Personal Philosophy Paper

NUR 4140

Sara Whitley

3/04/20

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

Dr. Williams

“I pledge”
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Definition of Nursing

I believe nursing encompasses a variety of values and beliefs and each person brings

a different set of qualities to the table. Values that I believe are standard to the majority of nurses

include characteristics of compassion, respect, empathy, and justice. Nursing is seen as an

approach to heal those who are sick and comfort those dying, but it really is much more than

that. Nursing means focusing on promoting the wellness of individuals and educating them on

best practices to help them lead a high quality life. High quality has a definition of its own and is

entirely individualized. As a nurse, we all undergo a rigorous education in order to provide the

best care for our patients, but we also have to continue educating our patients with our

knowledge. Advocacy is always a component of a nurses career because we spend more time

with the patient than any other healthcare provider. We know what the patient wants or needs

better than most anyone else so it is up to us to advocate for them. Lastly, most of the best nurses

are driven to this profession for their desire to serve others and improve outcomes in their

community. Nursing is seen as art and science which is a tenet included in the programs own

nursing philosophy, but it is very true. One must have a good mix of the art of nursing which

encompasses a variety of values that include: compassion, integrity, and respect but also have the

ability to demonstrate the required skills and critical thinking needed to be a competent, yet

caring nurse. Every nursing philosophy is unique for an individual, but I know much of what was

stated above applies to the majority because they are key principles in being a nurse.

Personal Philosophy

My personal philosophy has always had me focused on giving 100% effort at everything I do.

I have demonstrated that over and over again since beginning nursing school because I have

faced many hardships, but I don’t back down and when I want to give up, I don’t quit. I have
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grown up with that concept of “winners never quit” and it has been highly motivational for me

because I always strive to be the best that I can be. In school, I have faced many personal

challenges that have made me question my ability to finish my nursing degree, but I haven’t

given up on it. I have had challenging patients, ones that have questioned my abilities and some

experiences with my patients made me feel incompetent, but instead of backing down and

believing those thoughts, I worked harder to improve my patient communication and my

technical skills so that in the future I would feel stronger if those circumstances occurred again.

My philosophy has always been focused on being a reliable person. One who is trustworthy and

helps to build others up. I want to be someone that another person can depend on if they need it. I

want to instill that ability for my patients to trust me and know that I am there for them to talk to

and that I am willing to do all I can to help them. I believe we see a lot of trauma in the world

today and so much negativism, but I hope to continue to be a positive influence on my patients

and their lives. So far, I feel I have been able to accomplish this with some of my patients just by

talking with them. Many of times I have felt my own confidence grow just by seeing my patients

smile during some of my encounters with them.

Values and Beliefs

My nursing values and beliefs have changed some since beginning this program. When I first

started here, I had absolutely no healthcare background and now that I have spent so many hours

at the bedside with patients I feel my beliefs have morphed a bit. The values I had included in my

very first personal philosophy included: perseverance, resilience, open-mindedness, and passion.

When I first wrote those values, I wrote them based off of experiences outside of the hospital;

things that I had experienced, but not entirely related to nursing since my nursing knowledge was
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limited at the time. I believe I still encompass these values, but they mean much more and I

interpret them from a new perspective.

Perseverance is a value that has changed its meaning almost completely for me now that I am

soon to graduate. I knew nurses had a hard job. I knew that they worked long hours, but it didn’t

truly hit me until I started clinical rotations and started doing more than just one patient

assignments, that there is so much more to a nurses day than just giving medications, assessing,

and documenting. It takes a lot to keep going and get your energy up to handle an assignment of

5-6 patients and get a long list worth of tasks completed. Not to mention my naïve, new to

nursing self didn’t realize how much work it can be to care for that many people. It wasn’t like

you could just walk in a room, assess someone, give their meds, and walk out and get caught up

on charting. Nope, not like that at all. I didn’t realize that patients could request 100 million

things and that unexpected circumstances would occur and that sometimes I would be really

behind on charting, or getting that blood sugar. I wouldn’t pee for hours and sometimes I would

even forget I had to pee.

It has been challenging as can be some days to manage everything a nurse has to do in a

single shift. That’s why perseverance is a huge principle because you can’t give up, you have to

keep going because these people need you and depend on you.

Resilience still stands out to me as an important value, but now it is because I have seen quite a

bit of the craziness that we as nurses are exposed too. I have worked with patients that have been

abused, some on hospice, and I have even cared for one who passed away. These experiences are

challenging, but I do believe they have made me a better nurse already. I have learned so much

from these experiences with those patients and families. I have developed coping skills to handle

tough situations like those I mentioned, but I would be lying if I said that I hadn’t cried leaving
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once or twice because some of these situations are just very unfortunate, but I know I have to

keep going and continue to promote better outcomes for other patients and maybe prevent this

from occurring with someone else.

Being open-minded includes the concept of being open to new ideas, but it also gives one the

ability to learn from other people and see their perspective clearer. In order to be open-minded

one has to be non-judgmental and encompass the ability to truly listen to others. As a nurse, I

believe this value is important because we have to be flexible often and adapt our interventions

to fit an individual patients life as well as work around unforeseen circumstances. Nurses are

required to work with an interdisciplinary team which can include many types of healthcare

related personnel, but we obviously won’t always agree with what another person might believe

is best for our patient, but we have to advocate for the patient while also keeping an open-mind

so we can collaborate with other disciplines. Since starting my nursing journey, I have learned

that it is extremely beneficial to take other’s points of view into consideration because it can help

resolve an issue faster in the long run.

Lastly, passion stands out as an important aspect of a nurse and for any career to me because I

believe one should wake up excited to do their job. Nobody wants to wake up in the morning and

dread going to work, but I feel that is a common theme in our society, but it shouldn’t be that

way since we spend an extraordinary amount of time at our places of employment. Many of the

nurses I have encountered that love their jobs and enjoy showing up to work, do so because they

are passionate about helping others. I have learned over the years that if you aren’t passionate

about the things you are pursuing, then you probably aren’t going to put 100% of effort into it.

Coming into nursing school, I knew that I had a passion for caring for others and was driven by
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that to become the best nurse possible one day. I am passionate about providing holistic care to

patients upon beginning my career and I hope that my desire to do good for others never fades.

Nurse-Patient Encounter

A patient encounter I have had in school was one that I will carry with me throughout the rest

of my nursing career. This patient wasn’t one that enjoyed talking much to others due to feeling

isolated and depressed due to their personal problems. I did my best that day to try and make this

particular patient feel comfortable, but know I was there to talk if they wanted too. I

demonstrated compassion and healing by focusing not just on this patient’s medical issues, but

also by trying to be comforting in regards to other psychosocial issues I was aware of and could

see them having an impact on this patients mental health. I felt like person centered care was

important for this patient so that they could feel adequate even though their personal

circumstances were not the greatest nor was their palliative care outcome.

I have learned that it can be difficult to build a relationship with patients of this kind because

they tend to shut others out since they are depressed, but I made it a goal to make myself

available for whatever their needs may be and demonstrate to this patient that I was there for

them. Working with this patient was my first encounter with palliative medicine so I worked

hard that day to provide excellent, but basic care to this patient. I took my time giving this patient

a bath and positioning them because I knew that those little things make the biggest impact on

these patients. I felt I learned a lot from this experience, but not in terms of giving medications or

skills, but just in how to provide therapeutic communication and demonstrate the basic caring

principles of a nurse.
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Role as a Change Agent

I feel as if this course has shown me the importance of bringing together all the factors that

make a nurse, a nurse. Yes, medication administration is hugely important and should be done

correctly and effectively and yes, it is important to master technical skills, but we also have to

demonstrate the ability to provide adequate bedside manner. As a nurse, it is important to

advocate for our patients, but it also so important to advocate for ourselves. We can change

nursing and continue to improve this career, but we have to use our voice and collaborate with

others in order to make this possible.

From Novice to Expert – Benner’s Theory

When first beginning nursing school, I was a novice. I had no previous background knowledge

on pretty much anything to help support my motives. I had to learn everything that I know now

from the bottom up. It was difficult because as a novice, you fail a lot. It can make you feel

incompetent and want to quit, but with more practice you slowly begin to understand how to do

things better. Then, you enter the stage where I believe I am now which is an advanced beginner.

In this current state, I have knowledge that I can apply to situations, but sometimes I’m still

unsure of what exactly I should do. So many variables can come into play with nursing so I still

question my abilities some days because I know that many other nurses know a vast amount

more than me, so I still lean on their guidance.

I need feedback in the stage that I am in now because without it I cannot improve. I obviously

want to improve though so constructive criticism highly motivates me. In a few years’ time I

strive to enter into the competent stage of Benner’s theory. However, I cannot become competent

without experience which is why I know this stage will take some time to acquire.

Action Plan for Moving Forward

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In moving forward, my goal is to become a competent nurse. I can accomplish this stage, but

only with time and experience. I have to be able to master the skills I know now and learn to

apply them more efficiently. In my first few years as a new nurse, I plan to focus on becoming

better at time management and prioritizing what I need to get done in a shift, while also

demonstrating my values I shared above. In class we have discussed the importance of self-care

especially during this transition from student to nurse and I have to say I really have neglected

self-care while in school. I plan to focus on giving myself some time each day to decompress and

compartmentalize my thoughts so I can think clearer and provide better care for my patients. I

know with how crazy this transition will be, that some days I might not get that much time to

myself due to work and personal responsibilities at home, but I need to learn to make time to

care for myself to prevent burn out.

To address my long term professional development, I must say that my focus right now is on

bettering myself as a novice nurse so that I can climb the clinical ladder in a few years. One day I

may consider going back and furthering my education, but right now my main concentration is

on becoming the best nurse I can possibly be and becoming confident in my abilities. I look

forward to seeing where my journey as a nurse takes me, but this is just the beginning.