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Jasmine Wrenn
Personal Philosophy Paper
Nur 4142 Synthesis of Nursing Practice
3/19/2018
Dr. Turner
Pledge
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Philosophies often guide an individual in standards of belief and values. Specifically, the

Philosophy of Nursing guide nurses on how to conduct practice and provide an understanding for

patient care. Florence Nightingale, Virginia Henderson, and Jean Watson all created their own

personal philosophy of nursing to help the field progress as a discipline of study. The

philosophies of Nightingale, Henderson, and Watson are all patient centered, focused on the

patient's needs. It is important for nurses to have a positive understanding of their role in the

patient-nurse relationship in order to provide good patient care.

Nursing is a multidimensional practice. I believe it represents the many dimensions of

humanity. The practice is inclusive to caring, health, service, and education. Nursing is a

combination of evidence based practice mixed with interpersonal relations. It can take on many

styles such as relaxed, straight forward, endearing, and many more. Nursing is defined as helping

individuals achieve goals that promote wellness.

Nurses are leaders that provide a service for those in need. Throughout Bon Secours

nursing program I have gained knowledge of what is required to be a nurse. Nurses should

participate in collaborative work with multidisciplinary health professionals to create the best

care plan for patients. It is important to continue to research in order to pursue professional and

personal growth that facilitates the delivery of holistic care.

Providing holistic care includes the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects that represent

the whole person. Participation in a Unit Based Council advances quality improvement. Also,

nurses must hold each other to a higher standard, as the health field continues to expand. These

values I include in my nursing definition.

My philosophy of nursing is that a nurse provides holistic care to all using their

experience, knowledge, and critical thinking to improve the patient’s health. I value human life;
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I think that all people deserve the right to treatment. I believe it is the responsibility of the nurse

to tend to a patient’s mind, body, and spirit. The focus of nursing is the patient. A nurse must be

able to use a patient-centered process of care.

There are many values and beliefs that can influence a person’s philosophy of nursing. I

believe in natural remedies that can influence health. As a nurse I value a patient’s ability to

participate in their care, so what they value is more important than what I believe in. Through my

philosophy, I see it as my responsibility to provide holistic care in the terms that the patient

recognizes. Respecting their space and autonomy is necessary when providing the care that is

holistic in the patient’s terms, while also being responsible and providing the best patient care I

can.

In my nursing practice I prioritize my care. While I am on the floor it is my job to make

sure I have given my patients all that I have. Having a psychology background I believe that I

have great interpersonal skills with my patients and other health professionals. I actively listen to

them through their verbal and nonverbal cues. In response I try to communicate with the utmost

respect and concern for their wellbeing. If I am unsure of myself I seek guidance from the people

around me, which includes: instructors, nurses, doctors, consultants, and other experienced

professionals within the hospital. I pride myself in the care that I give to my patients.

It is important for me to treat all of my patients with justice and respect. This is a

standard for me because I pretend that I am the patient. Everyone deserves the same respect, so

before entering a room I knock and announce myself before stepping in. I ask if it is ok for me to

perform a task and before touching the patient I explain everything that I am doing. If there is a

process or procedure that I am not sure of, I make sure I research the policy and ask for

additional assistance if necessary.

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Patient rapport is a major practice in my personal philosophy of nursing. Having trust in

the nurse requires time and honesty. I work on this with my patients by attentively listening to

them and asking them if they understand what I am providing. Being accountable, timely, and

responsible is my entry way to building that rapport and trust. Once I have established myself

with the patient I try to gain additional information that may affect their wellness.

It is important to engage the patient further. Specifically I always talk to my patients in

Mother and Infant Unit about whether they have a safe place for baby to sleep. The matter of

investigating is not to judge but to make sure all needs are met accordingly. It is important that I

advocate for the mother’s needs and ensure that her basic Maslow Hierarchy of needs are met.

This is looking at the entire personal not just the physical manifestations.

In order to provide holistic care, as a nurse I would have to collaborate with other

healthcare members. Having other healthcare members involved uses multiple perspectives to

provide a safe, secure, and responsible environment. Reflecting on my philosophy will remind

me of what kind of nurse I envision for myself. I am going to be nurse that is forward thinking

but respects the perspectives of others. It would be a reminder of continuing to progress my

education to think critically in precious situations.

There are times in nursing that we are challenged beyond our beliefs. While in Pediatrics

Practicum I understood that I was not interested in working with children full time. The problem

was my lack of patience to manage the care of children. The biggest challenge came in during

the rotation at Children’s Hospital.

My assigned patient had minimal quality of life and our job was to care for him and help

expand that. Although I had to deal with personal feelings about the situation, I did not allow that

to affect the care I wanted to provide this child. My partner and I continued open communication
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with the patient who was nonverbal and exhibited other mental disabilities. He still deserved the

same respect as a higher functioning child.

Not only was I pushed beyond my own personal beliefs I was challenged with my skills

in pediatric nursing. I researched the patient's condition and sought out ways to stimulate him.

The drugs were familiar but the dosage was new to me and required a better understanding of

when to use them according to the patient’s condition. Further research was done and my partner

and I employed the help of a nurse that had experience with this patient. I believe it was an eye

opening experience that helped me gain a new level of skills for my patient care.

Many things have changed over the years. I have expanded my understanding of what my

career in nursing will look like. I have grown as a person and a health professional. Although

some things have changed, some philosophies still remain the same. My desire to care for the

entire person, mind, body, and spirit has not change.

I want to be the nurse that can connect to her patients. I still want to be the bridge in care

from misunderstanding to the patient taking control of their health and wellness. Something I

have learned is that caring can be difficult and requires creativity to reach goals for different

individuals. Flexibility is not something I strongly accounted for but now I recognize it as a vital

part of my nursing philosophy.

I was very sure that I would impact women who were in labor. With more time and

experience I have learned that my skills are needed during the postpartum period. I can attend to

the patient and educate more effectively. The flexibility not only exists for my patients but also

in my nursing career. It is important to grow organically and everything cannot be planned to

perfect timing. Life is a mysterious thing and it is easier to go with the flow instead of going
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against the tide. There is a time and a place for everything, so being flexible with my nursing

practice is now an addition to how I look at things.

A crucial part of the nursing field is growth. Growth within the nursing field and

individual growth with each nurse is important. Patricia Benner’s theory discusses the process of

progressing from a novice to an expert within the field. Most individuals start out as a novice

then they become an advanced beginner, moving into competency, then proficient, and lastly an

expert. This requires time, practice, and education. The idea is that as a person progresses they

rely less on abstract ideas to form analysis but rather from personal experience to have intuition

based decision making.

Starting nursing school I was a novice because I had no experience in patient care.

Through each semester I have gained knowledge and experience to help me grow into the nurse I

aspire to be, an expert. Now at the end of my career I am an advanced beginner. I have seen and

experienced a number of things but I am not skilled enough to operate on my own yet.

In the clinical setting I still rely heavily on more experienced personnel. I also refer back

to my notes and hospital guidelines to remember parameters. Procedures are a major reason why

I am still a beginner. I have to think about every action and why I am performing that action. The

more I perform these skills the better I can become. My desire to learn and grow increases as I

encounter new experiences.

When starting my first nursing job I hope that I can blossom into a competent nurse. A

nurse that has critical thinking skills, displayed on a daily basis. Benner’s theory is a reminder

that I always have room to grow. It is important for me to seek out new opportunities to learn and

gain skills from. My first job I hope can provide me with an encouraging environment. It is
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important to me to have a team that I can use to further my knowledge. Nurses support my

continuous quest for answers.

I believe it setting flexible goals for myself. One way I plan on growing is looking into

becoming certified in my specialty, like NRP or lactation. Joining a Unit Based Council is

another way that I can be surrounded by people who want to improve the healthcare system. I am

a lifelong learner and my interest in that has not change. A third goal I would like to implement

is to attend a nursing conference. Later on in my advancement to expert it would be awesome to

present at a national conference. The great thing about nursing is that the options are unlimited.

My job as a nurse is to see the entire picture and make sound judgment to lead the team

to appropriate action. For now I am willing to place myself in uncomfortable positions so that I

can develop my skills further. If I plan on ever becoming a Nurse Practitioner or a Clinical

Educator, it is important to have time at the bedside. Bedside nurses experience everything first

hand, this builds their gut feeling which is known as intuition. I want to stay at the bedside for a

few years so that I can see and experience things to better educate myself and others.