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Running head: PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY PAPER

Personal Philosophy Paper

Na Lee Futral

NUR 4142 Synthesis for Nursing Practice

Dr. Christine Turner

October 10, 2017

On my honor, I have neither given nor received any help on this work.

I pledge. Na Lee Futral

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Introduction

As a student nurse that is almost done with immersion, and about to graduate in a few

months, I have really learned to integrate my own personal philosophy of nursing into my

nursing practice. When I started off in the nursing program, I built my foundations of nursing

based on reading about other nurses philosophies of nursing, and tried to emulate what I was

reading. Now as a senior in nursing school, I have a more personalized understanding of what it

means to be a nurse and what my philosophy of nursing is, since I have been able to work more

independently with patients through immersion. In this paper, I will define what nursing means

to me, reflect on my own personal philosophy of nursing, demonstrate how I have applied my

philosophy of nursing with patients, discuss my values and beliefs, discuss Benners Theory,

evaluate what stage of skill acquisition I am at right now, and determine what I can do to elevate

myself to the next stage of skill acquisition.

Definition of Nursing

Nursing is a profession that has always been about taking care of others who are sick and

not well. I think that the concept of nursing is built on the foundation of helping those who are

ill, but for me personally, nursing also means being a good listener, being kind-hearted, caring,

empathetic, creative, and uplifting. One tenet from our schools nursing program philosophy

statement is that, nurses should use creativity to adapt to changing systems and patient needs.

There are plenty of times where I have had to make a situation work with what was available for

the patient in the room, and use my creativity to dress a wound, or figure out a way to use tape to

keep an NG tube in. Nursing is a profession where patients have different problems that need

creative solutions. There are also patients that learn differently, who need creative ways of being

taught how to maintain and restore their health.

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When people are sick or injured, they are going through a lot mentally, emotionally, and

physically, and I think it is really important that nursing is also about giving holistic care that

makes patients feel better. Another tenet from our schools nursing philosophy, is about

providing holistic care to promote wellness, prevent disease, restore health, and to provide

comfort. I believe that nursing is about educating patients about being healthy and staying

healthy by promoting primary prevention; like diet and exercise, secondary prevention; like

screenings for breast cancer, and tertiary prevention; like managing chronic illnesses. Another

tenet I really believe in is the statement about nurses being able to collaborate and cultivate

partnerships with others to provide things like leadership, empowerment, consultation, and

supervision in our complex and diverse healthcare environment. I think nursing involves being

able to work well with other interdisciplinary healthcare professionals to have the best possible

outcome for the patient.

Personal Philosophy of Nursing

I believe that the core of nursing is building a trusting and honest relationship with the

patient. I also think it is important to provide equivocal, kind, and compassionate care to

everyone that needs help. I always talk to each patient and try to get to know about them as a

person, and not just about their illness and why he is in the hospital. I think it is important to

build trusting relationships with patients because sometimes treatment can be scary and invasive,

and it helps to give patients less stress about who is taking care of them. When people come to

the hospital, they may be having one of the worst days of their lives, and I value the opportunity

and the privilege of being there to get them through that day, by giving the best care possible.

When people are sick they need to be uplifted and encouraged. I always try to stay positive,

share a smile, and give some encouragement when I am in the room. I find it easier to educate
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patients when they are happier, more comfortable, and more receptive to listening and learning

things. Remember the most effective barrier to learning is anxiety and stress!

I think being a life-long learner is also important in my personal philosophy of nursing,

and I am always seeking out new learning experiences, trying to gain new skills, and reading as

much as I can about new research studies. When I learn new things, I have the opportunity to

pass that knowledge along to patients who need the information the most. I think that it is also

important to collaborate with other healthcare professionals as well, and be able to learn from

others who may be more experienced than I am.

Nurse-Patient Encounter

In immersion this semester, I had a patient who came into the Emergency Department

with excruciating back pain, and had to be transferred to the Orthopedic Unit to get surgery.

When my preceptor and I went into the room to get report, the patient was grumpy and quiet, and

complained of severe pain. When I went into the room to do my shift assessment, I re-

introduced myself, and while I charted, somehow we got to talking about his teenage daughter

starting to drive. He told me about how she just had gotten a boyfriend and how much he

disliked him, and he really opened up, and showed me a picture of her. I told him about how

when my daughter was in pre-school, the teacher told me about how the little boys in her class

loved touching her hair, and how I went to get her a short, fashionable, bob haircut that same

day. He thought my story was hilarious, and after exchanging stories he relaxed a bit.

Breaking the ice and building some trust, made it easier to talk to him about foot care

since he was a diabetic. He was so much more comfortable and receptive to patient teaching. I

also did some nutrition education, and gave him education about moving around after surgery to
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prevent DVTs, and introduced him to the incentive spirometer to help prevent atelectasis. After I

showed him how to use the spirometer, I encouraged him to practice on his own when he got

bored. I told him it was like a game, and he should try to beat his last volume. I cheered him on,

and encouraged him every time I saw him using the incentive spirometer. He started rating his

pain at lower levels too once he relaxed a little.

Later in the day he started feeling nauseous, and I ran and gave him an emesis bag. He

threw up twice and I knew from evidence-based practice that we could give him Zofran to help

him curb his nausea. My preceptor and I gave him his Zofran, but he was still vomiting. I told

my preceptor about what was going on and from her past nursing experience she suggested that

we ask the nurse practitioner for a prescription for Compazine. I was able to collaborate care

with other healthcare professionals to help this patient. He felt so much better, and I was so glad

I was able to help this patient get through his tough day at the hospital. What really made my

day was when my preceptor told me he wrote a note about his care from me, and how

professional and personable I was. He wrote that I did an excellent job with his care, and wrote

that I was very confident with my nursing skills, and what a pleasure it was for me to be a part of

his caregiving team. He complimented my attitude and wrote that he wanted to thank me for his

care. This really gave me the confidence that my personal philosophy of nursing was working

well for me as well as for my patients.

Values and Beliefs

Values are important in order to identify a personal philosophy of nursing, and there are

quite a few that I think are crucial to being a successful nurse. The things I value the most in

nursing is being kind to my patients, being ethical, practicing humility and honesty, and

providing individualized personal care that is sensitive, safe, empathetic, and dependable. I think
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that beliefs and values go hand-in-hand in a nursing philosophy, and I believe that it is important

to be open-minded and non-judgmental when it comes to patients personal beliefs. As a nurse, I

give the same care to every patient, no matter what age, gender, race, or ethnicity he or she may

be. There are people who may not be as wealthy as others, and cannot afford some luxuries in

life, but I believe everyone should be entitled to equivocal healthcare. I have identified with

these values and beliefs even at the beginning of my nursing education, and do not really think I

have changed my values or beliefs that much. I still believe that life is about choices, and even

though I may not agree with everyones decisions, I need to be understanding enough to try to

respect others choices.

Benners Theory

Benners Theory involved a model for the Stages of Clinical Competence. Those stages

included a hierarchy where the lowest stage was the novice, the next stage up was the advanced

beginner, competent, proficient, and then the most advanced stage at the top was the expert. The

Dreyfus model of skill acquisition states that, in the acquisition and development of a skill, a

student passes through five levels of proficiency (Benner, 2001, p. 13). The novice is the

beginner, who has had no experience in the situations they are put in. Novices are often rule

guided and limited in their nursing capacity. The advanced beginner, can demonstrate very

marginal acceptable performance and is still guided by a mentor to help evaluate new and

different situations and prioritize patient care. Someone who is competent, has worked the same

job for two to three years and can evaluate which situation or patient is most important on their

own. Benner states that, a nurse is considered proficient when she, learns from experience what

typical events to expect in a given situation and how plans need to be modified in response to

these events (2001, p. 28). This nurse is able to see the importance in changing situations and
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integrate nursing skills more fluidly. The expert nurse no longer relies on rules and guidelines,

and uses his experience and intuition in evaluating each situation.

My Skill Acquisition Stage

The stage of skill acquisition that represents my current professional development is as an

advanced beginner. I have had enough practicum experience where I can recognize some

aspects of the patients situation that are important, but I am still guided by my preceptor to help

me recognize the significance of some situations. I am very much guided by rules and guidelines

in my care of patients. I do not feel completely comfortable basing my nursing practices and

intuition based on the two months that I have been on the Orthopedic Unit. My preceptor can

determine what lab values are relevant for different illnesses and patient conditions, but I still

have trouble sometimes figuring out why looking at a certain lab value is relevant. Sometimes I

can figure out how to prioritize by patients, but I still need help at other times in prioritization

between multiple patients who have a lot going on.

Moving to the Next Stage

One thing I will do in order to move to the next stage of skill acquisition as a competent

nurse is to get more experience in one specialty for two to three years. As a nursing student, I

have been to various units for short periods of time. When I get a job on a unit after I graduate, I

will have the experience of having similar situations reoccur where I can start building on my

nursing competency. Another thing I will do to move to the next stage of skill acquisition is to

participate in simulations if they are available on the unit to give me extra practice in

coordinating complex nursing issues on my own. I remember when I visited the PICU, they had

a simulation on a child mannequin that the nurses got to practice evaluating what information
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was important and practice their nursing skills on. One last thing I will do is to try to

consciously plan, organize, and deliver care for each of my patients appropriately on my own

more. I will try to practice prioritizing patients, and determining which situations need my

attention the most. Identification of a strong mentor will also help you grow.

Conclusion

After taking the time to reflect on my own personal philosophy of nursing, I feel like a

have strong foundation for what nursing means to me, and a deeper understanding of my values

and beliefs. I understand that my values and beliefs may change a little throughout my nursing

career, but I know that my core values of empathy, kindness, and dependability will always be

the standards that I use with my patients and co-workers. I may only be an advanced beginner in

the skill acquisition stage now, but I look forward to gaining new experiences, learning new

things, and gaining insight as I hopefully become an expert in the field of nursing one day in the

future.
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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.