she explains the five stages of Clinical

Competence, ranked as: Novice, Advanced Beginner, Competent, Proficient, and Expert.

A novice, also called a beginner, has no experience in certain situations. They tend to

lack confidence due to the lack of experience, and practice is a necessity to ensure they

develop the judgment skills to move forward. Advanced Beginners have prior experience

in certain situations, which makes the able to acceptably preform. I believe I fall under

this skill acquisition due to my previous experience during school in clinicals, along with

my job as a care tech. I am not close to knowing everything, but I do feel more confident

now obviously than when I began as a novice a few years back.

Competent nurses are those who have been in their same position or similar

positive for two-three years. They are described as efficient and deliver competent and

confident care. Proficient nurses see situations as a whole based on their ability to see the

bigger picture. These nurses have the experience to have that “gut feeling” and have

learned by their number of years of learning by experiences and are able to differentiate

many pieces of information into the important pieces. Lastly, there is the Expert. Now
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY AND REFLECTION ON NURSING 8

these nurses have a deeper understanding of the total situation at hand. These nurses are

fluid and flexible, leading to high levels of proficiency (Benner, p 20-31).

Action Plan for Moving Forward

Like I’ve mentioned before, this profession is unique in so many aspects and on

so many levels. While I know that my future as a nurse will be rewarding and humbling, I

also know that tough days are to come. Some jobs are easier than others to emotionally

leave the inevitable bad days “at work” and not to bring them home. But nursing is

different, and what makes a great nurse is the empathy and care brought to patients,

which makes it hard to keep work at work. Knowing all of this, I plan to do the best I can

to take care of my mental health and listen to my body when it’s time to take a break. I

plan to do nice things for myself, and emotionally let myself feel what I need to feel at an

appropriate time. It’s a blessing to be able to go into this profession. Nursing is

continuing to grow, with more opportunities than ever before. It is the most honorable

profession, in my opinion, and I am so blessed to have been given a chance by Bon

Secours.
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY AND REFLECTION ON NURSING 9

References

Benner, P. (1984). From novice to expert: Excellence and power in clinical nursing

practice. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company