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Running Head: NURSING PHILOSOPHY

Nursing Philosophy

Corinne H. Flora

Old Dominion University

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Nursing Philosophy

An individual philosophy of nursing practice is essential to define and understand for the

practicing registered nurse (RN). This philosophy may grow and adapt as new clinical

experiences are acquired but the main driving principles will remain. To define a personal

nursing philosophy, it is imperative to understand what nursing is. The American Nurses

Association (2014) describes modern day nursing as “the glue that holds a patient’s health care

journey together; across the entire patient experience, and wherever there is someone in need of

care, nurses work tirelessly to identify and protect the needs of the individual” (“What is

Nursing,” para. 1). I think the role of an RN is so diverse and broad that this definition

encompasses the essence of nursing without limiting it to defined and specific tasks. As nurses

we are the most accessible and trusted agent of health care for our patients to ask questions to,

get clarifying explanations from, identify new barriers or newly arising problems and we ensure

that their health care experience is the most comprehensive and well-informed process possible

for them.

I am currently working at Sentara Rockingham Memorial Hospital (SRMH) in the

emergency department. The hospital’s mission and values are listed as follows and align closely

with my core beliefs about providing high quality care to my patients.

Our mission is to improve health every day; our values include: people, quality, patient

safety, service and integrity. Our commitments are to: always keep you safe; always treat

you with dignity, respect and compassion; always listen and respond to you; always

keeping you informed and involved; always work together as a team to provide you

quality healthcare (SRMH “Missions & values”, para. 1).

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My personal nursing philosophy is to provide respectful care to patients of all cultural

backgrounds in my community; I aspire to exude integrity, compassion, empathy and

competence to patients, patients’ families and all other members of the health care team. I strive

to make one of the most stressful and scariest times in a person’s life a bit more bearable. I also

pledge to uplift and encourage my fellow nurses while believing that they are also delivering the

best care to each and every patient that they are caring for.

Purpose of Nursing

I think all nurses have a common motivator to help others and improve their patients’

lives; the way in which we go about nursing on a day-to-day basis and achieve this common goal

may not have as many commonalities. Working in the emergency department I do believe that

there is a certain amount of intuition associated with daily care of the acutely ill patients. Every

patient whom you encounter at triage needs to be quickly assessed and it will be determined how

critical it is that they see a doctor immediately or if they are safe to wait; much of this comes

with experience but I believe a large part of this skill is inherit intuition. I also believe a driving

force in the care that I provide on a daily basis comes from the urge to positively affect

someone’s life and health on one of the worst days in their life. Typically, in the emergency

department people are coming in after being involved in a traumatic event and are experiencing

high levels of stress and anxiety. Then they are thrust into an environment where things are

being done very quickly and many things are happening at once. Attempting to empathize with

that patient, and trying to understand how overwhelming it must be drives my daily practice. I

make a conscious effort to introduce myself and the members of my team, quickly explain what

and why things are being done and try to put the patient’s mind at ease without delaying nursing

assessments or interventions.
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Nursing can be described as both an art and a science; a heart and a mind. At its heart,

lies a fundamental respect for human dignity and an intuition for a patient’s needs. This is

supported by the mind, in the form of rigorous core learning. Due to the vast range of

specialisms and complex skills in the nursing profession, each nurse will have specific

strengths, passions, and expertise. However, nursing has a unifying ethos:  In assessing a

patient, nurses do not just consider test results. Through the critical thinking exemplified

in the nursing process, nurses use their judgment to integrate objective data with

subjective experience of a patient’s biological, physical and behavioral needs” (ANA,

2014, “What is Nursing”, para. 3 & 4).

Nursing Relationships

Culture

Nurses come into contact with and care for many patients of differing cultural

backgrounds. I believe that in order for the patient to receive the highest quality and most

sensitive care possible the nurse needs to be respectful, patient and understanding about these

cultural differences. I don’t think that it is realistic for each individual nurse to have an intricate

understanding or every culture and subcultures’ nuances; however, I do believe that it is each and

every nurse’s responsibility to have candid and non-judgmental conversations with their patients

about their culture and cultural preference in order to provide culturally sensitive care. With

these conversations in mind the nurse needs to be cognizant of specific requirements and be

flexible with a different work flow or how tasks my typically be completed. At SRMH in

Harrisonburg, VA I provide care on a weekly basis for people from differs cultural backgrounds
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to include Hispanic, Black American, Russian, Mennonite, Tigrinya, Arabic and Asian. Each

culture has unique characteristics that shape their perception of quality health care’ some simple

things that can be completed to better integrate a patient’s culture into their care such as utilizing

a translator for all communication and asking sensitive questions about what their expectations

are so that you can better meet those expectations. Madeleine Leininger’s culture care diversity

and universality theory most closely supports these concepts by addressing how caring and

culture are integrally linked. (Blais, 2016).

Community

Within the large service area that SRMH serves I see all walks of life and diversely

different members of my community within the emergency department. I care for American

veterans, those suffering from mental health illnesses, those struggling with drug abuse and

addition, alcoholics, elderly patients living independently, residents from nursing homes, college

students, factory workers, farmers, obstetric and gynecological patients, pediatric patients,

unemployed patients, inmates, the homeless and uninsured. All of these subcultures and more

make up the community in which I serve at SRMH. I believe an integral part of serving my

community to the best of my ability is communicating effectively with them both while in my

care at the hospital and out in public. I must understand what the patient expects out of each visit

to the emergency department, which often leads to helping them shape a more realistic view of

what role the emergency department can play in their health care and educating them on existing

resources in the community. A huge void that we are currently suffering in our community is a

shortage of primary care practitioners and the rural belief that “if nothing’s wrong I don’t need to

go to the doctor”. SRMH does many community outreach and educational events each year,

some of which I have participated in. Community outreach events include but are not limited to:
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blood pressure, cholesterol and A1C screenings at the county fair and an annual trauma trot

community run which raises money for and supplies children in the community with free bicycle

helmets. Imogene King’s goal-attainment theory most closely supports these concepts,

interpersonal-systems and social-systems to include interactions, communication and decision

making. (Blais, 2016).

Other Health Care Professionals

I believe that working proficiently as an effective and productive member of the health

care team comes primarily from being an expert and exceptional nurse. I believe that other

members of the team will respect and value our input as nurses if we have proven to be

competent and vital members of the team in past interactions. Undoubtedly this takes time and

personal growth. I believe that effective and positive mentorship programs are an important

aspect of fostering growth and resiliency in new nurses, these programs also better prepare new

nurses for their role in the health care team so that expectations can be better met soon after

graduation when clinical experience may not be abundant. I also believe that creating a culture

of lifelong learning is integral to staying current on evidence-based practice and proving on a

daily basis that nurses’ knowledge base and skills are above average. Patricia Benner’s Novice

to Expert theory most closely supports these concepts by exploring the process in which a nurse

becomes an expert and how that development comes about through practical knowledge (Blais,

2016).

Morals and Ethics

Moral Principle #1 - Respect

Respect is one of the pillars on which my daily practice as a nurse rests; respect for

patients, patients’ families, coworkers, physicians and employees at facilities outside of SRMH.
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I believe that if you have a strong sense of respect then many of the other aspects of being an

exceptional nurse will follow. A general respect encourages keeping the patient informed, being

culturally sensitive, collaborating well with other disciplines and being a productive member of

the team. I am not naive the fact that it is sometimes a challenge to find respectable qualities in

difficult patients, families or coworkers. For example, when caring for an inmate or a patient

brought in under police custody for driving while under the influence, I find it is easier to respect

them as a human and patient if I do not consider the reasons why they are incarcerated. I try to

compartmentalize and separate the crime which was committed from the person sitting in front

of me whom is in need of my help and expertise.

Moral Principle #2 - Integrity

Integrity is another very important aspect of how I carry myself as a professional nurse in

my day to day practice. It is important that when mistakes or oversights are made, even with

every safe guard in place and followed to prevent this, that they are not swept under the rug. It is

also important to think critically and independently bout tasks which you are being asked to

complete; if they are not moral or best practice then one should respectfully offer a different

course of action or a safer means to an end, instead of just completing an order that a physician

gave you or task that a charge nurse asked of you. I like to think of operating with the highest

sense of integrity is kind of like asking myself “if this were my mother in the bed and this task

was completed in this particular way would I feel good about how I executed my job and could I

rest easily tonight?”

Conclusion

Most notably I realized that I had not given much thought to my personal nursing

philosophy or even naming the qualities within myself which I valued most as a nurse. Taking
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the time to reflect on these principles has allowed me to frame an operational context that will

allow me to self-evaluate if I am staying true to myself and my personal nursing philosophy

periodically. I am prepared for this philosophy to grow and change as I continue to grow and

expand my knowledge base as a professional nurse but believe the core of this philosophy will

remain true throughout my career.

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References

American Nurses Association. (2017, October 14) What is Nursing? Retrieved from

https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/workforce/what-is-nursing

Blais, K. K., & Hayes, J. S. (2016). Knowledge development in nursing. In P. Fuller & B. Price

(Eds.), Professional nursing practice: Concepts and perspectives (pp. 99-118). Hoboken,

NJ: Prentice Hall.

Sentara. Mission & values. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sentara.com/harrisonburg-

virginia/aboutus/mission-and-values.aspx
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Honor Code

I pledge to support the Honor System of Old Dominion University. I will refrain from any form

of academic dishonesty or deception, such as cheating or plagiarism. I am aware that as a

member of the academic community it is my responsibility to turn in all suspected violations of

the Honor Code. I will report to a hearing if summoned.

Signature Corinne H. Flora