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Nursing Philosophy

Alize Bowman

College of Nursing, University of Arizona

NURS 478

Professor O’Connell

November 15, 2022

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Nursing Philosophy

Introduction

In my personal opinion, nursing is the ability for one to provide care to another individual

with respect and compassion. Nursing is when an individual can work in a professional manner

alongside their colleagues and work peers. As a nurse, one must be able to gain the trust of both

their patients and colleagues, while maintaining confidence in their own abilities. Although one

is confident, a nurse must also be aware of their faults and ask for help when needed to provide

the best possible care for a patient.

According to the World Health Organization [WHO] (2022), nursing is the “ autonomous

and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well

and in all settings.” I believe my definition of nursing is similar to the one listed above. In my

opinion, nursing is defined as the commitment of an individual to provide excellent and

competent care to another person who is sick or unable to care for themselves. In addition, I

believe that the nurse is to provide this care to the patient with respect, compassion, and a lack of

personal bias. As nurses, we may take care of patients that we may not be particularly fond of;

however, this does not mean that we are to provide care in a less committed manner than a

patient that we are agreeable towards.

My mission as a future nurse is to provide unbiased and competent care to all patients

that come across my path. I plan to be thoughtful, empathetic, and professional towards the

patients as I provide care to them. In addition, I hope to provide and plan nursing care to a

patient that will optimize their health and provide support when needed. Finally, I plan to look at

the whole patient and not simply their physical illness, as one's mental state is also important for

their plan of care.

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Defining your Nursing Practice

When thinking about my nursing practice, a few beliefs filter through my mind. I believe

that it is important to be open-minded as a nurse and treat every individual with respect and

dignity. This means that I believe it is important to provide care to a patient regardless of their

background, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and religious views. My beliefs are important as they

will allow me to continue my nursing practice with compassion and allow me to attempt to

understand other individuals' perspectives.

When thinking about values that are important to me, the first few words that come to

mind are integrity, honesty, sympathy, compassion, and confidence. I believe that as a nurse it is

important to be as honest as possible with patients, while maintaining my own integrity. In

addition, I think that treating a patient with compassion and sympathy will allow me to provide

care in a supportive manner. For confidence, I believe that it is important to maintain some trust

in myself because as a nurse I will need to make informed decisions that will best aid the

patient’s recovery.

As a nurse, I would say that my best skills are my organization, ability to be personable,

and knowing my own limitations. Previously in clinical situations, I always kept my information

organized with a nursing brain and was able to think about patient acuity levels when

determining the plan of care for the patients during a clinical day. For my ability to be

personable, I feel as though I can easily talk and communicate with a patient when needed. In

addition, I believe patients have felt comfortable expressing information to me as I am always

willing to listen to the information they wish to share. Finally, I believe that knowing my own

limitations is a strong skill of mine. I am not always the most confident person, as it is an area

that I am working on and that has grown over the course of my nursing education. Due to this, I
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have always been aware of when I need help or further explanation for a skill or question that I

may have relating to the nursing practice. I believe that this is a skill as it will prevent me from

being arrogant with my skills and will allow me to be aware of when I may need assistance from

my fellow colleagues.

During my preceptorship, I was able to display my values, beliefs, and skills. With my

clinical rotations, there were times that I dealt with patients who had strong political and

religious views, and they wished to have people share similar views as theirs. Due to this type of

patient, I had to follow my beliefs and treat them with the same respect and dignity as I did with

patients who did not express any views on the subject matter. Furthermore, I was able to uphold

my values with these same patients as I listened to them express their views in an unbiased

manner with an open-mind and ear. While I do not engage or have strong beliefs in such

subjects, I did not interrupt the patients and treated them with the same respect and compassion

that I did with every other patient. For my skills, I was able to know my own limitations as I

knew when to ask my preceptor for guidance. For example, I had never completed a foley

catheterization before my final semester of nursing school. As a result of learning about the skill

in my first semester of nursing school, I was not completely confident in my ability to complete

the skill for the first time without guidance. Due to this, my preceptor verbally guided me

through my first catheterization, which was the best decision to provide the patient with the best

possible care.

Integrative Nursing Principles

In relation to the integrative nursing principles, I believe that my values and beliefs align

strongly with them. In fact, many of the principles discuss caring for a patient with a strong

relationship, trust, and caring for their whole being. My mindset of nursing and my beliefs are to
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focus care on the whole person rather than their individual illness. As a result, I believe that my

beliefs and the principles are very synonymous when thinking about patient care.

During my clinical rotations, one nursing principle I embodied was principle one which

states, “human beings are whole systems inseparable from their environments” (Kreitzer &

Koithan, 2014, p. 7). As the patient is recovering in the hospital setting, it is important to ensure

their room, linen, and clothes are clean and changed periodically. As I performed medication

passes with my preceptor, I noted if a patient needed a change of linen or clothes and picked up

any trash on the floor that I may have noticed. This is important to the care of the patient, as

one’s environment can impact their care by causing a positive mindset that improves their care or

a negative mindset that hinders their care. This aligns with my beliefs as keeping the patient in a

clean room and environment is the same as providing them with basic human respect and dignity

in my point of view.

Another principle I find that correlates strongly with my beliefs is principle four which

states, “integrative nursing is person-centered and relationship-based” (Kreitzer & Koithan,

2014, p. 11). During my clinical experiences, I have found myself building trusting relationships

with the patients I helped provide care for. In fact, I distinctly remember listening to a patient

talk about his wife and how he noted that my listening to him brightened his day. By completing

these small acts such as being personable, listening to a patient, and having compassion, one is

able to build a trusting relationship with the patient.

The third principle I find that correlates strongly with my beliefs is principle four which

states, “integrative nursing focuses on the health and wellbeing of caregivers as well as those

they serve” (Kreitzer & Koithan, 2014, p. 13). In my skills, I noted that I know my own

limitations. One of these limitations that I am working on is self-care. I know that as a nurse it is
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important to take care of oneself as it prevents burnout and compassion fatigue from occurring.

Due to this, I believe that this nursing principle is something that aligns with my core values as it

is a personal goal, I am striving to be better and more aware about.

Impact on the Profession

For the future of my nursing practice, I plan to be self-aware of my actions and provide

care in the best possible way for future patients. I am very passionate about mental and

community health. As a result of this, I know that I will look at the whole patient and their

surroundings when considering their plan of care. In addition, I hope to continue to be

personable, committed, and compassionate about my future in nursing and the patients I will care

for. I will use a positive mindset and an open mind to impact the patients and the community I

work for, as this will allow me to do my best in providing care that is inclusive to all individuals.

Furthermore, I will do my best to advocate for the patient, so that their care is equitable and

efficient.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I hope to be a nurse that has an open-mind, integrity, honesty, sympathy,

compassion, and confidence. I will continue to acknowledge my limitations, build my

confidence, work on my own self-care, and be thoughtful of my own biases as I take care of

future patients. It is important to not only think about the patient’s care, but to gain their trust,

build a professional relationship with them, and to ensure that I do not burnout in the process.

My goal for my future nursing practice is to provide patients with quality, inclusive, and

compassionate care. I want each patient to feel as though they can trust me to give them the best

possible care because as a nurse, we are there to help optimize our patient’s health and give them

the best support that we can.

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References

Kreitzer, M. J. & Koithan, M. (2014). Integrative nursing [eBook edition]. New York: Oxford

Press. ProQuest.

World Health Organization. (2022). Nursing and Midwifery: Overview.

https://www.who.int/health-topics/nursing#tab=tab_1