Running Head: Personal Philosophy 1

Personal Philosophy Paper

Raven L. Stokes
Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing
NUR 4142
March 19, 2017
I Pledge
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My Definition of Nursing

Throughout my time here at Bon Secours, I have been granted the opportunity to actually

be able to grow and develop into the type of nurse I want to be once I graduate. This journey that

I have been on for the past couple of years have been so rewarding and have changed me in ways

I didnt think was possible. When I reflect on my thoughts of how I define nursing when I first

started this program to now, my thoughts have definitely grown. This nursing program has

provided me a foundation that I will carry throughout my nursing career and its tenets of

nursing, nursing education, and caring has helped guide my vision of what nursing is.

One thing I have come to realize as I advanced through this program is that there is no set

definition of what nursing is. The definition of nursing will continue to evolve as the profession

grows. My definition of nursing is being able to help a person when they are in their most

vulnerable state, regardless of the severity of their situation and helping them to reach a level of

wellness where they feel they have regain the control they had recently lost. For me nursing is

looking beyond myself and offering my abilities and knowledge to those in need without

expecting anything in return. Nursing is making sure my patients know that they matter and that

I care about their unique situation.

BSMCON has provided me the ability develop my philosophy through its philosophy

tenets such as nursing, where Ive been taught the importance of lifelong learning and research,

as well as been granted the opportunity to participate in the process of research and have

attended presentations on studies that were conducted. Through clinical experiences, Ive been

able to learn the importance of anticipating patients needs and being able to calmly adapt to my

environment. Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a professional meeting and saw the

importance of collaboration among the different nursing units and health care providers and even
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learned information about antibiotics usage that I can carry along in my practice. Most

importantly Ive been taught and standby the importance of accountability and conducting my

practice that upholds ethical and moral standards.

Another tenet from BSMCON that has impacted both my personal philosophy and

practice, is its belief of health. A persons finances should never be a determining factor when

seeking health services and as a nurse we should never base our care on a persons finances. One

thing that Ive learned is that so many illnesses become a lot more complex because people

simply couldnt afford to seek care. Those who are less fortunate are the victims that suffer from

this the most. We live in a country where we easily have access to basic healthcare needs, but

those basics are not being provided to the people who need it most. As nurses, it is our job to

advocate for those who cannot do so for themselves and that includes the homeless and those

who are struggling financially. Nursing goes beyond the security of hospitals, doctors offices,

clinics, and the United States. Nursing is ensuring that globally, everyone as the right to

healthcare. This can be achieved through lifelong learning, participating in community and

global outreach opportunities, and educating other so they too are aware of whats going on.

Unlike in the past nurses now have a voice and it is up to us to continue to advocate for our

patients needs.

The tenet of caring has also helped build the foundation of my philosophy. Nursing and

caring naturally goes hand in, and a nurse who does not possess this quality is dangerous. Caring

ensures that you are giving your best no matter the circumstances. The biggest lesson Ive

learned about caring, is that the nurses wellbeing is also included. A lot of times we get so

caught up in making sure everyone else is ok that we forget about yourself, so while they are

making progress towards achieving their health goals, we are slowly regressing from ours. Since
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learning about the importance of self-care, I have personally been on my own wellness journey

and have lost almost 30 pounds. My journey has not only been for me but it has allowed me to be

able to share my experiences with those who want to start their own journey. For to me embody

the quality of caring, that means I want to give me patient my best, which also requires me to be

a lifelong learner so that I can adequately meet my patients needs. Caring is not just treating the

problem and moving on to the next patient, its providing my patients with a positive experience

that facilitates their healing holistically. When a patient knows that their nurse cares about their

wellbeing their able to fully focus on their healing and not worry if they are in harms way. I

want to be a nurse that promotes healing and not hinder it.

My Philosophy

As for my philosophy of nursing, I still believe in caring for patients in a holistic

approach and my time at BSMCON has reinforced that through my clinical and community

experiences. Being able to see how one issue can cause a domino effect in a patients health has

been an eye-opening experience. It is one thing to hear about it in class, but getting that hand on

experience and seeing how Maslow Hierarchy of Needs impacts patient care through all ages has

shown me that just treating the problem is just a temporary fix. Holistic nursing helps fosters a

positive nurse-client relationship. Holistic nursing provides the nurse the tools and mindset to

identify factors impeding a patients recovery. Every time I perform an assessment Im trying to

get the pieces to the puzzle to help make my patient whole again, and the holistic approach

provides the framework to make that happen. Quality of care is a component that I believe is the

backbone of my practice. I have thrown myself into my studies for the past three years, because I

want to make sure my patients are getting my best. BSMCON has taught me the importance of

being a lifelong learner which will continue to impact the quality of care I am providing my
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patients. I know its important to take advantage of all learning opportunities regardless of how

minuscule it may seem. Being kind, caring, and respectful to patients, is also important in my

nursing practice. I have seen how negative energy, relationships, and interactions have negatively

impacted a patients outcome. During my time as CNA, I have witnessed how negative energy

can also affect the patient that is in the process of dying. Its my duty as a nurse to educate,

advocate, and conduct self-checks to facilitate a positive healing environment. I have also

learned that patients are more likely to be forthcoming with information when theres a positive

interaction between them and their nurse. Being a nurse means that I will have instances where

my beliefs and values are challenged but its my duty to embrace others cultures and religions.

When those moments occur, I know that gaining insight and educating myself can positively

impact my care in future situations. I also know there are resources available to help me should I

encounter a situation that really affect me. As, state earlier in this paper, I believe everyone

should have access to healthcare regardless of their financial situation. I want to be a nurse who

is accountable for my actions regardless of what the outcome maybe. Accountability can be scary

but having that sense of accountability can protect me from making careless mistakes. Being an

advocate for not only my patients but myself as well is also what I want to carry throughout my

practice. Speaking up can bring changes, its when we choose to remain silent that situations

remain the same. Thats why its important that I be an active participant in the various

committees and organizations Ill have access to once I graduate. As a nurse it is also my

responsibility to help bring awareness to my community so that they are informed and make

health conscious decisions.

Nurse-Patient Encounter
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This semester has granted me the opportunity to really shape my nursing practice. The

level of responsibility that I have been granted has really been a learning experience and being

able to find my way as a nurse has tremendously impacted my practice. The nurse-patient

encounter that represented my nursing philosophy, occurred during my immersion experience. I

was caring for an elderly patient who was septic from an infected gallbladder. He had a WBC of

68,000 and was not responding well to the antibiotics. The care I provided for this patient was

greatly impacted by my personal philosophy in numerous ways. First being that my care was

conducted through a holistic approach. My patient was alert and orientated so I had the

opportunity to assess him and gather information. When I saw his WBC I immediately thought

that he had to be feeling bad for a while and when I asked him about the pain he was feeling, he

told me he been dealing with it for a couple of weeks. Through assessment I also had the

opportunity to educate him about pain management because he was trying to mask that he was in

pain and we let him know that we didnt want him hurting unnecessarily. Shortly after our talk he

let us know he wanted something. It was also through assessment that I was able to see how his

conditioning was declining and how sepsis effected the body. Throughout my entire interaction

with him, I worked to maintain a peaceful and healing environment for him. Even when his

family decided to put him on comfort care I ensured that he had a calm environment and utilized

our chaplain resources for both him and his family. One thing that I learn from working with him

was the importance of advocating. I did and still do feel like the ball was dropped in his care

medically. Surgery was in his plan of care but the doctors played the waiting game even after

seeing his condition was worsening. I asked my preceptor how do I advocate for patient in those

types of situations and she told me that I do my part by consistently keeping them updated on the

patients condition. She also talked to about how it can be difficult to advocate to doctors about
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their treatment plans because they may take offense. I think a major challenge I will face as a

new nurse is advocating for my patients treatment plan because starting out Im not going to

know much, but its my responsibility to continue educating myself so when I do advocate and

collaborate with other healthcare providers what I say can carry some weight.

Values and Beliefs

When I reflect on my standpoint regarding values and beliefs from when I first started

this program until now, I can honestly say that my views still remain the same for the most part.

The only part that has really changed is now I value the importance of being a lifelong learner.

After graduating and taking my boards I will no longer have the protection that nursing school

provided me, so I have to make sure I stay competent through educating myself. I still stand by

my belief that in order to be a nurse a person has to have the desire to help those in need. Having

a belief system in place provides a person with an personally driven right or wrong system that

can impact ones practice. I also believe that nurses have be culturally aware and sensitive to

different practices. Values help build upon the foundation that beliefs have set and helps make a

vision whole. The values that I still stand by are teamwork, courage, compassion, and loyalty.

Benners Theory

Benners theory is a model that describes the various stages new nurses go through in

order to achieve the level of an expert clinician. Her model consists of five stages with the first

being novice. The novice stage where the nurse starts with having no experience. During this

stage the nurse develops their skillset through being taught rules on how to carry out various

tasks. Nurses in the novice stage are more task driven because they havent obtained the

experience to be able to see the whole picture when providing patient care. The second stage is

called the advanced beginner, in this stage the nurse has had the opportunity to gain some
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experience. According to Benner (2001), nurses in this stage are still rule driven with providing

care but are now starting to recognize patterns in their clinical care. (pg. 25). Nurses is this stage

still struggle with formulating the bigger picture and requires the guidance from a nurse with

more experience. Moving on from the advance beginner nurse, there is the competent nurse who

has at least two to three years worth of experience in the same area. (pg. 25). In this area the

nurse masters the skill of planning and has an improved ability to manage patient care. The

fourth stage is reached when the nurse is considered proficient. It is at this stage where the nurse

starts viewing patients in the whole picture aspect. Nurses in this stage have gained enough

experience that they can now know what to expect and plan care according to their anticipation.

(pg. 28). The final stage and the one all nurses work to reach is the expert. In the expert stage the

nurse has obtained enough experience that the care being provided comes naturally. Nurses in

this stage are no longer using rules to guide the care. (pg. 31). Nurses in this stage have

developed their nursing intuition due to their exposure to previous experience over the years and

is able to treat their patients by looking at the whole picture.

After reviewing Benners theory I think the stage that represents where I am current at is

the novice stage. Im currently in my immersion experience and most of the time I do feel like

Im not getting to see the big picture because I do get so caught up in making sure Im

completing all my required tasks. There are a lot of moments where something is going on and

Im not familiar with it, so I will talk to my preceptor about what is happened when the time is

right. I feel like there is so much I dont know right now but I do believe all that will change as I

start getting more experience. A lot of times I am familiar with something because of class but

actually seeing the same thing in clinical and recognizing it can be challenging at times. Having

a preceptor has been an awesome experience for me because I am able to bounce my thought
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process off on her and she help guides me to figuring out the answer. I do think I have made

major improvements on my planning and time management skills, but overall I know Im still in

the novice stage.

In order to move to the next stage, I plan on making sure Im taking advantage of all

learning opportunities and experiences. I feel like the only way I can grow into my own is by

getting exposure to various experiences so that I can make the connection from the classroom to

my practice. Getting that repeated exposure and seeing how issues manifest differently among

individuals can help provide a basis for my nursing judgement in future situations. To make the

transition to the advance beginner, I also plan to hold myself accountable to make sure that I am

taking advantage of the resources that will be provided to me to facilitate my learning and not be

ashamed or afraid to ask questions. Lastly I plan to foster a positive relationship with my fellow

co-workers. Being a new nurse will be intimidating so having people in my corner that I can go

to for help is very important to me. I want to learn from co-workers so that I can ensure my

patients are receiving my best.

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Works Cited

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

practice (commemorative ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Stokes, R.L. (2014). My personal philosophy of nursing.