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Professional Nursing Philosophy 

  

Enoch Lee 

Department of Nursing, Delaware Technical Community College 

NUR 300: RN to BSN Transition 

Jeanmarie Maloney 

10/10/2021 

 
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The nursing field has come a long way from where it began. As the medical field evolved

over the years nursing had also changed, becoming what it is today, the most trusted occupation

to date. It was not too long ago when nurses only required an associate degree in nursing which

was mostly skill oriented. Now hospitals are requiring at least a BSN degree in nursing or plans

to complete and achieve BSN status within 2 years of employment. As a nurse takes

on increased responsibilities, it is important to equip them with not only the necessary skills, but

the values and beliefs that are just as essential when providing safe patient centered care. 

The BSN education is essential to being a nurse as it sets us "associate" nurses up

for lifelong learning which is required in this constantly changing field. As a nurse my goals and

ambitions do not stop at being a bedside nurse. I plan to continue my education and specialize in

a field that I am passionate in, although I am unsure which field that is at the moment. I plan to

become an asset to my team by mastering a specific field and becoming a RN that others can rely

on when it comes to my specialty. This will in turn promote a more positive patient outcome.  

Lifelong learning to me means just that, continual education throughout my lifetime.

Whether this means I take additional courses to further my education or even just learning on the

job, I am always learning something new every day. My professional goal as a nurse is to give

the best care, I can give in whatever field I end up in. Whether it is at bedside nursing,

informatics, or other fields I am interested in, I plan to continue my education to better patient

outcomes and to advance in my professional carrier. As I mentioned above, I have had interest in

informatics, and other technical aspects of nursing ever since I joined the nursing program.

Although I enjoy making a positive and direct impact to patients, the stress that goes along with

it has always been a struggle with me. To maintain my mental health in the long run, I plan
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to look into carrier paths outside of bedside nursing and that requires me to further my

education. 

Although the general education classes I took played a role in my mindset as a nursing  

student, I cannot say for sure if it had any impact on my values and beliefs about nursing

practice. The general education classes I took helped build in me self-discipline, accountability,

time management skills, and the ability to deal with multiple stressors at once. All of these skills

I find to be very valuable in the field of nursing, especially time management. As for my values

and beliefs about nursing practice, I learned and embodied all of these during my actual time in

nursing school. I learned about the nursing ethical principles (autonomy, beneficence,

nonmaleficence, and justice) and I am currently using and practicing these ethical principles

daily working as a RN. I had also incorporated my own values and beliefs into the care I give to

patients as a RN. I was born into a Christian family (my father is a pastor), and the values that I

carried throughout my life has meshed with the values and beliefs I learned in nursing school. I

believe the combination of my general education classes, my nursing courses, and my own

experiences helped me develop the values and beliefs that I hold today in my nursing carrier. 

Once I complete the RN to BSN program, I plan to build more experience at the floor I

work at currently. I want at least 2 years of bedside nursing before I try other areas of nursing.

Once I complete my 2 years, I plan to take specialty classes in order to build up my credentials

and ultimately try out other fields in nursing. I had thought at one point that I wanted to become

a nurse practitioner, and maybe in the future I may still pursue this. However, at the moment I do

not see myself going down that path. Wherever I end up, I will keep and build on my core values

and beliefs I cultivated during my BSN program and work experience. 

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The values that I hold as an individual and as a nurse stem from my beliefs in

Christianity. As a Christian I am taught to love my neighbors as I would myself. One way to act

on this is to genuinely care for those I interact with. And through this specific value and belief I

chose to go with Jean Watson’s theory of Human Caring. There are 4 major components to this

theory. First, the “ten caritive factors,” later known as “clinical caritas processes,” goes over

what Watson believes is the guide to the “core of nursing.” Second, the “transpersonal caring

relationship” goes over having an authentic relationship with the patient at an even deeper level

compared to those in everyday encounters, crossing over into the spiritual side of caring, beyond

one’s own ego. Third, “Caring moment/caring occasion” can be descried as the moment when

the caregiver or the recipient relates to one another through similar life experiences or

understandings, thus creating a moment or occasion where they can bond at a more intimate level

and create a more personal relationship when it comes to the care of the patient. And finally, the

“Caring (Healing) Consciousness," explains how people can feel if someone genuinely cares

about their wellbeing. And if that said person consciously cares about their wellbeing,

the outcome is bound to be better (Parker, Smith, 2010). By putting in effort to create a more

personal relationship with my patients and having a caring heart and attitude when formulating

and acting on their care plan, I can positively impact a patient’s outcome.  

My nursing theory of caring not only applies to my patients, but also to everyone I

interact with. This is especially effective in conflict management. My style of conflict

management revolves around being mindful of others and trying to understand their viewpoint. I

do try to avoid heated conflict and try get along with everyone if possible. however, I am always

open for discussion. In situations where opinions differ, I am able to accept the differences

and move on. I try not to argue when emotions are high and heated, and rather talk things out
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once both sides are in a calmer mood. This communication style is good for keeping a positive

and peaceful work place. However, sometimes this can be detrimental for my

own mental/emotional health as I generally keep my opinions to myself. Also, it is sometimes

necessary as a nurse to speak out especially when it comes to advocating for a patient. My style

of conflict management still needs development and may lack in certain situations, but overall

portrays my beliefs and values of caring for others. 

The core values and beliefs that I carry in my nursing practice requires me to put a lot of

energy and emotion into my care. This can be very taxing to the body both physically and

mentally. To give patient care that is to the standards of my beliefs and values, I realized looking

after my own personal wellness was essential. My wellness plan revolves around the physical,

spiritual, social, emotional, and intellectual aspects of life and work. As powerlifting is one of

my most passionate hobbies, physical health has always been my strong points. Naturally I feel

as though I accel in the physical side of nursing like when helping to lift a patient. However, I

plan to make sure I get proper rest in-between shifts to prevent physical burnout. Also, growing

up as a Pastor’s kid I have always been in touch with my spiritual health, developing it over the

years. The social, emotional, and intellectual areas are where I need to focus on. Up until

graduating high school, I had always been an extreme introvert. Socially, I had very little close

friends, and thus I lacked self-confidence and was always self-conscious. As a result, I was also

emotionally immature. I was not accustomed to interacting with other people, especially in high

pressure settings. Although I am leaps and bounds above where I was pre-nursing, I am

constantly learning how to be more socially active and emotionally mature by interacting with

my peers and patients. As for my intellectual health, I plan to continue my journey through

lifelong learning. My role as a nurse requires me to always be critically thinking and

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being creative with patient care. And now that I am returning to school, I am very intellectually

stimulated throughout my work and home life. 

During my time in the BSN program, I went back to the basics of patient safety in the

form of the “QSEN competencies”. The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses address the

knowledge, skills, and values about EBP that nurses need to use when providing safe, effective,

and efficient patient care (Boswell, 2021). The QSEN competencies consist of patient-centered

care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety and

informatics (Cronenwett et al, 2020). And each topic consists of a knowledge, skills and attitudes

section covering the appropriate attitudes involved with acquiring the necessary knowledge and

skills associated with each topic.  

Patient centered care is defined as “Recognizing the patient or designee as the source of

control and full partner in providing compassionate and coordinated care based on respect for the

patient's preferences, values, and needs” (Cronenwett et al, 2020). When giving patient centered

care, the key is to put power into the patient's hands by having the patient involved in his or her

own care. It is important to understand how diverse cultural, ethnic and social backgrounds may

have an effect on their values and preferences, and how respecting their opinions and preferences

may affect their outcomes. 

Teamwork and collaboration are defined as “functioning effectively within nursing and

inter-professional teams, fostering open communication, mutual respect, and shared decision-

making to achieve quality patient care” (Cronenwett et al, 2020). One of the core responsibilities

as a nurse is communicating and working alongside all the other interdisciplinary teams in the

healthcare field. Every member of the team plays a distinct role in patient care and is vital to the

overall outcome of the patient.  Oftentimes, it falls on the nurse taking care of the patient to
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facilitate this schedule balancing act, requiring effective communication skills and strong

teamwork and collaboration skills. 

Evidence based practice is defined as “Integrating best current evidence with clinical

expertise and patient/family preferences and values for delivery of optimal health care.” As many

nurses have experienced in recent times, nursing care is ever changing. In order to reduce

negative patient outcomes, research is always finding the most current, effective, and data driven

ways to provide safe care to patients. EBP is then used in quality improvement which is defined

as “the use of data to monitor the outcomes of care processes and use improvement methods to

design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of health care systems

(Cronenwett et al, 2020). It is important to have the mindset of lifetime learning as nurses and

appreciate that continuous quality improvement is an important part of our job as health care

professionals. Participating in either research, or plan building to test out different changes that

may increase patient safety and outcomes is all part of quality improvement. 

Safety is defined as “elimination of risk” (Sherwood, 2017). Patient safety is our number

one goal as nurses and is the reason why there is never ending research to find the new best EBP

data and do continuous quality improvement. If an incident were to occur, it is important to use

organizational error reporting systems in order to start the root cause analysis process which will

help prevent similar future errors.  

Informatics is defined as “using information and technology to communicate, manage

knowledge, mitigate error, and support decision making” (Cronenwett et al, 2020). As the

medical world continues to become more modernized with new technology being

developed every day, it is important to seek lifelong, continuous learning of information

technology skills. From the use of patient medical records to obtain past medical history and
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current plans, to the use of a Dina map to check a patient's vitals, technology is integrated into

every aspect of nursing care.   

With the proper knowledge, skills, and the attitudes to give safe, competent patient care,

all nurses take on the leadership role one way or another. Leadership is important in every aspect

of being a nurse. Leaders are those who go out of their comfort zone, learn new things, serve as a

mentor, become a voice for their patients and the community, and ultimately make changes that

will positively impact patient wellbeing. The type of leader I want to become is someone that

leads by action. To inspire others around me by acting on my values of true caring, to give the

best care they can and more.  

 
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References 

Boswell, C., Sanchez, L., & Powers, R. (2021). QSEN competencies. Nursing Management,  

52(4), 49–53. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.numa.0000733664.57667.9f 

Cronenwett, L., Sherwood, G., Barnsteiner, J., Disch, J., Johnson, J., Mitchell, P., Sullivan, D. 

S., & Warren, J. (2020). QSEN Competencies. QSEN Competencies. 

https://qsen.org/competencies/pre-licensure-ksas/ 

Filson, K., Atherholt, C., Simoes, M., DiPalma, M., John, S., Reynolds, R., & McGovern, J.  

(2018). Post-operative vital signs: How often is too often? Journal of Clinical Oncology, 

36(30_suppl), 210. https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2018.36.30_suppl.210 

Hunt, D. (2012). QSEN competencies. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy!, 10(5), 1-3. 

https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NME.0000418040.92006.70    

Parker, M. (2010). Nursing Theories and Nursing Practice (3rd ed.). F.A. Davis Company. 

Sherwood, G., & Nickel, B. (2017). Integrating Quality and Safety Competencies to 

Improve outcomes. The Art and Science of Infusion Nursing, 116-112 

https://doi.org/10.1097/NAN.0000000000000210