RUNNING HEAD: NURSING PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT

Nursing Philosophy and Professional Goals Statement

Jordyn L. Elwell

Grand Canyon University: NSG-310

6, December 2019
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NURSING PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT

Nursing Philosophy and Professional Goals Statement

Introduction

Throughout years of nursing, there have been many different people who have thought of

different ideas and theories which has made nursing what it is today. Still, everyone has their

different personal approaches when it comes to the way they view and practice it. Nurses

typically begin to develop these ideas, opinions and practicing habits in the very beginning when

they are in nursing school and start to learn about different ones and experiencing them first-

hand at clinicals. This will develop throughout a nurse’s career. This paper will discuss my

person views and philosophy of nursing and go over how I have shaped it along with goals I

hope to accomplish throughout nursing school and continuing on into my nursing career.

Personal Approach and Philosophy

When people think of nursing, a lot think mostly of the medicine side which is a very

important part, but my philosophy of nursing looks at the broader view. While the medicine

aspect is vital in nursing, I believe that it is equally important to assure quality patient care

through compassionate and caring actions. Every patient is different, and it is important to know

that when trying to create a plan of care for each individual patient. Nursing care should

incorporate the patient’s beliefs and values to ensure holist care. A theory that my philosophy

lines up with is Neuman’s theory that nursing should encompass a holistic view to obtain optimal

health in a patient. Neuman’s System Model looked at the physiological, psychological, socio-

cultural, spiritual and developmental needs of a patient to ensure all the needs of the patient were

being met (Neuman, 2007). I think this is crucial because all of these different aspects of a

person come together and define someone’s overall health. Health does not only include physical

and mental health which is why it is important as a nurse to include all of those.
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Level 1 Clinical Experience

My clinical experience benefited me a lot this semester, especially when it came to

learning how to provide patient centered care and look at the whole person instead of just their

medical diagnosis. Knowing each person’s values and beliefs helps ensure patient centered care

and can help create a therapeutic relationship with the patient. My clinical setting allowed a lot

of time for us to get to know each patient individually. It wasn’t until then that I noticed how

different everyone’s lives are and how differently everyone views the world. Each and every

patient had their own unique stories and experiences that shaped them into who they are now. It

was very clear how much they all appreciated being acknowledged at a personal level rather than

just a medical level. In level one didactic, we learned a lot about different cultures, religions and

other factors that nurses should take into consideration when taking care of other people.

Goals

There are many goals that I would like to attain by the time I graduate nursing school and

continue to improve throughout my nursing career. One goal that I would like to focus on is

improving my critical thinking skills. Critical thinking is a very important skill that all nurses

need to have because it is what they use to help prioritize different situations and help save the

lives of others (Nurse Journals, 2019). I think that through different clinical experiences and

critical thinking activities and tests, my critical thinking skills will improve throughout nursing

school and continue to improve once I become a nurse. I would also learn how to communicate

more effectively and comfortably with patients. This is a skill I would like to work on because

effective communication is vital to nursing and the more comfortable the nurse can act around

the patients, the more likely they are to feel that way too. If a patient is comfortable with the

nurse, the likelihood of there being more effective communication increases. Finally, I would
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like to improve my skills on how to create a therapeutic relationship with varieties of different

patients. I have seen in the past that it is easy for me to create therapeutic relationships with some

patients but I would like to gain more skills in that area so I can connect with most patients.

Skills could include knowledge on when to use different therapeutic techniques such as touch

and how to understand someone’s verbal and nonverbal cues more effectively.

Conclusion

In conclusion, my personal approach to nursing includes more than just the medicine side

and taking care of people physically. It is important for everyone to be taken care of physically,

mentally and spiritually which goes along with Neuman’s System Model. Level one taught me a

lot about this concept and molded my view and envision of what I want my nursing philosophy

to look like. Throughout my nursing career I would like to continue to build on that as I learn

more and more.

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References

Neuman. R., (2007) A Neuman systems model perspective on nursing in 2050. Nurs Sci Q 20:

111-113. 

Nurse Journals. (2019). The value of critical thinking in nursing examples. Retrieved from

https://nursejournal.org/community/the-value-of-critical-thinking-in-nursing/.