Personal Philosophy of Nursing 1

Personal Philosophy of Nursing

Ariane Caday

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

Christine Turner, PhD, RN

NUR 4142 - Synthesis for Nursing Practice

20 March 2018

Honor Code - “I Pledge”

Personal Philosophy of Nursing

The profession of nursing is a sophisticated and ever-evolving field of healthcare. There

are various kinds of nurses with different levels of education, training, and experience. The

majority of the profession is comprised of registered nurses who generally work in the hospital

or medical offices. Unfortunately, the public is often unfamiliar with what nurses really do until

they are admitted to the hospital or have a sick loved one. A registered nurse is a licensed

professional that is able to provide medical care for people of all ages. The care provided focuses

on each person’s unique experience and is aimed at improving their quality of life. Nursing

education is comprised of science and humanity-based classes that, added with an an extensive

practicum component, allow nurses to diagnose and treat a person’s response to health problems.

The college of nursing operates in the same manner under the tenets of caring, health, and

service. The program believes, among an abundant number of nursing tenets, that nursing is

philosophically rooted in holistic caring for the biophysical, spiritual, mental and social person;

health requires ensuring that the basic right of all individuals have equitable access to the health

care system; and nurses apply knowledge of healthcare policy to advocate for vulnerable

populations to promote social justice and ameliorate health disparities (BSMCON Faculty

Handbook). My personal philosophy of nursing strongly identifies with these tenets the most.

Having a written philosophy can help guide nurses in the daily decision they must make in

nursing practice (Black, 2014, p. 262).

Philosophy, Values and Beliefs

My philosophy on nursing practice has developed over the last three years as a result of a

multitude of experiences in and out of the hospital. I look forward to pursuing this career under

the tenets that I believe drive my purpose: improving quality of life, promoting health and
Personal Philosophy of Nursing 3

wellness, and giving rise to universal healthcare. Nurses are the backbone of healthcare and

spend more time with patients than any other profession. As we are educated, trained, and

licensed in the delivery of medical care, we also understand the human condition. Nurses see

health from multiple perspectives and witness a broad range of outcomes. It is fundamental for

nurses to have the trait of empathy in order to find any sort of gratification from this profession.

With that being said, I am an advocate for delivering holistic, patient-centered care that is driven

by empathy. Empathy, at its simplest, is necessary for building relationships and fostering

communication among others. It is only with this trait that we, as nurses, are able to understand

the complex emotions of humans and can act accordingly to what is presented to us at that

moment.

In 2015, I discussed my beliefs in universal healthcare and that health is a right, not a

privilege. I continued to discuss my desire for a life filled with service, justice, and compassion.

Prior to nursing school, I had a surreal vision of what I wanted to accomplish as a nurse. I

essentially wanted to drastically change the face of healthcare and eradicate health disparities

across the globe. Three years later, although I still find myself upholding similar beliefs and

values, I now understand the steps I have to take and what areas need the most help. Fortunately,

the years of experience I have gotten under my belt have enhanced the reasons why I choose to

uphold them. My experience working in the emergency department and encountering various

communities and populations have shown me the importance of treating and teaching patients

with evidence-based practice and information. I aspire to continue developing experience in

nursing practice in the critical care environment in hopes of one day achieving a degree as a

nurse practitioner that will allow me to promote health and wellness on a larger scale to

vulnerable populations that are need in of healthcare.

Nurse-Patient Encounter

It was early morning around 7am shift change. I was in my second semester of junior

year doing a rotation on a neuroscience telemetry unit. I was helping a patient of mine get out of

bed and walk to the bathroom. I introduced myself to the patient and her daughter as they

proceeded to make a reference to Love in the Afternoon where Audrey Hepburn plays a character

with my name. I knew from that moment that I would enjoy this family very much. The day

continued on with vital signs, assessments, bed baths, and medication administration. I spent a

considerable amount of time in that room, fulfilling all of my duties as their student nurse that

day, but also building a strong rapport with the patient and her daughter. I learned almost

immediately how important the patient was to her daughter. I excused myself when the provider

and other medical personnel entered the room to discuss advance directives with the patient. It

was almost the end of the shift when the daughter looked in my eyes and asked for my opinion

on the sore subject. She continued to ask about rapid responses, code blues, and CPR. Initially, I

hesitated to answer as I did not believe my opinion as a student nurse held any gravity. But

almost instinctively, I sat down with the patient and her daughter and taught them everything I

knew. I did not try to persuade them in one direction or another; rather, I educated them on the

process of how such things work, benefits, risks, how these all apply to the current condition of

the patient, and proceeded to offer other resources had my explanation not sufficed. Our

conversation held formality, but I also remember it being so raw. I cannot describe the

gratification I received when the patient and her daughter genuinely thanked me for educating

them. From that encounter, I knew I wanted to continue improving quality of life by educating

and promoting health and wellness.

Benner’s Theory

Patricia Benner’s theory encompasses five specific stages of skill acquisition, including:

novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert (Benner, 2001). Learners in any

given situation need resources to guide them and give them what is needed to advance from

novice to expert. Beginners within the novice stage do not hold any experience of the situations

in which they are expected to perform. Beginners within the advanced beginner stage are capable

of demonstrating acceptable performance. Furthermore, these beginners have coped with a

sufficient amount of experiences that give them the ability to anticipate the aspects of the

situation in which they are moderately versed in. Those within the competent stage, for example,

include nurses who have been working and have attained at least two to three years of

experience. Those within the the proficient stage are now able to perceive situations holistically,

rather than in apportioned aspects. Furthermore, those within the proficient stage have gained

enough experience to build perspective and thus perception key. Those with perception key are

able to utilize prior experience and events to now make decisions in present time. Lastly, those

within the expert stage no longer “rely on analytic principle to connect their understanding of the

situation to an appropriate action” (Benner, 2001). Those within the expert stage are able to fully

utilize personal experience, perception key, and instinctual behavior to thoroughly carry out

expected tasks.

Skill Acquisition

Based off of Patricia Benner’s theory: From Novice to Expert, I believe that I am

currently within the advanced beginner stage of my nursing career. Those in the advanced

beginner stage are ones who are able to demonstrate adequate performance based off of fair

experience. Following three years of nursing school, on top of several years of fair experience in
Personal Philosophy of Nursing 6

healthcare, I believe that I have surpassed the novice stage. However, because I have not gained

more than three years of consistent experience as a registered nurse, I do not believe I can claim

to be in the competent stage of Benner’s theory. Within my clinical immersion, I am guided by a

mentor who has, thus far, taught me many skills needed to successfully carry out the nursing

role. I have become very independent in my actions within this environment; however, I still

require the supervision of a registered nurse. Moreover, I know I still have so much left to learn.

I consider the first several years as a new graduate nurse to be very crucial in one’s potential for

growth. These initial years will set the tone for a new graduate nurse to develop from advanced

beginner, to competent, and then to proficient. I feel that to be a nurse within the expert stage,

one must obtain at least 10-15 years of experience. However, learning does come differently for

everyone. There are several things I plan to implement that can help me advance to the next stage

of skill acquisition so that I can flourish into a successful nurse, with the most evident being

experience. Attaining years of experience will give me the knowledge and skills to develop

perspective and, eventually, instinctual behavior. The next thing I plan to implement is building

critical thinking skills. With my passion to work in the critical care environment, developing

critical thinking skills is necessary for growth. Starting in nursing school, we are taught to think

critically and reason through many different scenarios to reach the best possible outcome for our

patients. Lastly, throughout the rest of my nursing career, I plan to continue learning everyday. I

want to continue being up to date on evidenced-based practice and modern nursing care. I want

to climb on the clinical ladder and continue my education so that I do not become stagnant or

complacent in this career. I believe that when one stops learning, one stops growing. With these

plans, I believe that I will be able to advance stages in skill acquisition.

References

Benner, P. (2001). From novice to expert: Excellence and power in clinical nursing practice.

New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Black, B. (2014). Professional nursing: Concepts and challenges (7th ed. Pp. 256-264). St.

Louis, Missouri: Saunders.

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing Faculty Handbook. (2017). Richmond, Virginia: Bon

Secours Memorial College of Nursing.