Running head: PERSONAL NURSING PHILOSPHY

Personal Nursing Philosophy

Beza Fissaha
Old Dominion University

PERSONAL NURSING PHILOSPHY

Personal Nursing Philosophy

My years in nursing school has been both challenging and difficult but equally an
experience that has positively transformed me as a student, individual, and health care
professional. My journey was influenced by a nurse that cared for my deceased uncle; she
advocated for my uncle and provided our family comfort and support. That personal experience
was able to guide me to a career rich in compassion and dedication; furthermore it was a
profession that required critical thinking and implemented using evidence-based practice, a
component that too, geared my desire towards nursing. I am honored to uphold and continue
traditions of the nursing profession and plan to continually grow as a nurse.
During my time as an undergraduate student, I was able to gain personal and educational
experiences that helped shape who I am today and foster who I will be as a nurse. I am hopeful
that new challenges and experiences will help me evolve in my profession and further add on to
my personal philosophy. As I reflect on my education at Old Dominions school of nursing, Im
brought back to a philosophy project that I created during my first semester. This assignment
allowed me to symbolize my philosophy of beliefs and values. I used Florence Nightingales
environmental theory to guide my definition of nursing. Nightingale research, during her years as
a nurse in the Crimean War, provided the foundation to modern nursing and evolved the root of
nursing practice. Her work influenced my educational experience by setting a standard of what
needs to be incorporated in my studies; evidence based practice, value, and research.
Nightingales findings modeled nursing as a practice that is set to alter the patients environment,
to further promote optimal health and recovery (Frisch, 2014). Throughout my educational
experiences as a first year student, I was determined to provide exceptional care to my patients

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and use innovative research to guide my care. Additionally, I was able to incorporate nursing
theory to guide my care thus setting a foundation for the practices and education that I provided.
Clinical experiences has allowed me to witness the different roles of nursing. I thought that
nursing consisted of taking care of the patient and their needs; while nursing does include this
belief, my dynamic experiences reflected many more responsibilities such as promoting health
and implementing education. My experience in various clinical settings allowed me to discover
my career pursuits while instilling valuable skills that I can provide as a future nurse.
The purpose of this assignment is to enable the student to rediscover his or her personal
philosophy of nursing as it exists upon the completion of the baccalaureate nursing program.
Definition of Nursing
Nursing encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages,
families, groups and communities, sick or well and in all settings. It includes the promotion of
health, the prevention of illness, and the care of ill, disabled and dying people (WHO, 2016).
This definition provides the standards of what it means to be a nurse. A nurse encompasses
compassion and helps promote optimal health. Nurses promote health by administering
medications, implementing evidenced based practice, and providing individualized education.
Furthermore, the use of evidence based practice and research help establish nursing diagnosis
and implement interventions to restore the human body. The nurse also advocates for the patient
and provides support to both the patient and family. Nurses are responsible for ensuring care that
is culturally sensitive and providing adequate care that restores patients function. Nurses impact
the health care system in numerous ways; through their compassionate and individualized care,
they are able to touch the lives of many individuals. Furthermore, nurses promote health to a

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variety of health care settings and assist communities with health disparities. The profession of
nursing contributes great value towards the health care field and promises quality patient care.
Purpose of Nursing
The purpose of nursing is composed of many factors that influenced my desire for the
profession. I chose to be a nurse as its qualities combined the two pursuits in my career; my
passion for medicine and helping others. Nursing allowed me to incorporate skills of critical
thinking, therapeutic communication, evidence based practice, and innovating research into my
practice. Additionally, I was able to engage in interdisciplinary care and build interpersonal
relationships with patients and healthcare professionals. These characteristics is what initially
made me choose nursing; it was a profession that consisted of the many fundamental skills that I
strongly valued. Nursing allowed me to explore my desires for teaching as I was able to
implement individualized educational sessions in both acute care settings and communities. This
guides my drive to further my education in the nursing profession and perhaps even one day
contribute to research. Furthermore, I want to expand my knowledge to help my country,
Ethiopia. I plan to promote health to underdeveloped communities and expand the profession by
promoting education in low income areas. I am humbled and honored to soon be a nurse and plan
to promote compassion and holistic care to each patient that I care for.
Assumptions
Revealing assumptions about my beliefs and values requires the application of critical
thinking and self-evaluation. As a nurse, it is essential that I explore the values and beliefs that
generate my different perspectives and help guide my practice. I must use critical questioning to

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examine the principals that guide my care so that I evolve as a health care professional who
provides culturally competent care, The goal of critical questioning is to prompt reflective
analysis, and encourage others to develop independent habits of critical reflection. (Riddell,
2007). Examining my assumptions and reflecting on my thoughts will help change misguided
cultural assimilations and help promote competent care.
Nurse and the Client Relationship in a Culturally Diverse Setting
Nurses are responsible for providing culturally competent care while engaging in selfreflection of their own thoughts and beliefs; the continuous assessments of my values and beliefs
ensures that I provide culturally congruent care. I plan to provide patient centered care and attend
to the patients cultural needs by using cultural assessments, communication, and promoting
cultural practices, both patient-centeredness and cultural competence aim to improve health care
quality.. the primary aim of the cultural competence movement has been to increase health equity
and reduce disparities by concentrating on people of color and other disadvantaged populations,
(Bacote, 2011). As a nurse, I plan to provide culturally sensitive care to each patient by assessing
for understanding, inquiring information about alternative practices to healing, ensuring that I
refrain from stereotypes, and incorporating the family throughout the healing process. I will also
continue to grow and evolve my competency in providing culturally competent care as I gain
more experiences throughout my journey as a nurse. I plan to separate any assumptions and
cultural beliefs that I hold to better respect the integrity and dignity of my patients. Furthermore,
I plan to incorporate my philosophy of the nurse-client relationship by implementing nursing
theories; for example, Nightingales environmental theory allows me to explore the
individualized needs of my patients by altering their surroundings.

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Nurses in the Community

Nurses serve in various settings that extends beyond acute care realm. Nurses also
provide care to communities dealing with health challenges. Care provided in community clinics,
schools, churches, and neighborhoods can improve outcomes and access to care. Community
health nurses also have a duty to promote optimal health while advocating for their clients; the
use of nursing theories can further assist in guiding holistic practice. Dorothea E. Orems Self
Care Deficit theory can guide the nurse in identifying the needs for each patient. Applying
Orems theory can be useful in the community setting as the needs of the patient can be
represented individually rather than by a population. Furthermore, it is essential that community
nurses display adequate competencies on essential skills needed to effectively provide to the
public. Program planning, cultural competence and analytical assessment, leadership, and policy
development are all critical components that is needed to achieve community health promotion
goals; These competencies and skills are requisite for public health nurses to serve in
contemporary, evolving roles with communities and populations that face complex, multifaceted
challenges (Kulbok et al., 2012). Therefore, it is essential that I apply the skills and knowledge
acquired through my clinical experiences, to facilitate health promotion and address health
disparities among communities.
Nurses and other Health Care Professionals
The healthcare system is facilitated by an interdisciplinary collaboration as various health
professions work together to promote optimal health outcomes. Health care professionals
including physicians, physical therapists, nurses, and social workers are able to implement their
practice while incorporating their care to the collaborative team. This addresses common health

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objectives and helps prevent fragmented care. The nurse should aim to advocate for the patient,
plan and implement interventions, and evaluate the effectiveness of the identified goals.
Furthermore, the nurse should encompass effective communication skills that are compatible
with other professions; these practices help identify the effectiveness of the collaborative care.
Principle Rules
As a nurse, I value ethical principles that help foster my care and guide my professional
practice. My clinical experiences as a student nurse has allowed me to explore ethical dilemmas
that impacted my care. Beneficence is an ethical principal that guides my care through every
patient interaction, beneficence is defined as an act of charity, mercy, and kindness with a
strong connotation of doing good to others including moral obligation (Kinsinger, 2010).
During my pediatric clinical rotation at CHKD, I was able to display beneficence during my care
of a two year old patient treated for hydrocephalus. The childs mom was not in her life and her
dad rarely visited. I made it my moral obligation to provide exceptional care to that patient. I
made sure to provide stimulation that correlated with her developmental level by providing audio
games, reading, and interacting with her. Furthermore, I made sure that the child was positioned
appropriately for the ventroculoperitoneal shunt and that her dressing was covered with a hat.
While changing the patient, I noticed that all her clothes were dirty and contained cigarette
burns; I reported this to the nurse which then reported it to the social services. My moral
obligation to promote beneficence allows me to honor and uphold the interests of my patients.
Autonomy is also an essential ethical component that encompasses my care as I strongly
believe that individuals have the right to govern their healthcare. During my clinical rotation for
critical care, I was caring for an eighty six year old female with congestive heart failure. As I was

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in her room, I noticed her saturations decreasing before she stopped breathing. I was able to
refrain from conducting CPR as I made sure to check her wrist band for her code status, which
indicated DNR. I was able to respect the self governed health decisions of the patient by being
cautious of the code status before implementing interventions. This allowed me to honor the
patients wishes thus ensuring the patients autonomy.
Conclusion
As a soon to be graduate, I reflect to nostalgic moments of beginning nursing school; I
was nervous and anxious to begin a journey that would transform me as an individual and inherit
in me, essential disciplines that are pivotal to the nursing profession. I am blessed to have
received an education at an exceptional institution that provided me with adequate education and
clinical experiences to excel as a nurse. I plan to use the works of nursing theorists such as
Florence Nightingale and Dorothea Orem to continue to satisfy various needs of the patient.
Although my undergraduate years is coming to an end, my education will be continued through
my clinical experiences as a registered nurse

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9
References

Bacote, J. (2011). Delivering Patient-Centered Care in the Midst of a Cultural Conflict:

The Role of Cultural Competence. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Retrieved June 8,
2016.
Frisch, N. (2014, January 1). Standards for Holistic Nursing Practice: A Way to Think
About Our Care That Includes Complementary and Alternative Modalities. Retrieved June 5,
2014.
Kinsinger, F. S. (2010). Beneficence and the professional's moral imperative. Journal of
Chiropractic Humanities, 16(1), 44-46. doi:10.1016/j.echu.2010.02.006
Kulbok, P., Thatcher, E., Park, E., & Mezaros, P. (2012, May). Evolving Public Health
Nursing Roles: Focus on Community Participatory Health Promotion and Prevention. The Online
Journal of Is, 17. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
Nursing. (n.d.). Retrieved June 08, 2016, from http://www.who.int/topics/nursing/en/
Riddell, T. (2007). Critical assumptions: Thinking critically about criticalthinking.
Journal Of Nursing Education,46 (3), 120-127