Running head: PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING 1

Personal Philosophy of Nursing

Samantha Moussari

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

Professor Christine Turner

NUR 4142 Synthesis of Nursing Practice

March 20th, 2018

Honor Code “I pledge..”

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Personal Philosophy of Nursing

Define Nursing

My peers and I have different values and beliefs, but we all do share a common

characteristic and that is caring for others. In my personal opinion, the definition of nursing is to

care for others. Our goal is to nurse others to health or better state of being. The Bon Secours

Memorial College of Nursing philosophy statement includes nursing, nursing education, caring,

health, and service. The tenets of the college of nursing that illuminate most to me are caring,

nursing education, and health.

I express caring when I provide safe nursing care with the expectation to provide my

patient the best outcome. I integrate caring into my daily profession by seeing the patient as a

whole. I pay attention to the patient’s spirit, body, and mind. Nursing education is important to

me because I recognize that my career choice requires life long learning. I must continue to be

dedicated to learning new material and seeking out new learning opportunities. I plan to never

quit questioning all processes and information. Additionally I find that my nursing education has

taught me the importance of respecting my peers and future colleagues due to the fact that we’re

a team.

Lastly, health is a tenet that seems of importance to me in the medical profession.

Although I believe that nursing patients to health is very important, I also believe that self health

allows you as a nurse to provide better care. With this being said, I as a future nurse plan to take

care of my health so I can be physically and emotionally available for my patients at all times.

Although health seems positive, something I will not fail to include is the importance of death. I

will aim to provide those who are dying a comfortable and peaceful transition.
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Personal Philosophy of Nursing

As I try to pick my brain for my personal philosophy I continuously find myself thinking

about the importance of ethics. My values, dependability and teamwork, have stemmed from my

environment. My education in chesterfield county established certain core values, that I still

identify with, one being responsibility or better known as dependability. My beliefs, cultural

tolerance and not judging, come from my cultural, familial, and environmental aspects. Growing

up in a community being the diverse girl, you become grateful for the people who tolerated and

accepted you with out judgment. My family and I easily relate, so in my nursing career I would

like to try my best to judge no one and be culturally tolerant to everyone. For example, I will be

ethical by providing a patient with the food of their culture.

I chose nursing as my profession, because my family and environment instilled beliefs

and values in me that have given me the potential to provide caring nurse-patient relationships.

My vision for my self is to succeed in my education, treat others fairly and kindly while in my

profession, and continually develop more knowledge. While I practice nursing I would like my

patients, their families, and future fellow coworkers to feel that I am doing the best that I can do.

Alongside my patients, their families, and my future coworkers, comes me. I want to care for my

health physically and especially mentally, so I can reach my goal of delivering the best care

possible to my future patients.

Nurse Patient Encounter

All patients put my personal values to the test each time I work or participate in the

practicum setting. One specific patient encounter that resonates with me to this day, was a patient

of different culture who would not eat any food. I recognized at this time that this patient was
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already acutely ill and that not eating would decrease their health goal outcomes. Additionally,

this patient did not speak English. This patient was sweet and very grateful through nonverbal

communication so I could not understand why the patient wouldn’t eat. I then asked the patient

through an interpreter if there was something that they would be willing to eat and they

explained that hot soup heals the body. I proceeded to call nutritional services and request soup

for the patient. At this time, I respected a patient’s culture, advocated for their health, and

acknowledged the mind and body.

Change Over Time

I consider my values to be essential in life and in the profession of nursing. Throughout

nursing school my values have stayed the same and some have changed. Dependability and

teamwork are two that I deem crucial, especially, to thrive in the nursing field. Teamwork is a

value that I didn’t recognize as important when I first entered nursing school but learned

throughout that it is essential. Teamwork is a significant value within nursing because it gives the

client autonomy. Nurses have multiple tasks to accomplish each day and a lot these tasks require

more than one person. I have learned that being on a team that is hardworking and trustworthy

will allow for a smoother and more rewarding day. Dependability is important because every

patient is dependent on a nurse to be a counselor, teacher, client advocate, and more. A nurse can

do this by working with patients when it comes to decisions, instead of making the choices for

them. Furthermore, it is helpful to recognize ones own nursing values sense they influence the

delivery of patient care.

My beliefs throughout nursing school have grown but have not changed. Beliefs that I

similarly find important to perform as a professional and kind nurse are cultural tolerance and
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not judging regardless of the circumstance. I am a very strong believer in cultural tolerance

because I have observed in the hospital nurses get frustrated with patients because they are

different. I have also seen compassionate nurses go above and beyond for patients who require

something other than the standard treatment; and this is the type of nurse I want to be. So as a

future nurse, I intend on doing the same for anyone that is in my care. Believing it is wrong to

judge will allow a nurse to demonstrate professionalism regardless of the circumstance. I do not

think it is any ones place to judge another human aloud regardless of their thoughts.

From Novice to Expert

Doctor Patricia Benner is an author who explains how new nurses develop skills and

expertise overtime. Patricia Benner explains that “expertise in complex human decision making,

such as nursing requires, makes the interpretation of clinical situations possible, and the

knowledge embedded in this clinical expertise is central to the advancement of nursing practice

and the development of nursing science” (Benner, 2001, p. 3). In other words, expertise is

attainable with proper foundation and knowledge that is gained from the novice to expert level.

Enlighteningly, she explains that because new graduate nurses have no former work experience,

there is no room for judgment to be placed on them (Benner, 2001).

At the novice stage a new nurse has no professional expertise. A novice nurse relies on

concrete thinking, rules, and guidelines (Benner, 2001). Novice nurses have accomplished things

such as, vital signs, input and output, and other measurable parameters (Benner, 1982). A novice

nurse struggles with judgment and inflexibility; and has much room for growth (Benner, 2001).

In order to advance into the beginner stage one must gain enough knowledge that when given a

situation that has been dealt with in the past, that nurse is familiar with what actions to take. A
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nurse in the beginner stage can identify recurrent situations but struggles with prioritization

(Benner, 2001). In the advanced beginner stage a nurse should be able to differentiate between

breath sounds and to make up there underlying pathology.

Competence is the third stage of Benner’s theory. This is a nurse who has a couple of

years of experience (Benner, 2001). In this stage one identifies how their actions effect long term

nursing goals (Benner, 1983). A competent nurse recognizes that it is important to read and write

down pertinent information in order to accomplish the plan of the day (Benner, 1983). This nurse

faces challenges with speed and flexibility. The fourth stage of Benner’s theory is being

proficient. This is a nurse who sees the patient as a whole and can distinguish when something is

abnormal (Benner, 2001). Decision-making during the proficient stage is less stressful and more

knowledgeable (Benner, 1983). The fifth and last stage of Benner’s theory is being expert. An

expert nurse does not waste time wondering about potentials; instead this nurse knows how to

solve the problem (Benner, 2001). An expert nurse can function on a gut feeling (Benner, 1983).

This nurse is an expert in their field and has reached Benner’s highest level of clinical

knowledge.

My Skill Acquisition

The stage that I best identify with is novice. For starters I recognize that I am a novice

nurse because I have not even 1 day of clinical experience as an official RN. I am working on

critically thinking but I when that fails I stick to rules and concrete thinking. I am in the stage

where I rely on textbooks and what I learn from my teacher’s examples. For example, when I do

not understand the pathology of something, I go home and research the issue because I have no

experience with similar situations. Additionally I am not at the point where I can be trusted to
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care for a patient alone and or without supervision. I recognize that I will become an advanced

beginning once I get a job and get off of orientation.

My goal to move forward to the next stage of acquisition will include me getting a job

and working, asking maximal questions, and being open to communicate with all

interprofessional team members. Getting a job will allow for me to gain experience and observe

multiple scenarios that I will likely encounter on multiple occasions. Asking questions will

provide me with increased knowledge and enhance my ability to critically think. Communicating

with team members, such as doctors, nutritionist, respiratory therapist, etc., will allow me to

understand the rational behind the treatments for my patients. Understanding all aspects of the

patients care promotes better patient outcomes.

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References

Benner, Patricia. (1982). From novice to expert. American Journal of Nursing. 82(3), 402-407.

Benner, P. (2001). From novice to expert: Excellence and power in clinical nursing practice.

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Julie Alexander