Running head: MY PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING

1










My Philosophy of Nursing

Megan Davis

Dixie State University

MY PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING

2
My Philosophy of Nursing
I believe it is important for all nurses to have their own philosophy of nursing. Nursing is
not always fun so having a philosophy helps give meaning to our work. It helps us remember
why we chose to be nurses. The other day, while working at my job as a certified nursing
assistant, I had one of my patients ask why I chose to work as an aide. I was in the middle of
cleaning up diarrhea and she could not understand why I would be willing to do such a dirty, no
fun job. She told me that she would never have wanted to do my job. I told her that the reason I
chose nursing is because I love helping people and I care about people. I believe that caring is
the most important trait a nurse should have. In this paper I will talk about an experience I had
that helped me develop my nursing philosophy. I will also talk about a nurse theorist and explain
how her theory relates to my philosophy.
My Experience
I had a nurse that really helped me develop my nursing philosophy. She was my nurse
when I was in labor with my daughter. This nurse helped my experience go from bad to great. I
got to the hospital right during shift change and was sent to the triage room. The first nurse I saw
was anxious to go home and acted annoyed that I was there. She quickly checked me and told me
I was only dilated to a four. I was in severe pain, but she just said, Someone will be in to check
on you in about half an hour (personal conversation with unknown name on July 11, 2014), and
then she left. I felt so unimportant. I was trying to breathe through the pain but it was so
unbearable and my husband felt so bad because he had no idea what to do for me.
About twenty minutes later another nurse came in, and this nurse was amazing. When she
checked me, I was dilated to an eight. She quickly took me back to a labor room. She noticed
how much pain I was in, so one of the first things she did was teach me some breathing
MY PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING

3
techniques to help make the pain more bearable. She even taught my husband some things he
could do to help ease my pain. I wanted an epidural, but the anesthesiologist was busy, so I had
to wait a while. While I was waiting for the epidural, my nurse stood next to me and gave me
encouragement. She empathized with me and told me that it was okay to cry. She asked me
questions about my life and family and made me feel important. She kept me and my husband
informed about what was going on and allowed us to ask questions.
I will always strive to be like this nurse. When I was developing my philosophy I thought
about this nurse. I realized that what was most important to me, as a patient, was not that she was
good at skills or that she knew the answers to all my questions. What was most important to me
was that she cared.
Concepts of Person, Nursing, Environment, and Health
My experience in labor, along with other nursing experiences have helped me understand
how important it is to not label patients by their diagnoses. A patient is more than just a diabetic,
a heart attack, a stroke, or in my example a pregnant woman. A patient is a person that has a life
outside of the hospital and someone that has thoughts and feelings. Nurses need to treat the
whole person and not just the physical body. Holistic care requires the nurse to manage not only
the failing kidneys or the mechanically ventilated lungs, but to search out the person in the crisis
(Hurlock-Chorostecki, 1999, p. 22).
As previously stated, nursing includes so much more than just treating physical
symptoms. Caring nurses take the time to therapeutically communicate with their patients.
Nursing involves finding out what your patients want and then advocating for them. Nursing is a
demanding profession, so nurses need to be prepared physically and emotionally. While at
clinicals and while working as a CNA I have come to understand that if a nurse does not have
MY PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING

4
good physical and emotional health, they cannot give their patients everything that they need and
deserve.
It is important for nurses to provide a healing environment for their patients. One thing I
have learned is that a healing environment is different for every patient. Some patients want a lot
of family around and other patients do not. Different patients want different temperatures or
different amounts of light in their rooms. Some patients want music or television and other
patients want it quiet. It is the nurses responsibility to find out what kind of environment would
make the patient the most comfortable and then go out of their way to provide that environment.
The choices a person makes, the nursing care a person receives, and the environment a
person is in all affect that persons health. Health is not just the absence of disease. Complete
health involves being healthy physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Nurse Theorist
I really like Jean Watsons theory of caring. Her theory consists of ten carative factors
that can be used to incorporate caring into practice (Moore, 2002, p. 4). Three of Watsons
caritas really stand out to me. The first one is to develop a helping trusting relationship. This is
very important because if a patient does not trust you they are not going to allow you to help
them. The second one is to be supportive of positive and negative feelings. Sometimes a patient
just needs to laugh with someone or to cry on someones shoulder. Caring nurses are accepting
of their patients emotions and are willing to listen to their patients concerns. The last carita that
really stands out to me is to engage in a teaching and learning experience and attempt to stay in
the patients frame of reference. I believe that education is an important part of nursing. Patients
need to be taught about their treatment and it is the nurses responsibility to assess their learning
styles and make sure they understand what they are being taught. Watson and I agree that
MY PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING

5
developing trust, therapeutically communicating, and providing education are all caring acts and
that caring is an essential part of nursing.
Conclusion
My nursing philosophy is simple; patients need nurses that are caring. I do not want any
of my patients to feel unimportant. I want all my patients to know that I care. I believe that small
caring acts can greatly and positively impact a persons health.

















MY PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING

6
References
Hurlock-Chorostecki, C. (1999). Holistic care in the critical care setting: Application of a
concept through Watson's and Orem's theories of nursing. Official Journal of the
Canadian Association of Critical Care Nurses, 10(4), 20-25. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/927662580?accountid=27045
Moore, M. L. (2002). What are the perceptions of caring and non-caring behaviors in the primary
care setting? (Order No. 1410206, University of Nevada, Reno). ProQuest Dissertations
and Theses. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/230865040?accountid=27045.