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My Personal Nursing Philosophy

Madisyn T. Holcomb

College of Nursing, University of Arizona

NURS 478: Nursing Leadership and Management in Health Systems

Sarah Hoogasian

November 15, 2022

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My Personal Nursing Philosophy

Nursing to me is a chance to have a good life filled with passion, success, and a job that I

will actually enjoy. I would define nursing as a career and lifestyle; one where you must be kind,

nonjudgmental, and able to adapt to always changing situations. My mission in nursing is to

make what can be the worst day of a patient’s life a little better by being kind and compassionate,

and to overall make a difference.

Defining My Nursing Practice

My beliefs regarding nursing practice include the idea that every patient should be treated

equally and should have equal access and opportunity for healthcare, that nurses in general

should be impartial and nonjudgmental towards our patients, and that every nurse should aim to

leave their patients better in some way after they’ve cared for them. The values that I hold for my

nursing practice correspond with my beliefs in that I value equality, fairness, open-mindedness,

impartiality, and kindness. The skills that I have developed during school that help me uphold

these values and beliefs are the ability to stop myself from making quick judgements about

patients, listen to all patients’ stories, address my own biases before walking into a room, and

leave any negative feelings I may have for the day at the door.

An example of when I used my beliefs, values, and skills in a patient situation was when

I was caring for an incarcerated patient during my preceptorship (I cleared it with my clinical

professor first, who told me to just make sure that I am always with my preceptor). I made sure

to leave any judgements or feelings about the patient’s current situation behind and made sure to

show kindness towards the patient, including making sure to give special considerations to their

situation by ensuring that the cream given for their main complaint was applied everywhere

needed and that I took the time to completely rub it in per instructions while I had seen other
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nurses avoid the areas surrounding their handcuffs, trying to leave the room as fast as possible,

and only addressing the guards instead of the patient. My values and beliefs helped me care for

that patient like I would any other patient and gave them dignity while informing them of their

own healthcare information.

Integrative Nursing Principles

My beliefs, values, and skills impact my approach and use of the INFF Integrative

Nursing Principles significantly. They make me consider the use of the integrative principles

more often during my care and ultimately guide how I perform certain aspects of the care I

provide. I use my beliefs about nursing practice to decide on which integrative principle might

benefit the nursing action needed for a specific patient’s care while my values remind me that the

integrative principles do nothing but benefit my patient as a whole.

The first integrative principle that I have utilized and will continue to utilize frequently is

the principle of, “Integrative nursing is person-centered and relationship-based” (Principles of

Integrative Nursing, n.d.). This principle will be utilized during every step of my patient care by

making trusting relationships with all the patients I care for by being kind, nonjudgmental, and

truthful.

The second integrative principle that I have utilized and will continue to utilize after

graduation is the principle of, “Integrative Nursing is informed by evidence and uses a full range

of conventional and integrative approaches, employing the least intensive intervention possible

depending on the need and context” (Principles of Integrative Nursing, n.d.). This aligns with my

core values and beliefs by ensuring that all patients I care for get the best care possible for them,

making it to where I uphold my ideal of trying to leave every patient I care for in a better

position than when I first received them.

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The third integrative principle that I have always utilized and will continue to prioritize

throughout my nursing career is the principle of, “Integrative nursing focuses on the health and

wellbeing of caregivers as well as those they serve” (Principles of Integrative Nursing, n.d.). This

principle is especially important because it is the only way that I can uphold my values, beliefs,

and skills. Taking care of myself so that I can continue to care for others in the way that I hope to

is extremely important to me and will have a huge impact on my practice as a nurse.

My Impact on the Profession

I intend to use my role as a nurse to positively impact my patients and community as a

whole. As a nurse, I want to be there for my patients in whatever way they may need it, whether

it’s as a support person, educator, or advocator. I hope to be able to volunteer in my community

for needed roles, whether it’s for vaccination events or other public health events, I would like to

continue to increase my own education and skills so that I can help members of the community

make informed decisions about their own health.

All of my actions as a nurse will be with the goal of equitable and inclusive healthcare for

every human being that I care for. My values and beliefs directly align with the acknowledgment

of a diverse population with differing needs and the idea that all people deserve the same level

and access to healthcare that more privileged members of society experience.

Conclusion

My values and beliefs guide my nursing practice so that I can be proud of the nurse that I

will become and so that I know that I will hopefully never contribute to the problem of unequal,

unfair, and non-inclusive healthcare that is prevalent in the country. My goal for the future of my

nursing practice is to continue to get more education and certifications so that I can have a bigger
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impact on my patients’ care and hopefully one day be a part of the hospital administrators that

have the chance to actually make a difference through hospital policy changes.
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References

Principles of integrative nursing. (n.d.). Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing. Retrieved

November 15, 2022, from https://csh.umn.edu/academics/focus-areas/integrative-

nursing/principles-integrative-nursing