Philosophy of Nursing

NURS 314- Principles of Practice: Foundational Concepts

NURS 481- Transition to Professional Nursing Practice

Purpose of Assignment
The purpose of this assignment is to enable the student to rediscover his or her personal
philosophy of nursing as it exists upon the completion of the baccalaureate nursing program.

Student Approach to Assignment

It is important for the nurse to be aware of their personal philosophy of nursing because it
allows for a greater degree of intentionality in practice. When we place our values on paper, we
may be faced with details that require growth and improvement. It is important to approach
nursing practice with the desire to continuously learn and grow. I approached this assignment by
assessing my attitudes and beliefs about nursing during various stages of my career. I was able
to determine aspect of prior philosophies that would benefit from revision and improvement.

Reason for Inclusion of this Assignment in the Portfolio

This assignment, though required, represents many of the values that guides my practice as
a nurse. This paper demonstrates my development as a nurse and student. It demonstrates the
level of care that I strive to provide as a nurse. It also demonstrates attention to small details,
which is an important trait for nurses to develop.

 Nursing Practice
 Implements traditional nursing care practices as appropriate to provide holistic health
care to diverse populations across the lifespan.
 Example: In this paper, my definition of nursing includes the fact that nursing
involves everything from performing incontinence care to administering life saving
medications. I gave attention to the fact that excellent nursing, by default, results in
the provision of holistic care. Every patient provides an opportunity to provide
specific, culturally competent care.

 Leadership
 Articulates the values of the profession and the role of the nurse as member of the
interdisciplinary health care team
 Example: In this paper, I state that the nurse is often the one performing care and
providing data upon which doctors base their care. Nurses communicate with all
members of a patient’s health care team and are often the ones who provide patient
information to family members. Without nurses, our healthcare system would not be
able to function.
 Research
 Applies research-based knowledge from nursing as the basis for culturally sensitive
practice
 Example: In this project, I utilized a source from a nursing journal that focused on the
impact of communication. The research recognized that culture can have an impact
on verbal and nonverbal communication. This research suggests that the nurse use
their critical thinking and assessment abilities to maintain awareness of the response
of the culturally diverse patient during communication. This can have a positive
impact on patient outcomes and satisfaction

 Culture
 Articulates an understanding of how human behavior is affected by culture, race,
religion, gender, lifestyle, and age
 Example: In this paper, I discuss Transcultural nursing, which is a theory that aims to
bring light to cultural care values. The goal of this theory is to provide excellent
intercultural care by ensuring that the nurse is educated regarding the impact of every
aspect of the patient’s identity. When patient cultural values form the foundation of
care, better patient outcomes can be achieved

 Critical Thinking
 Uses decision-making skills in making clinical or professional judgments
 Example: In this paper, I discussed an incident in which I ensured that I changed my
gloves at the indicated times even though the others performing wound care did not. I
began performing care after them and had noticed that they were not changing gloves
when they ought to, but I ensured that I provided safe care.