Jenaya Furrowh

Nursing Department, Delaware Technical Community College

NUR 300, RN to BSN Transition

Dr. Sokola

February 18, 2024

When choosing a career, there are many different factors, thoughts and processes that you

go through in order to conclude if this is right for you as an individual. The career I choose for

myself is nursing. From the time I was a little girl I just knew that I would end up working in the

medical field later on in my life. If you asked me then I said I would be a doctor, but after re-

evaluating my choice, the right career for me is nursing.

As a little girl I was always fascinated with shows that had hospital environments and

emergency rooms. Rather they were scripted or reality didn’t matter to me, I was drawn in. Also

from an early age I have been very nurturing, caring and compassionate and always wanted to

help any and everybody. Nursing is a career in healthcare that focuses on caring for individuals

and families to help in the recovery of disease and illness to return to optimal health. As a nurse I

feel like my job is to help patients leave better or healthier than when they arrived. I became a

nurse because, with my nurturing and passionate personality I wanted a career that allowed me to

incorporate these characteristics into my daily life at work and at home. Nursing allows me to

help people through their healing process while keeping them safe. Some of the important

characteristics that nurses possess are empathy, kindness, accountability, patience, teamwork,

integrity and kindness. I believe that I hold all of these characteristics and they are also strengths

that I exhibit.

Nursing just as any other career has different degree levels. You can hold an associate,

bachelor or master degree in the field. Currently I am an associate degree nurse. This degree was

by far one of the most challenging things I have ever endured in my life. When I choose the

nursing career I knew that it would not stop once I completed my first degree. Nursing is a

lifelong learning career. The healthcare field is always evolving and growing, and there will

never be a day as a nurse that I will not be learning. This course is the first of many for obtaining
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my bachelor’s degree in nursing. Having a bachelor in nursing (BSN) impacts the personal value

of a nurse. As stated it is lifelong learning. A BSN degree can provide career advancement

opportunities, allows you to provide higher level of care for your patients, helps to further

expand your knowledge and improves patient outcomes. Lifelong learning helps you to

understand more as you mature through your career and also enhances the foundation. Having a

BSN degree will change my role as a nurse because it will make me better equipped in patient

care. I believe that getting this degree is important because in the associate program I learned the

basics of nursing and this additional education will help provide the structure that is needed to

grow. There will always be something new to learn as a nurse regardless if you are actively

enrolled in school or not. Technology is ever changing, new medications become available,

policies and procedures change and there is always something you can become better at. And this

is why nursing is a lifelong learning career.

When it comes to my personal nursing philosophy, the nursing theory that correlates with

me the most is King’s Theory of Goal Attainment. Personally I am a very goal and list oriented

person. My values and beliefs line up with this theory perfectly and I use goals and list in almost

every area of my life daily. In nursing, King’s theory states that the nurse and the patient go hand

in hand with communication, they set goals together for the patient, explore how the goals will

be carried out, and when in agreement the nurse and patient carry out and obtain the goals

together. This theory helps me to carry out my daily tasks. When I meet a patient for the very

first time my routine is to introduce myself and then explain what we will be doing during the

time frame that I will be in their room. We then discuss any goals that I may be expecting during

my shift in detail, and this gives the patient an opportunity to agree or disagree so that we can

come up with a goal together. We also discuss how we can meet that goal or any barriers that
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may come into place and what our backup plan will be. If that goal is reached we can create

another goal and if not find another way to execute it. But with King’s Goal Attainment theory,

for me it acts as a guideline and helps to offer insight into the nurse-patient relationship. I can

then understand the patient’s condition from their point of view which then helps me to be a

better advocate on their behalf and care for them to get good outcomes. As a nurse you must

always put the patient first and this theory highlights the importance of teamwork as well

between the two.

Nursing is a challenging yet rewarding career. You spend majority of your time taking

care of other families loved ones, and helping them to achieve optimal health during their time of

illness and their vulnerable moments. Personal wellness is an area in life that should be taken

care of no matter your culture, beliefs, ethnicity, etc. As a nurse, personal wellness is even more

important in my opinion because how can you show up and take care of others if you don’t take

care of yourself. When you are not feeling your best self, you are not going to perform your best.

You may cut corners or take short cuts, not put your all into it, or simply just not care about the

performance being put forth. So in nursing, when you show up to take care of others and you are

not feeling your best, some of these characteristics will show up in your work. You will then

make mistakes, and put yourself and your patients at risk. So personal wellness is very important

to take care of. The demand that nursing places on you can easily feel like stress or burnout,

which is one of the top two reasons you have to find ways to incorporate wellness into your

routine. Wellness consists of physical, spiritual, social, emotional and intellectual components. In

King’s Theory of Goal Attainment the nurse and patient set goals to achieve a common goal.

Sometimes we have to place ourselves in a patients shoes and ask what we need to do to

maintain our own personal health and wellness. For me that means taking time out of my day to
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just listen to music. Other times it is spending time with my son because he brings me so much

joy and happiness. Most days at work it is hard to even get a break, but trying to eat a healthy

meal is one thing I am currently working on adding into my personal wellness. And from time to

time I hang out with girlfriends and just go to dinner for some good laughs and relaxation. All of

those things for me help to promote positive personal wellness in my life.

Conflict in life is something that all people will experience at one time or another. So of

course as a nurse you can guarantee that conflict will be encountered in your career. Nursing

involves patient interaction, teamwork with other co-workers and collaborating in an

interdisciplinary team with other healthcare providers. There will be times that amongst any of

the named categories you will develop a conflict. And as a nurse I learned that it is important to

know your management style in this so that when it arises you will know how to handle it, or at

least acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses in your management style. Through a

personality test I learned that the way I manage conflict is that I sometimes can be too altruistic.

Also I don’t like to directly be involved in conflict and like to avoid dealing with it. Saying this

out loud would have people not trusting in you or having faith in you because if you are

supposed to advocate for patients you may shy away from getting your point of view heard. But

on the flip side, my conflict style allows me to fully listen to all sides without interruption and

judgement. This works in my favor because other parties would be able to give their full view

and once finished we could have a discussion about it. Everyone has a different conflict style,

and in my nursing philosophy it taught me that I need to work on the weaknesses aspect of it to

better help myself and the patients in my future. This conflict management style can impact my

role as a nurse and hinder me if I let it. But now that I know more about it, I am able to learn and

make sure that this is something I continuously work on throughout my lifelong learning.
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QSEN competencies help nurses continuously improve the quality and safety of the

healthcare systems in which they work. King’s Theory of Goal Attainment allows the nurse and

the patient to communicate and create goals together with the patient being the center of care and

focus. When you are able to set goals with the patient they are included and any barriers can be

discussed. The nurse and the patient can both come up with what they feel is best, but the nurse

will make sure that the goal is obtained safely. The nurse can discuss the pros and cons and also

explain to the patient why they believe something may or may not be safe. Also when

recommending different things, I would use what I have previously learned which may be

evidence based practices that were taught in perhaps a staff meeting or online education material

provided by my facility. I think it is important to remain safe in all that we do, and that in order

to continuously grow and be the best nurse I can be the QSEN competencies must be included in

my practice. Maintaining safety throughout my nursing career will make me a great nurse. No

one in their right state of mind would want a nurse caring for them if they knew the nurse was

not practicing safely or being competent in the quality of care they are giving.

Last but not least, one important component of the nursing philosophy is leadership

qualities. In nursing you will experience a leadership role at different aspects in their career.

Rather its leadership in a patient rounding, being in the charge nurse role, taking the lead role in

a group project or obtaining an actual leadership role such as management, there are lots of ways

you can experience this. Leaders usually carry a lot of weight because they step forward for the

good of the group, and bring order out of chaos when needed. There are various types of leaders

including laissez faire, autocratic, servant, democratic, situational, transactional and

transformational. Just like with anything in life you have to know where you fit on the ladder and

also what the pros and cons are. The leadership category that I fall under is the democratic
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leadership. This style acts as a two way street, and welcomes and encourages input and

communication from the team when decision making takes place. When relating this to King’s

Goal of Attainment Theory, the patient and the nurse creates goals that they can carry out. A

democratic leader would make the patient feel valued and allow them to feel free to speak up.

Some of the good characteristics that a democratic leader also possess are that we are

approachable, honest, model ethical behavior and are non-defensive. Leadership qualities help

and make you well rounded and also teach you to be a better nurse.

Nursing philosophy is something that I found to be very eye opening. Going into my

career I did not necessarily know what my personal nursing philosophy would be. But now I

know that it is to learn, grow, and be dedicated and compassionate so that I am able to provide

the highest level of care for my patients as possible. The ways that I am able to do this is through

looking at my values and beliefs, my definition of nursing and its characteristics and how to

uphold these things. Also obtaining a BSN degree in my career and how it allows me to advance

and continue my lifelong learning. My nursing philosophy allowed me to choose King’s Goal

Attainment Theory which will help me to continue shaping my nursing career. Also I have been

able to learn more about my personal wellness goals and how they can help with my conflict

management style, as well as allow me to practice safety using the QSEN competencies. And

lastly how to be a great leader with great leadership qualities. Nursing will always be my

passion, and the more I learn the better I can be for others.
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