1

Personal Nursing Philosophy

Taylor Hopka

Delaware Tech Community College

NUR 300-202 RN to BSN Transition

McEvoy, P

December 3, 2023
 2

Nursing Philosophy

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to make a difference in people’s lives and care for

those in need. This ultimately led me to follow my passion through my career choice of being a nurse.

From starting in the healthcare field as a nurse’s assistant to my ultimate goal of being a nurse, this has

provided me with many experiences and interactions with a variety of people in the community. I feel

most fulfilled when I am caring, educating, and attending to my patient’s needs. When I can bring a

smile to their face, I feel a sense of accomplishment to make their experience more enjoyable

considering the circumstances. My patients are at the most vulnerable times of their life, from being

away from home in an unfamiliar environment to not being well enough to care for themselves and they

need to be able to rely on their nurse. To assure them that their concerns will be addressed while

incorporating their values and beliefs into their care. While addressing their concerns and improving

their health condition it is important to always treat them with kindness, respect, and empathy to create

a trusting nurse-patient relationship. This led me to formulate my nursing philosophy, as a nurse I will

strive to provide safe, high-quality, patient-centered, holistic compassionate care based upon my value

to view the patient as a unique individual rather than a diagnosis or illness. I desire to be the nurse who

promotes well-being and improves patient outcomes by incorporating the patient’s values and beliefs as

well as including their support system in the decision-making process. Encouraging them to be actively

involved in their care to increase their self-worth and as a nurse to be emotionally available to support

them in a time of need. Throughout this paper, I will relate my personal beliefs and values to lifelong

learning, nursing theory, personal wellness, conflict management, QSEN competencies, and leadership.

Nursing theory

I believe I related to Ida Jean Orlando’s theory of the Deliberative Nursing process the most. This

theory highlights the value of considering the patient as a unique individual rather than treatment for a
 3

specific illness or diagnosis. Patients who have the same illness or condition will need a care plan that is

tailored to their personalized needs, not just the needs of a certain population. The first step is a holistic

assessment of the patient to identify the specific needs of the individual patient. Once their needs are

identified then the nursing diagnosis can be formulated to address their immediate need and then

formulate a plan to implement. During the planning phase, this will identify problems and formulate

outcomes and interventions to achieve these goals. The nurse will evaluate progression towards each

goal and the care plan can be easily adapted to different problems of different patients. Depending on

the patient’s condition, it can be changed or stopped. The nursing process creates meaning behind the

actions of the nurse and is accommodating to the patients at that time. I believe it is important to assess

the patient individually and create a care plan that is customized to their specific needs. The goals

address the needs of the patient including physical and emotional which incorporates holistic care of the

patient and interventions involving the people in their support system. Since the nursing process is

personalized, it allows a variety of care and treatment plans that will be different for every patient.

Lifelong Learning

As nurses, we ultimately commit to lifelong learning when we begin our journey as a nurse.

Lifelong learning means we seek ways to continue our education and broaden our knowledge to

increase personal development. It is crucial to stay current on evidence-based practices to increase our

patient’s safety and improve their care. I believe that there is always a better way to do things and by

expanding our knowledge we will be able to incorporate the best way to do a task for better patient

outcomes. There is not one specific way to treat a patient with a certain condition because of their

unique needs, beliefs, and values. Being aware, experiencing, and expanding one’s knowledge about the

diversity of patients will allow for personalized care and assist with the nurse-patient relationship. The

patient trusts the nurse to care for them and knows, that is important for the nurse to stay up to date
 4

with current evidence-based practices to keep the patient safe from harm. Lifelong learning relates to

my nursing philosophy by allowing the nurse to better care for the patient by expanding their knowledge

in the field and being a reliable resource. I believe that lifelong learning is essential to providing safe and

best-practice standards of care. It allows the nurse to grow as a professional from novice nurse to

expert.

Personal Wellness

I believe that personal wellness for the nurse can affect patient care and interaction with

patients, families, and providers. Nursing career overall can be very demanding and can take a toll on a

nurse’s overall health physically, mentally, and emotionally and can lead to burnout and compassion

fatigue. Being able to properly care for yourself will allow you to provide better care for the patients and

be able to cope more effectively with the stressors of this career. The patients are ultimately the ones

negatively affected when a nurse is experiencing burnout or compassion fatigue. In The Future of

Nursing 2020-2030 it states, “Nurses’ health and well-being are affected by these stresses and demands

of their work, and in turn, their well-being affects their work, including increasing the risk of medical

errors and compromising patient safety and care” (Melnyk et al., 2018). If the nurse can care for

themselves, then their performance in their work increases, which increases safety and allows them to

be able to provide high-quality care. It can also impact the nurse-patient relationship and relationships

with the patient’s family members. A patient is less willing to open up and tell the nurse about

important components related to their care if they have a negative demeanor which can be detrimental

to their care. Since caring for a patient is more than just treating the symptoms, it is important to get all

the information to analyze the full clinical picture. Even though someone may have a similar diagnosis

their beliefs and values may be different and can change their care dramatically. The nurse needs to

maintain their personal wellness physically, mentally, and emotionally.

 5

Conflict management

Being aware of your own and knowledgeable about other types of personalities can help

someone understand why a person reacts in a certain way. Depending on their personality type can

influence how they react in a conflict and how to manage it. Overall conflict creates tension between

people and unnecessary stress which in the workplace can lead to decreased quality of care for patients,

and their safety, and negatively impact communication. According to the Nurse management article:

Keeping the Peace, it states, “Handling conflicts in an efficient and effective manner results in improved

quality, patient safety, and staff morale, and limits work stress for the caregiver”. Addressing the conflict

early on can prevent negative effects from happening. Communication is a major component in nursing

and is unavoidable so learning how to find resolutions to conflicts and understanding the areas of

disagreement can prevent the situation from escalating and early resolution. It is important to have all

the team members collaborating to provide the best possible care for the patient and prevent harm.

QSEN competencies

QSEN is defined as Quality and Safety Education for nurses, it is comprised of six competencies:

patient-centered care, teamwork & collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety,

and informatics. By incorporating these components, it results in improved patient care. Providing

patient-centered care can empower the patient to become involved and participate in their care. It

encourages family members to participate in their care to encourage the patient’s improvement. It also

promotes a trusting nurse-patient relationship to better provide holistic care by addressing the patient’s

beliefs and values. Teamwork and collaboration are essential throughout the experience with the

patient from creating a plan of care to addressing safety concerns of a patient which leads to high

quality of care. Having effective communication is key to addressing the patient’s needs.

Leadership
 6

When nurses step in and become leaders, they are often involved in committees, research

groups, and hospital boards which in turn improves the quality of patient-entered care. Being a part of

these groups, the nurse can identify an issue on a unit or hospital-wide and influence policies and

practices by using evidence-based practice. Many times, leaders are faced with difficult decisions and

uncomfortable situations making them strong members of the team. Staff satisfaction directly influences

patient satisfaction and leaders often evaluate these components and formulate a plan to increase

satisfaction. Nurse leaders bring perspective from patients and work with other members of the

healthcare team to make the needed changes. They advocate for patients as well as people in the

community to address their needs and improve their health. Having a good leader is essential to the

healthcare team and without it brings chaos and can put patients’ safety at risk and decrease quality of

care.

Conclusion

Throughout this paper, it has allowed me a chance to reflect on my nursing philosophy and

analyze what is most important to me while caring for someone. The nursing theory that I selected has

helped me reflect on my values of the importance of seeing my patients as unique individuals and

addressing their specific needs rather than just treating their health conditions. Incorporating their

beliefs and values throughout their care, involving family members, and encouraging patient

participation in their care can increase the quality of care and create positive patient outcomes.
 7

Resources

Assistant Professor of Nursing • The College of New Rochelle • New Rochelle. (n.d.-a). Qsen

competencies: A bridge to practice : Nursing made incredibly easy. LWW.

https://journals.lww.com/nursingmadeincrediblyeasy/fulltext/2012/09000/

qsen_competencies__a_bridge_to_practice.1.aspx

Home. American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (n.d.). https://www.aacnnursing.org/5b-

tool-kit/themes/leadership

Nine principles of Successful Nursing Leadership - American Nurse Journal. (n.d.-a).

https://www.myamericannurse.com/nine-principles-of-successful-nursing-leadership/

Johansen, Mary L. PhD, RN, NE-BC. Keeping the peace: Conflict management strategies for nurse

managers. Nursing Management (Springhouse) 43(2):p 50-54, February 2012. | DOI:

10.1097/01.NUMA.0000410920.90831.96

Ida Jean Orlando. Nursing Theory. (n.d.). https://nursing-theory.org/nursing-theorists/Ida-Jean-

Orlando.php

Melnyk BM, Kelly SA, Stephens J, Dhakal K, McGovern C, Tucker S, Hoying J, McRae K, Ault S, Spurlock E,

Bird SB. Interventions to improve mental health, well-being, physical health, and lifestyle

behaviors in physicians and nurses: A systematic review. American Journal of Health Promotion.

2020;34(8):929–941.
 8

Wakefield, M. K., Williams, D. R., Menestrel, S. L., & Flaubert, J. L. (2021). The Future of Nursing

2020-2030: Charting a path to achieve health equity. The National Academies Press.

Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573902/