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Developing a personal philosophy is key to good nursing practice. A good philosophy,

defined core beliefs and values help to keep one grounded and centered. There can be many

distractions that can pull a nurses attention away from what really matters: providing excellent

and competent patient care.

The International Council of Nursing (ICN) describes nursing in this way: “Nursing

encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and

communities, sick or well and in all settings. Nursing includes the promotion of health,

prevention of illness, and the care of ill, disabled and dying people. Advocacy, promotion of a

safe environment, research, participation in shaping health policy and in patient and health

systems management, and education are also key nursing roles” (Nursing Definition, 2020). The

first element of nursing is care for patients of every type. There is no room for discrimination in

the nursing profession. The definition also encompasses multiple aspects of the nursing

profession and the type of care, promotion, and education that nurses provide.

The purpose of nursing is to use one's professional skill set and nursing judgment to

provide excellent care to every patient both physically and mentally. Nursing care takes on many

different forms. Nurses provide care to patients that they are unable to do for themselves. It can

take the form of acute care, education, health promotion, and advocacy. Nurses are found in most

areas and levels of healthcare so their specific skill set can vary.

When doing research on nursing principles and values, I came across principles of

nursing ethics. This includes autonomy, beneficence, justice, and nonmaleficence (Gaines,

2020). These are all principles that I would hope to include in my nursing practice.Other

important nursing values that I believe make a good nurse include a caring nature, integrity, and
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the pursuit of excellence. I believe that each patient's life has meaning and value and that they

deserve excellent care at all times.

The first principle of nursing that I hope to apply to my nursing practice is the pursuit of

excellence. An example of this principle in use is a time when I was in nursing school clinical. I

was assigned a patient who had a PICC line. The current hospital policy was that every lumen

and every port on the IV tubing should be covered with a green Curos cap. These caps are

infused with antiseptic and are designed to help reduce the occurrences of central line associated

bloodstream infections (CLABSI’s). A recent study showed that using Curos caps on all central

line ports, among other interventions, helped reduce the occurrences of CLABSI’s (Wei et al.,

2019). I was tasked with hanging a new bag of IV fluids. After I primed the tubing and

programmed the IV pump, I was about to connect the tubing to the lumen of the PICC line, I

realized that I had forgotten the green Curos caps for the ports. A part of me wanted to just

connect him to the tubing, start the fluids, then go get the caps and place them on after. But

remembering my commitment to excellence, I asked my instructor to go to the supply room for

more Curos caps and I only started the infusion once every port had a cap on it.

The second principle is to always treat each patient with dignity and respect. Examples of

this occur with many patient encounters. The most simple of examples is ensuring that the door

and blinds are closed in patients rooms when providing incontinence care. This provides privacy

for the patient and gives them a sense of dignity in the midst of an uncomfortable situation.

Another simple example is helping the patient maintain their modesty while in the hospital.

Hospital gowns are almost always worn by patients and while nurses are used to seeing patients

bodies, most patients often feel embarrassed or uncomfortable exposing themselves. An easy
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way to respect these patients is to help them maintain their modesty as much as possible and

explain every procedure thoroughly.

In conclusion, the role of a nurse is to provide care for every patient in a multitude of

ways. I hope to provide meaningful nursing care with integrity while always striving for

excellence in all aspects of my profession.

Upon reflection, this assignment has helped me to evaluate my own values and beliefs. I

have identified the morals I hope to use in my nursing career and have provided examples of

how I have already done so. I will seek to not lose sight of these values.
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References

Gaines, K. (2020, September 4). What is the Nursing Code of Ethics? Retrieved October 27,
2020, from https://nurse.org/education/nursing-code-of-ethics/

Nursing Definitions. (2020). Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://www.icn.ch/nursing-

policy/nursing-definitions

Wei, A., Markert, R., Connelly, C., & Polenakovik, H. (2019). 1168. Trends in Central-Line-
Associated Blood Stream Infections in a Community Teaching Hospital: A Multi-
Intervention Quality Improvement Project. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 6, S418.
https://doi-org.proxy.lib.odu.edu/10.1093/ofid/ofz360.1031