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Philosophy Paper

Angela Ofori

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

Christine Turner, PhD, RN

4142 Nursing Research

March 12, 2018

I pledge
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Definition of Nursing

My personal definition of nursing is being able to be selfless, compassionate, and caring

for another human being regardless of their race, religion, sexuality, values, and beliefs. Nursing

is complex and far from self-limiting, there is always room for growth which the beauty of this

career. The nurse is responsible for providing quality care. The tenets that are included in my

definition of nursing consists of service, improving health and wellness, and being caring. These

tenets have a role in my personal philosophy of nursing. As I end my nursing school journey, I

have realized the reason that I chose nursing was to help others but to also help others outside of

my realm. Nursing is being able to take yourself out of the element and focus on the wellness of

another individual with whatever it takes.

I chose to do nurse because it is a service to the people. Serving the people in the

community and outside the community is something that I am very passionate about. " Good

help to those in need,” is a statement that I implement my practice. I was blessed to go on a

mission trip to Haiti. I served communities in Haiti with limited equipment and supplies. Even

with the limited equipment and supplies the team and I always provided citizens with holistic

care.

Caring is one of the foundations of nursing. If a nurse does not care for the patient the

patient is not getting the proper care. Holistic care is critical for each patient the nurse must be

able to implement the mind, body, and soul into the care of the patient. As a nurse, you are an

advocate for the patients in order to provide the holistic care that they deserve. Self-care is

important a nurse takes care of others, it is also important for them to perform self-care for

themselves. Self-care will help better the nurse for his or her patient. Nurse and patient

relationship needs to established.

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As a nurse we are providing care to improve the health of the individual whether it is

physically, mentally, and or emotionally. It is important to involve the patient in their plan of

care. The patient’s experience will improve the health and wellness of the individual. There are

times that patient’s will not be able have the best health but it is our duty to provide the patient

with the quality care to improve their health and or wellbeing subjectively.

Personal Philosophy in Nursing Practice

My personal philosophy is reflected in my daily practice with each patient that I

encounter. My philosophy of nursing is service, caring, and health. A conversation with my

patients is me get an idea of their values and beliefs, so it can be implemented into their plan of

care. As nurses, we are focused on doing the next tasks, such as giving medications, calling a

physician, performing an assessment, that we forget to interact with the patient. Before I leave

the room, I ask the patient if they need anything whether it is a blanket, juice, food, or dimmed

lights. In some patient interactions, the patient’s and I will discuss ways to improve their health

and wellbeing by maintaining their conditions. Holistic care is the epitome of quality care for the

patient. I advocate for my patient when there is something that needs to be addressed for the

improvement of the patient.

Nurse-Patient Encounter

A nurse-patient experience that I had that exemplifies my personal philosophy occurred

during my rotation in my immersion. I was taking care of an older woman who experienced a

postoperative infection. This patient was alert and oriented, while I was taking care of her she

was nice and patient with me. There were times that we would have conversations about life.

During my time with her, she stated that she was felt lonely. During my shift, I made frequent

rounds to her room. Later, during my shift, she had family visit for a couple of hours which was
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great for her. I stated to her family, “I am glad that you all came to visit her and she brings a

smile to her beautiful face.” The patient was a delight during my shift but when her family was

there, she had a glow on her face. I would update the patient on what the plan would be for the

day, such wound care, antibiotic treatment, and when she would possibly discharge. I would ask

the patient and her family if they needed anything before I left the room to help the next patient.

My personal philosophy was incorporated into my care with this specific patient, I was able to

provide the ultimate care and include the family while they were in the room. I was also able to

incorporate therapeutic touch to the patient. I felt that it was also important to be present with a

patient.

Values and Beliefs

Reflecting on my personal philosophy paper from my very first semester, I have seen the

growth and the evolution as a student nurse and as an individual. My values and beliefs have not

changed since I wrote my original personal philosophy paper. I find compassion and respect

huge values in my life as well as in my practice. In any interaction, I have respect and

compassion for all individuals. My beliefs will always be through faith anything is possible, my

family motivates me and they are my support system through it all, and positivity can influence

the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of me.

Benner’s Theory: Novice to Expert

Benner’s theory is about the stages that nurses have gone through their career and what

most nurses will go through during there career the stages consists of novice, advanced

beginners, competent, proficient, and expert nurses. The novice stage is the point where the nurse

has the basic knowledge of objective information and learning to do the basic tasks. The nurse is

trying to become familiar with everything especially the patient care. Novice nurses usually
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follow rules by the textbook. The novice nurse is not completely confident and comfortable with

doing certain tasks. The novice nurse is focused on the data and is learning to interpret the data

based on the textbook.

The advanced beginners are more comfortable than the novice nurse. The advanced

beginner demonstrates knowledge that can be implemented into practice and has built up enough

experiences that could influence the way that they care for patients. The advanced beginner is

getting adjusted to the flow of the taking care of a taking care of a couple patients and

interpreting data.

The competent nurse is comfortable with talking to patients and performing tasks. The

nurse is at the stage where they are able to manage the patient load that is assigned to them. The

competent nurse is able to think of a plan for the patients based on his or her experience. The

competent nurse has developed skills through their experience as a nurse. Time management is

still a work in progress.

The proficient nurse is looking at the whole picture of the situation. The nurse is

competent in their skills and is able to manage the patient load and their time during their shift.

This nurse has been familiar with the patient population that they are comfortable in their skills

and critical thinking. At this point, the nurse is qualified to make decisions that benefit the

patient holistically. The proficient nurse is able to recognize that little details and interpret the

information that could prevent complications from occurring and or improve the condition of the

patient. This nurse is able to interpret data and recognize a diagnosis or possible diagnoses based

on the patient condition.

Lastly, is the expert nurse who has been doing nursing for a couple years. The expert

stage is where the nurse has experienced many situations that improved their clinical judgment.
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The expert is extremely confident and competent. This is the nurse that most people go to for

clinical advice because they have experienced many clinical situations that they are able to assist

the nurses with any questions. Time management has been perfected at this point. The nurse is

able to assess the patient’s ability to receiving teaching on a condition, discharge, and or

medication. Expert nurses are able to recognize the room for growth for themselves and their

peers. The experiences expert nurses make them savvy when comes to their clinical practice.

They are also able to implement different nursing interventions that have not been commonly

used before in practice.

Current Skill Acquisition

As a nurse student, my skill acquisition is more on the side of competent but that is based

on my nursing school experience and clinical experience which has played a part in my

competency. My rationale for the competent stage is because in the past three years I have

gained so much knowledge and skills that I am able to implement it into my practice. During

immersion, I gradually increasing my patient load as the weeks continue.

In a couple of months, I will be transitioning from full-time nursing student to a full-time

registered nurse with a full patient load. The novice stage of nursing will start on day 1 off of

orientation. By the time that I start as a nurse, I will say that I will have moved back to the

novice stage. I would say that as a nurse I would be back at the novice stage because it is like

learning everything all over again. I will be out on my own trying to gain experiences,

familiarizing with a floor, there will not be a preceptor or instructor assisting me at times. The

first year of nursing is where everything from nursing school is implemented and experience will

play a part in my patient care. The biggest part of nursing everything is a learning experience

that will help develop from a novice into an expert nurse in the next few years.
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As the next journey begins, there are some things that will I do to move to the next stage

of acquisition while I start the phase of as a full-time nurse. First, I will continue to ask

questions, when in doubt ask questions as nurses we are not going to know everything when it

comes to the unit and policies. Asking questions is a way to receive input on inquiries that you

may have regarding a situation, policy, equipment, and other things. As a new nurse that has not

had much experience, in order to grow and become a better nurse, it is best to get out your

comfort zone and ask questions.

Next, is being able to take the time with patient care to decrease the incidence of errors

that could possibly harm the patient. Another part I would add to this is being able to learn from

your mistakes because as humans we can dwell on our mistakes which are a human response, in

order to grow as a nurse, we must reflect on the situation and think what could I have changed,

what did I notice, what interventions could have been implemented, this is part of nursing. I must

be able to autonomous and be open to learning new things to encourage my development as a

nurse. This will improve critical thinking and strategies that may not have been used previously.

Lastly, I will work on being part of the clinical ladder, there are criteria to moving

forward on the ladder. The clinical ladder is great for new graduate nurses to begin thinking

about doing it involves research, being part of an organization that is associated with the unit,

and it is the way to improve your skills. Moving up on the clinical ladder also will provide more

confidence in practice and will provide a chance for leadership roles.

My personal philosophy that I have developed during my time in nurse school has

influenced that way that I take care of my patients. The transition from nursing student to a

registered nurse there will be good days and bad days but it should all be taken in with the

thought that it will help make a better nurse. Serving the community, caring for others, and
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promoting health and wellness are reasons for my choice of nursing. The profession of nursing is

that is made for improvement of not only the patient but the nurse.
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Reference

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

practice (commemorative ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.