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NUR 460- Philosophy Reflection

Kayla Adkins

Delaware Technical Community College

Nursing 460- Nursing Capstone

Dr. Wagamon
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Philosophy Reflection

At the beginning of this program, I stated that the three main values that I live by and

follow are, respect, caring, and dignity. I still believe in these values because having these traits

is what it takes to be a good nurse. This philosophy has helped me grow not only as a nurse but

also as a person because as I stated back in NUR 300, having these values helped me with

continuing my education because I have not given up even though times have been tough. I also

stated that lifelong learning plays an important role in nursing because you are constantly

learning new skills and I have found this to be true. I have been on my current floor for a little

less than 2 years and I see myself learning something new every day and learning new

techniques and helpful hints from each doctor. I had chosen to write about Jean Watson and her

theory of human caring, and I still display this theory in my nursing practice. I am not “just” a

nurse, but I am a patient advocate and a helping hand for my patients. I always want them to feel

comfortable and feel free and open to ask my any questions that they have and not feel like they

will get judged. The one thing that I still catch myself doing is not going to lunch until later in

the afternoon only because I don’t like asking other nurses to help me complete my tasks. I have

gotten better at asking for help when needed, but I don’t like overwhelming other nurses with my

tasks when they have their own to complete. There will be times when you just can’t make it to

all of your patients because you are busy helping another. This happened to me recently when I

was in the room with my post-op patient who was bleeding an excessive amount, so I had to

complete a lot of tasks with her such as hanging blood, all while I had 2 patients retuning back to

the floor who I couldn’t lay eyes on. It’s times like these when nurses will feel overwhelmed and

stress out and that is more than likely when mistakes will happen. I have learned that you can’t

stress out about it and there will be other people around to help you in times of need, and to also
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make sure that you take care of yourself because if you don’t then you’re putting your patient’s

life at risk. I still display the accommodating style of conflict management because I think that

this will have the best outcome for the patients.

By displaying all these values and beliefs I have proven not only to my co-workers that I

am a strong nurse but also my superiors and patients. I have been recognized by the president

and vice president of the hospital and also my superiors believed in me and have made me a

relief charge nurse. When I first started this position, I was very nervous because I had only been

a nurse for a little over a year, but I know that my managers would not have asked me to do this

position if they didn’t think I was ready or couldn’t handle it. My patients have recognized me

for being an exceptional nurse and to me this is one of the biggest accomplishments a nurse

could get. I plan to keep growing as this strong nurse in aspirations to become a nursing

supervisor. I also would like to continue my education to achieve my master’s degree and

eventually Nurse Practitioner. As you can see, I am very passionate about my job and love what I

do, and it is recognized by my patients. I wouldn’t change anything about how I am currently

practicing, but I would like to have a better knowledge on some medications that I administer,

but I know that comes with time.

Angela Duckworth (2016) explains that grit is a sustained application of effort towards a

long-term goal and is the biggest predictor of lifelong achievement. She also states that, “Grit

trumps talent (you have a shot if you put in the effort) and talent x effort =skill and skill x effort

=achievement” (Duckworth, 2016). I believe that I am gritty because in order to grow grit you

have to follow these four things; develop a fascination, strive to improve each day, remind

yourself of the greater purpose, and adopt a growth mindset. Developing a fascination is by

finding out what questions fascinate you and you will find the passion to stay gritty, by trying to
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achieve something great (Duckworth, 2016). Striving to improve each day is stating that

whatever it takes, you will improve (Duckworth, 2016). Remining yourself of the greater

purpose can be explained by higher levels of purpose will often associate with higher levels of

grit (Duckworth, 2016). Finally, adopting a growth mindset is continuing learning (Duckworth,

2016), and I feel that I display all of these every day in my nursing practice.

The parable of leadership that I identify with would have to be the sound of the forest. I

have chosen this parable because it can be explained as “to hear the unheard” (Kim &

Mauborgne, 1992). Kim & Mauborgne (1992) also stated, “For only when a ruler has learned to

listen closely to the people’s hearts, hearing their feelings uncommunicated, pains unexpressed,

and complaints not spoken of, can he hope to inspire confidence in his people, understand when

something is wrong, and meet the true needs of his citizens”. I can relate to this parable because I

am a very avid listener especially to my patients and I am able to tell when they are in pain or

need something without them having to express this. The values and beliefs that I wrote about in

NUR 300 still pertain to my current nursing practice but, I can tell that I have grown in these

values and have become a better nurse and plan on continuing.

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References:

Kim, C., & Mauborgne, R. (1992). Parables of Leadership. Harvard Business Review.
https://hbr.org/1992/07/parables-of-leadership.

YouTube. (2016). Grit by Angela Duckworth | Animated Core Message. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWctLEdIgi4&t=2s.