Running head: Philosophy Paper

Personal Philosophy of Nursing Paper

NUR 4142: Synthesis of Nursing Practice
Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing
Shannon Ward
October 26, 2015

Philosophy Paper

Personal Philosophy of Nursing Paper

This paper explains my personal philosophy of nursing and it aligns with my values,
ethics, and beliefs. Nurses must know what they believe and will stand for. The profession is
comprised of people from all different cultures and ethnicities and a nurses job is to care for all
the different types of patients. Even though nurses may not have the same beliefs as their fellow
coworker or patient they will be able collaborate and provide non-judgmental care.

The Definition of Nursing

Nursing is not a word that can be defined with one sentence because there are many
components to nursing. Nursing is providing compassionate, quality, evidence-based, holistic
care (BSMCON College Catalog, 2015-2016) to all patients. In order to be a great nurse I must
not only perform skills, but provide holistic care that will empower not only the patients, but
other nurses to live holistically. Nursing is a commitment to lifelong learning due to the ever
changing science. Science is always changing and I must be committed to accept change and
learn on a daily basis. Life-long learning not only increases a nurses knowledge, but improves
patient care. Nursing is collaborating with other nurses, doctors, therapist, social workers, and
many others. Nurses cannot do their jobs alone, but require a team of all medical staff to achieve
the best patient outcomes. Nursing is knowing ones own ethical, legal, and moral principles.
The quote If you dont stand for something, you wont stand for anything applies. As a nurse if
I am not confident in what I believe or stand for, how can I confidently provide care to
vulnerable patients that need help?

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Nursing is caring. Caring is treating patients with dignity and respect. As nurse is I treat
others as I would want to be treated or would want my family to be treated. Holistic care is a
very important part of nursing (BSMCON College Catalog, 2015-2016). Providing holistic care
promotes healthy living. As a nurse I practice holistically and explain to the patients the
importance of holistic living. As a nurse I not only need to practice holistically for my patients,
but also for myself. In order to provide holistic care I must care for myself holistically. This
allows me to provide the mental, physical, social, and spiritual presence the patient deserves.
Knowledge is power. The more knowledge a nurse has, the more the nurse critically thinks, is
curios, assertive, courageous, and develops interpersonal skills, which in turn leads to providing
better care. The better the care provided by the nurse the better the patient outcomes will be.
Nursing is service and in order to provide service you must be a servant. Being a servant
to all patients no matter their background, religion, culture, or race is the most important
character of a nurse. I believe as a nurse I must care for patients in a non-judgmental manner. If I
judge the patients my view is skewed which affects the care I provide. A nurse is the patients
advocator. Advocating for patients to receive the care they deserve shows the patient that as a
nurse you care about them and are invested in their well-being. As a servant nurse in the nursing
profession serving others is what I am called to do.
Personal Philosophy in Practice
As a nurse it is important to provide patients with holistic, non-judgmental care that
promotes healthy living. I provide holistic care by not only addressing the patients physically
needs, but also their mental, social, and spiritual needs (BSMCON College Catalog, 2015-2016).
I converse with patients and get to know them. I find out their likes and dislikes, what makes
them feel better and what does not. I listen to patients and do not always rely on my own

Philosophy Paper

knowledge and skills when providing care. As I have been told so many times before, A patient
knows them self better than the nurse. Even though the patients values and beliefs may not
align with what I believe and value, I provide still provide the best care possible. I make sure that
I am approachable and express to my patients that I am not judgmental. Even when the patient
makes a decision about their care that I do not agree with, I continue to provide non-judgmental
care.
The nurse is the patients environment. This means the nurse can affect the patients
mood, behavior, and control how the day goes. As a nurse an environment that is conducive to
the patients health is important. I practice being a healthy environment by smiling every time I
enter a patients room. I greet the patient and express that my job is serve to them and provide
the best care possible. I constantly round on the patients and make sure they are comfortable. I
address the patients concerns promptly and to the best of my ability, meet all of their needs.
Nurse-Patient Encounter
I cared for a transgender patient that came to the hospital with liver disease. Before going
into the patients room, the nurse informed me that she believed the patient was a man dressed as
a female, but was not sure. I spoke with one of the doctors on the unit to determine the best way
to address and determine the patients sex. After collaborating with the doctor, social worker,
and few nurses I went to assess the patient. I determined the best way to find out the patients sex
was to ask the date of the patients last menstrual cycle. This is a question I ask every female
patient. Before I asked the question I asked what medications the patient took on a daily basis
and one of the medications was estrogen. The patient then stated that he was transgender. This
situation definitely took me out of my comfort zone, but I chose to provide non-judgmental care.
I cared for the patient as I would any other patient. I rounded on the patient constantly and

Philosophy Paper

addressed the concerns the patient had. The doctor spoke with the patient informing him of a
medication that would prevent him from contracting HIV and encouraged the patient to share the
information with his friends. The patient and I had a good conversation. I performed an IV and
obtained labs, which I was not extremely confident with, but the patient stated that I did a
wonderful job. The patient told me that he was discharged from another hospital a week before
and did not receive the quality care that I provided. The patient expressed his appreciation and
thanked me for the care I provided. I did not express my opinion to the patient about what I
thought about his lifestyle, but instead provided non-judgmental, quality care.
Values and Beliefs
The personal values and beliefs that I wrote about in the original Personal Philosophy of
Nursing Paper have not changed. Being flexible while caring for a diverse people was my first
value and belief. This has not changed because you must be flexible in order to care for patients
of all different backgrounds. Promoting health, which is not determined not by illness or
condition but by the persons level of function was my second value and belief. This has not
changed because I have learned that health is so much more than just a condition or illness.
Health is different for everyone. Where one person may say health is being able to exercise three
times a week, another may say health is being able to walk to the mail box and back to the house
without being short of breath. My last value and belief was that nurses are servant leaders which
requires humility. This has definitely not changed. As I discussed in my paper earlier, nurses are
servants who provide service to their patients. A nurse cannot be a true servant and lack humility.

From Novice to Expert

Philosophy Paper

The theory From Novice to Expert is a theory explaining the stages of a nurse from the
beginning to an expert. During stage 1 a nurse is called a novice (Benner 2000). In this stage the
nurse has the text book skills and knowledge to handle situations, but not the experience. An
example is a nurse transferring from an adult unit to a pediatrics unit or a student nurse in a new
clinical setting. In this case the new nurse or student nurse will be given rules to follow for each
situation until they can apply the new knowledge they learn. In stage 2 a nurse is called an
advanced beginner. In this stage a nurse can recognize recurring situations or have them pointed
out by a preceptor. The nurse still needs help prioritizing the patients care are because they are so
focused on getting everything done in the order they were told to do so. During this stage the
nurse is still learning, but can identify and apply the knowledge to what he/she has already
learned. In stage 3 the nurse is called a competent nurse in which he/she can plan their actions
before doing them. A competent nurse has the ability to determine what is important currently, in
the future, and what is not important. The nurse is now able to prioritize patient care. In stage 4
the nurse is called a proficient nurse. At this stage the nurse looks at the picture as a whole
instead of as separate aspects. Throughout the day the nurse provides care by considering the
long-term goals instead of short-term goals. The nurse is able to make decisions quicker due to
experiences and a deeper understanding. A nurse at stage 5 is an expert nurse. The nurse has a lot
of experience and intuition regarding situations. He/she no longer needs to think about the
situation, but immediately can point out what it wrong or what needs to be done to a patient all
from a gut feeling.
Skill Acquisition Stage
The stage of skill acquisition that best represents me is the advanced beginner stage. I am
at a point in my career as a nursing student where I can point out a situation that I have

Philosophy Paper

encountered before and know what actions to complete. This gives me a sense of pleasure
because I can actually point out a recurring situation and complete the task before anyone tells
me to. If the situation is slightly different, I begin to doubt myself. Even though I know that
every patient is different which means they will present in a different way, I still doubt the
assessment skills that I have been taught and know so well. I find that I think I am looking at the
big picture, but in all reality I am not and only considering the aspects of the big picture.
Prioritizing care is still difficult for me. I find myself attempting to prioritize, one thing can
throw me off, and it can mess up everything I had planned.
The Next Skill Acquisition Stage
Moving to the next stage of skill acquisition requires me to take action. I will find a job
and work on the unit for a couple of years. This will increase my confidence level, skill set, way
of thinking, and experience. Refining and sharpening the skills that I have learned along with
adding new skills will be beneficial to moving to the next level. Gaining experience which
increases knowledge will change my thought process and better the way I look at the whole
picture. Finding a nurse mentor on the unit I get a job will be important. A mentor is a person
that I will be able to trust and ask questions. This mentor will show me the world of nursing and
how to operate in it. Joining a professional organization will enhance my nursing knowledge. I
will get a chance to learn what others think about the dynamics of the healthcare profession. Also
professional organizations increase teamwork skills. As a nurse it is important to know yourself,
what you are good with and what you need to work on. Nursing is an ever changing profession
and in order to provide the best care you must know your own personal nursing philosophy.

Philosophy Paper

Works Cited
Benner, P. (2001). From novice to expert: Excellence and power in clinical nursing
practice (commemorative ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing. College Catalog. 2015-2016. (n.d.). Retrieved
October 25,2015, from
http://www.bsmcon.edu/sites/default/files/files/BON_Catalog_2015-web(1).pdf