Running Head: PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING

Personal Philosophy of Nursing:

Be the Nurse You Would Want to Have

Jessica Snow

Old Dominion University School of Nursing

Be the Nurse You Would Want to Have

Introduction

Nursing takes heart, soul, compassion, and consistency. In order to have these traits

throughout my nursing career, I will need to have a nursing philosophy. A philosophy is a

guideline to how I plan to practice. The purpose of this paper is to discover my own nursing

philosophy from the beginning of my academic journey toward my BSN. It is important to

discover my philosophy now so that I can ensure my care aligns with my values. A definition of

nursing is the first step to developing a nursing philosophy.

Definition of Nursing

When I define nursing, I keep in mind the art and science behind it. Nursing is defined as,

“the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and

injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and

advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations” (American Nurses

Association, 2003, p. 6). This borrowed definition is supported by the idea that nursing is artfully

scientific. Candy Wilson, a registered nurse, states that, “the artful acts in nursing are those

activities that science cannot explain” (2005, p. 116). In my opinion, the foundation of nursing is

built from a heart and desire to care for people in need. The rest of nursing is built from science,

understanding, learning, and experiences. Once nursing is defined, the next step is exploring the

purpose of nursing.

The Purpose of Nursing

The purpose of nursing is to provide the best, complete care to vulnerable populations.

The purpose of nursing for me started developing while in the military medical field. I had so
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much heart to give and I connected with patients. I found myself more and more curious about

the reasons behind the care we provided for specific diagnoses. I noticed that the nursing staff

were the most caring and they had tons of knowledge regarding the care they were providing. I

quickly started interviewing these nurses to get an idea of how I could get on their level. From

that moment, I truly believe nursing became my calling. A calling that I never realized until I

was consumed by it. These experiences affect my nursing practice because I am constantly

reflecting on them and trying to better care of my next patient. My mindset changes as I build

upon my nursing experiences, which allows for me to shape the way I practice. These mindset

changes apply to relationships with clients, community, and other healthcare professionals.

Nursing Relationships

Nursing requires collaboration with clients, community, and other healthcare

professionals. Though it may seem the nurses work independently most of the time. These types

of relationships are guided by a specific theory or theories. The development of a nursing

philosophy requires a glance into the values and beliefs of a culturally diverse setting, different

communities, and a wide variety of healthcare professional.

Culture

Many patients have specific cultural preferences. Nurses are always working in a

culturally diverse setting because everyone needs medical care at some point. This requires

special skills to develop relationships with patients of varying cultures. The most important

aspect in the relationship of nurse and client is awareness and acceptance of the culture. The

nurse will need to open communication with the patient to find out what cultural preferences the

client has. When the client expresses their cultural preferences, it is important for the nurse to

honor their wishes and advocate for them if necessary. The best theory to apply for this is
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Madeleine Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality. This theory focuses

on care being the “essence and unifying focus of nursing” (Sagar, 2012, p. 3). In order to provide

care, we must be culturally aware. I value communication and acceptance and I believe these

values will help us develop the best relationships with our patients.

Community

Providing care to a patient, it is important to be mindful of the community they are from.

Learning about the community will help to form a relationship with the community. Essentially,

our patients at the hospital live relatively close to the hospital. This means we are likely to find

trends within the community and we are also part of the community because we provide care

within it. Nurses can advocate for the community by providing resources and help to the

community when a need is identified. I feel that finding these trends and addressing them is an

important part for developing a relationship with the community we serve. I value trends within

the community, and I believe we can learn to better care for our patients with this information.

Health Care Collaboration

As I stated earlier, nursing is a collaborative effort. In order to collaborate, there needs to

be a relationship established within the health care team. This relationship is one of the most

essential relationships in the healthcare field because it allows for us to provide the best,

complete care for our patients. When there is no relationship between healthcare professionals,

there may be limited communication, and this will lead to failed efforts to assist our patients.

Theory

The theory that aligns with my values and beliefs about these relationships is directly

correlated with Florence Nightingales Environmental Theory. The reason I feel that the

environmental theory applies so heavily within these relationships is due to the “designed
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environment” that Nightingale discusses. “Designed environment” takes noise, light, air,

cleanliness, variety, and ventilation into consideration (Zborowsky, 2014). A healthy,

professional environment will set up the best foundation for creating these relationships. The

environment is the most basic and powerful aspect of relationships. When individuals feel

comfortable in the environment, communication is much easier.

Ethical and Moral Principles

Ethical and moral principles should guide a nurse’s professional practice. The two ethical

principles that guide my practice are honesty and autonomy. Autonomy allows patients to make

their own decisions without feeling shame. Honesty ensures that patients receive the information

so that these decisions can be made.

During my clinical experiences, I have encountered multiple situations where

these principles were practiced. A specific case comes to mind where a patient requested

information about a surgery they were having. The patient felt that they did not understand what

was happening. The nurse I was assigned to was open and honest with the patient about the

surgery. The nurse made sure to allow the patient to opt out of the surgery if they felt they

needed to. This proves that the nurse respected the patients right to choose without placing

judgement on the patient. I plan to apply these principles in the same way. I want my patients to

feel like they can ask me about their care so I can be honest with them and lay out their options. I

want them to feel like they have control in their care.

Conclusion

Through this exploration of the nursing field, professional relationships, nursing theory

application, and ethical principles, I have realized that I believe my philosophy is to be the nurse

that I would want to have. I would want to honor the art and science that nursing is built upon. I
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plan to respect my patients and their wishes, while forming relationships with my clients, the

community, and my healthcare team. I will allow my past experiences to guide the changes

within myself professionally.

Reflection

Completing this assignment required a lot of reflection throughout the paper. Each topic

presented a different aspect of care that I needed to investigate and really dig into. I learned that I

am very empathetic with my patients, and I am a true advocate for them. My ethics guide me in

providing complete care for my patients, while respecting their decisions and being honest with

them. I feel that this assignment will serve me well in the nursing field.
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References

American Nurses Association. (2003). Nursing’s social policy statement. (2nd ed.). Washington,

D.C.

Sagar, P. (2012). Transcultural nursing theory and models application in nursing education,

practice, and administration. New York: Springer Pub.

Wilson, C. (2005). Said another way. My definition of nursing. Nursing Forum, 40(3), 116-118.

Zborowsky, T. (2014). The Legacy of Florence Nightingale's Environmental Theory: Nursing

Research Focusing on the Impact of Healthcare Environments. HERD, 7(4), 19-34.

Honor Code

I pledge to support the Honor System of Old Dominion University. I will refrain from

any form of academic dishonesty or deception, such as cheating or plagiarism. I am aware that as

a member of the academic community it is my responsibility to turn in all suspected violations of

the Honor Code. I will report to a hearing if summoned.