Running head: PERSONAL NURSING PHILOSOPHY 1

Personal Nursing Philosophy

Frances Mandelbaum

University of Saint Mary

PERSONAL NURSING PHILOSOPHY 2

I chose to become a nurse because I feel a strong desire to help those in need. Nursing is

a unique profession in that every day is an opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives of

others. I strive to provide competent, respectful, understanding, compassionate care, regardless

of a patient’s situation or social standing. This type of care is essential to health promotion,

which is the true purpose of a nurse. Nurses promote health by filling the gap between an

individual’s actual physiological and safety needs and what their support system provides.

Respect for humanity is fundamental to nursing care. Health care is a basic right, and

each person should be treated as a unique, autonomous individual who deserves to be heard and

respected. Generally speaking, health is the physiologic state the individual needs in order to

progress through life. Health means something different to everyone throughout their lives.

As a nurse I seek to understand each patient and how they define health so that I can

advocate for them and promote their autonomy in a manner that is truly in line with their desires.

Nurses combine their understanding of the patient with the clinical judgements they have made

based off of assessment findings in order to create a holistic picture of the patient and provide

appropriate nursing care. Nurses must then be able to take responsibility for the clinical decisions

they have, regardless of the outcome.

Standards of care change constantly as we are flooded with research findings, new

techniques, and new technology. A nurse must be committed to be a life-long learner in order to

continue to provide competent, safe care throughout their career. This can be done by using each

day as an opportunity to learn from patient interactions, publications, continuing education, and

other members of the healthcare team. My personal goal is to continue to learn throughout my

nursing career while providing competent, respectful, understanding, compassionate care in

order to provide the highest level of care possible for my patients.