Running head: NURSING PHILOSOPHY PAPER 1

Nursing Philosophy Paper

Viktoriia S. Kafando

School of Nursing, James Madison University

NSG 463: Professional Role Transition

Dr. Nena Powell

September 26, 2021

Nursing Philosophy Paper

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This paper is intended to analyze my views about nursing and analyze my decision to

become a nurse. It also analyzes the values and beliefs that guide my nursing practice. According

to Denehy (2013), a personal philosophy statement reflects our unique personal and professional

values that guide our professional nursing practice (p. 2). After analyzing my values and beliefs,

a personal nursing philosophy statement was created.

Decision to Become a Nurse

A few years before I decided to go to a nursing school, I was a Certified Nursing

Assistant (CNA). I was working at people's homes and at Sunrise assisted living, on a memory

floor. I knew a lot, but I felt like people would not take me seriously and would not listen as they

would to nurses or doctors. That inability to be heard and not being taken seriously by the

patients made me change my views and my perception of my caregiver career. I wanted to be

able to teach others about safety and health and give advice. Occasionally, I did not feel

appreciation from some of the family members and decided that I could do better than that. I felt

that I could do more for the geriatric population. This feeling of disrespect pushed me to get my

education even more, so I finally got to college and my unpredictable nursing journey began.

I chose the associate degree because it was quicker and cheaper. It was already eight

years since I had graduated high school. Therefore, I felt like I did not have these four years to

study for my bachelor's. Additionally, I could start working as a nurse and get that valuable

career experience. I do not regret this pathway. I have two years of nursing experience while I

am in nursing school for my BSN.

View of Nursing

I thought of nursing as a cool profession with mostly women who dress nice, give advice,

pass medications, and cry through difficult times. My point of view about nursing changed
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dramatically since I started nursing school. Rotation after rotation, I realized that nursing is not

as easy as it seemed to me before. I still remember my second semester at the psychiatric unit,

where one of the patients’ goals was not to kill himself. My views of life and nursing changed

even more. Nurses do bear a lot more than the public thinks. While learning nursing from the

student perspective, I realized that it was time for the NCLEX exam, and I was supposed to start

my new career as a nurse. Ever since I had to take all the responsibility for my actions, and I

have been ready for anything that may come my way.

My Values

Helping others is just who I am. It makes me happy, especially when people react with

respect and appreciation. I have a caring personality, and I think that gives me the energy to keep

enthusiasm, despite the difficulties I may face. According to Black (2020), “Everything we do,

every decision we make and course of action we take is based on our consciously and

unconsciously chosen beliefs, attitudes, and values” (p. 190). It is important for all nurses to

review their own beliefs and values that guide their practice so nurses can deliver non-

judgmental care to all patients, treat all patients with dignity and respect, and value their opinions

even if it opposes their own.

I think passion, knowledge, and experience are the key components that lead my nursing

practice and advancement. Passion is something that keeps me going, something that makes me

satisfied with nursing, despite the many hardships that come my way almost every day. I see

nursing as a rewarding career; it is the inner award, a satisfaction that I gain when I help patients

and they get better. Any task, cleaning patients, educating, changing dressings, helping patients

to walk or to sip water, is rewarding to me. I am proud to do these tasks because they are the

easiest of all. Some days, I was ready to quit, yet, every new day, when I come to work, I find
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the strength and positivity in me to do similar tasks with all my patients: care, educate, motivate

and many more. I love to discharge patients because I know they are ready to go home, and I am

happy for them. According to Buresh and Gordon (2013), patients rely on nurses for expertise,

which allows nurses to perform their jobs (p.94). Without education, I would not be a nurse and

would not be able to provide competent care to the patients. Experience is priceless, and it gives

me confidence in nursing practice and, therefore, provides the path to greater care. I am not

afraid to say that I do not know something. I understand that nursing is a life-long learning

career. I also build my knowledge on the situations that happen to me and others, and I

incorporate this knowledge to recognize negative and positive outcomes. These are the three

main components that I think should drive any profession, not only nursing.

The most important values to me are compassion, empathy, sensitivity, kindness, and

care. I think these are basic human values and should be present in all individuals, not only

nurses. These values help me to be kind, value each patient despite their background or situation,

and they help me to guide my patients toward the common goal - recovery and health promotion.

I cannot enter or leave the room of my patients without saying anything. Yet, I see many nurses

do that. I am sensitive to someone’s else feeling and attitudes. Negative attitudes drain my

energy because I cannot just leave this feeling behind the door when I leave. I do not understand

how people may not even say thank you for my hard work and effort, and it makes me sad. I

believe this set of values make me a dedicated nurse who cares.

I have been providing care to diverse patient populations from different backgrounds,

with different beliefs and values. I understood that cultural competency could not be

accomplished without proper knowledge. Nursing education helped me to re-evaluate my own

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beliefs and biases about other cultural backgrounds. Trudy (2020) writes, “To be culturally

competent does not mean you are an authority in the values and beliefs of every culture. What it

means is that you hold a deep respect for cultural differences and are eager to learn, and willing

to accept, that there are many ways of viewing the world” (p. 13). I realized not to judge people

based on their culture, but rather help them in any way possible that suits them. Even within the

same culture, each person is different, so treating them without biases is the key to person-

centered care. If I do not fully understand it, I do not judge it. No matter the culture, all patients’

basic needs must be met. Everyone needs explanation, support, motivation, and advocacy. Since

I come from a collectivist cultural background, patients’ families are a priority to me. Families

are the best support systems; therefore, involving them in patients’ care is crucial for better

patients' outcomes.

I value every patient as a unique individual. Each patient deserves unique evaluation,

care, and attitude. After many hardships and disappointments, I still enjoy my nursing job. I

enjoy educating people and motivating patients, so they can recover sooner. I take care of many

different patients and their family members, who have all kinds of attitudes, yet I believe there

are no difficult patients or families; you just need to find the right way to deal with them.

Nursing Philosophy

After reviewing my own beliefs and values, I came up with the nursing philosophy

statement:

A new day is a new beginning, and it brings hope for the better. Each patient is an individual

with his or her unique beliefs, values, willingness, knowledge, and coping skills. Therefore, no

two patients can be treated in the same way. Every day, I advocate, educate, support, and

motivate patients and their families toward recovery and health promotion. My passion and
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nurturing care give me satisfaction for all the hard work that I do in the hope to help someone in

any way I can. It gives me the strength and motivation to start a new day with a caring attitude,

and I hope to bring a change for the better to someone’s life.

Conclusion

This paper helped me to get insights into my vision about nursing and how it has changed

since I started my nursing journey. It helped me to evaluate the personal values that guide my

nursing practice. Experience and knowledge help me stay competent. Values and beliefs guide

my nursing practice. Each patient is unique; therefore, passion, knowledge, empathy along with a

caring, unbiased, and positive attitude helps to deliver culturally competent and holistic patient-

centered care. Now, I understand why my behaviors are the ones I possess as a nurse. Based on

this evaluation, the personal philosophy statement was created.

References

Black, B. P. (2020). Professional nursing: Concepts and challenges (9th ed.). Elsevier.

Buresh, B. & Gordon, S. (2013). From silence to voice. (3rd ed.). Cornell University Press.

Denehy, D. (2001). Articulating your philosophy of nursing. The Journal of School Nursing,
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17(1), 1-2. https://10.1177/105984050101700101

Laffoon, T. A. (2020). Culturally competent care. Viewpoint, 42(5), 12-13.

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