Running head: PERSONAL NURSING PHILOSOPHY 1

Personal Nursing Philosophy

LaToya Norman

Delaware Technical Community College

NUR 300

Dr. Davis

September 16, 2018

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Personal Nursing Philosophy

A philosophy of nursing is defined as an approach to nursing usually created by

individual nurses in their daily practice in the field (Petiprin, 2016). My nursing philosophy is

very simple, to always treat my patients the way that I want to be treated. To create my personal

philosophy, I had to ask myself what I truly feel the purpose of a nurse is and what values and

beliefs I hold with that title. I also spent time researching and exploring available information

about nursing philosophies from different nurse theorists. I often evaluate myself and the care I

am providing and ask myself, if this were my mom, my dad, my child or any loved one for that

matter, would I be happy with the care they are receiving? Am I doing all I can to ensure this

person will reach their maximum level of functioning? I am nurturing this client, but pushing

them to reach their highest potential at the same time? As a nurse, I feel my primary

responsibility and goal is to find and do what is best for the individual and this can only be

accomplished through building a trusting and respectful relationship with the patient.

Throughout this paper, I will discuss my thoughts on lifelong learning and the theorist whose

philosophy I relate to the most. I will explain how I feel my personal wellness affects patient

care as well as how my conflict management style may impact my role as a nurse. I will provide

details of how my philosophy addresses patient safety and last, how my philosophy of nursing

may impact my role as a nurse leader.

Lifelong learning is one of the most important responsibilities I have as a nurse. To me,

lifelong learning means always being willing and receptive throughout life to learn new things,

whether it be through classes and seminars or experiences and the people around me. I believe

that I should always be researching and staying up to date on evidence-based practice in my field

to care for my patients. This would ensure that they are receiving the best and most effective
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care possible and it also would ensure that my patients receive individualized care because the

saying, “one size fits all”, certainly does not apply to nursing care.

In Dorothea Orem’s General Theory of Nursing she defined nursing as, “The act of

assisting others in the provision and management of self-care to maintain and improve human

functioning at home level of effectiveness” (Parennas, 2011). She believed that nurses should

help individuals while at the same time promoting independence and hopefully getting them to a

point where they are well enough to care for themselves because that is usually what individuals

want. She believed in assessing the individual needs of patients and using the nursing process to

then plan, implement and evaluate treatment (Petiprin, 2016). Dorothea also felt that individuals

have a need for self-care to maintain optimal health and wellness of mind, body and spirit

(Petiprin, 2016).

I agree with Dorothea’s philosophy on nursing and I think that people should be

encouraged and allowed to do as much for themselves as possible. We as nurses should nurture

and care for our clients, but not to the point where we are overbearing or promoting dependence.

We should provide care that they need and advocate for them, but also encourage them to as

well. They should always be involved in making decisions regarding their treatment to improve

their chances of recovery and their self-efficacy.

My personal wellness helps to shape my values and beliefs and my values and beliefs

help shape who I am as a nurse. Therefore, the importance of my overall well-being plays a big

role in my nursing care. All aspects of wellness including physical, spiritual, emotional, social

and intellectual, shape and affect how well I care for my patients. If I am unwell, it may become

difficult to try to help someone else become well. I try to always make sure that my personal

wellness does not prevent me from providing the best possible care that I can for my patient.
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Sometimes I must remind myself that nurses are only human, and I am not immune to illness or

injury, so my own wellness must be placed on the top of my priority list so that I can continue

providing excellent care to my patients.

At times, conflicts arise in nursing between coworkers, patients or even the patient’s

family members. If I am involved in a conflict, I generally like to meet at a ‘middle ground’.

Conflicts are draining, they can cause bad feelings and are very unpleasant and even

unprofessional at times. After taking the personality test for the course, I discovered that my

personality type is that of a defender (NERIS Analytic Limited, 2018). My conflict management

styles were identified as accommodating and collaborating. Accommodating meaning to give in

to maintain relationships and collaborating meaning to basically create a ‘win-win’ resolution. I

identified with these styles and completely agree that these are the types of conflict resolution

styles that I use in my personal as well as professional life. The defender personality is described

as altruistic and loyal (NERIS Analytic Limited, 2018). When handling conflicts, especially

with patients involved I think my conflict styles could benefit all parties.

Most employers teach us that “the customer is always right.” This is correct, but at the

same time, this may pose a problem at times so collaborating with everyone involved to come up

with an accommodation that makes everyone happy and complies with all policies would be the

best outcome. The pros to this conflict management style is that it builds trust, positive

relationships, commitments and decreases the chance of insult. The cons to this style are that it

can be time and energy consuming and it can exploit weaknesses or even cause some resentment

because one side was not picked over the other. Collaboration is important because there is

generally a team of professionals taking care of a patient and we must work together to find and

provide the best care for that individual. Accommodation, mainly for the patient, is important
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because we as medical professionals are providing a service based on the need or needs of that

individual. I generally like to avoid conflict to begin with, but if it is unavoidable, I am

confident that my identified styles could help solve almost any conflict that may arise.

To ensure safety would be addressed into my nursing philosophy, I thought about what I

would need to feel safe while under the care of healthcare professionals. If I need medical

attention, I want my nurse, doctors and other team members to communicate thoroughly,

effectively and professionally to ensure I receive the best individualized care possible and to

decrease risks for errors. I expect them to thoroughly assess and treat any needs that I may have

to ensure I continue to improve. I want them to use the most current, safest evidenced-based

practice to ensure I will have the best possible outcome. I need to feel that they are

knowledgeable, passionate and genuinely concerned about the care that I receive. By

determining what I would want for myself, my philosophy ensured that safety was a crucial

factor in its development.

Overall, to treat others as I want to be treated is not only the “golden rule” we learn as

children, but how I feel as a nurse I should treat my patients. As a nurse leader, this is a

philosophy that even the most novice nurse can relate to and use to guide their practice. It is a

principle that most of us are raised with and use in everyday life. Lifelong learning ensures that

as a nurse I am always looking for new ways to provide the best and safest care for my clients.

Dorothea Orem’s nursing theory promotes self-care and independence to ensure dignity and self-

worth is maintained while still supporting as much as the patient needs and allows. This is so

important to me because I value my independence, as do most people I care for. My overall

well-being affects everything I do so I always must ensure that I take time to care from myself,

inside and out, to provide the best care I can for my patients. Conflicts will arise, at work, at
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home, in life in general, but knowing how to manage them is key. As a professional nurse, I

must respect my peers and work together with them so that our patients receive the best care

available. I must be an advocate for my patients. I need to provide care that is focused on them

and their family because studies show that this helps them during treatment and improves their

chances for success. Not only am I passionate about the care I provide as a nurse, but I

genuinely care about the overall well-being of all living things. I respect individual differences

and opinions and I hope to be a role model and to set an example for other nurses. How an

individual is treated can make a huge impact on how successful their treatment is and the best

way I can ensure I do my part in their positive outcome is to always treat them the way I want to

be treated.
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References

NERIS Analytics Limited. (2018). ISFJ Personality ("The Defender"). Retrieved from

https://www.16personalities.com/isfj-personality

NERIS Analytics Limited. (2018). "It's so incredible to finally be understood." Retrieved from

https://www.16personalities.com/

NERIS Analytics Limited. (2018). Roles: Sentinels. Retrieved from

https://www.16personalities.com/articles/roles-sentinels

Petiprin, A. (2016). Nursing Theories and a Philosophy of Nursing. Retrieved from

http://www.nursing-theory.org/articles/nursing-theories-and-a-philosophy-of-nursing.php

Parennas, J. (2011). Dorothea Orem. Retrieved from

https://www.slideshare.net/Jacquiline Parennas/dorothea-orem-9065604
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