Running head: NURSING PHILOSOPHY 1

Nursing Philosophy

Tanisha El-Bey

Delaware Technical Community College

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Nursing is a field that delivers various forms of care. To be an effective care giver the

caregiver must care strongly about helping others. In becoming a nurse, I never really thought

about a philosophy because I demonstrate wholesome care to every patient. However, since

thinking about a philosophy, I have come up with five core values. In my day to day practice, I

make sure to display care, compassion, integrity, kindness, and respect to all the patient’s, I come

into contact with. Applying these simple core values, I am sure to not go wrong when providing

patient care. Even the toughest patient is worthy of this type of care. At the end of the day, it may

change the patient’s outlook on their own health. In addition, I would like to share my views on

life-long learning, my nursing theory, personal wellness, conflict management, Qsen

competencies, and leadership.

Life long-long learning

What is life-long learning? Life-long learning is when a person continues to learn beyond

general education. This constant journey could be for their own personal reasons, a job

requirement or for a loved one. Learning new skills or ideas increases the learner’s knowledge

and enhances their outlook on life. For example, taking the BSN course will allow me to apply

for more management jobs and allow me to increase my salary. The BSN degree will also

improve my knowledge base and add onto previous education. The learner has to be open and

receptive to change. Expanded learning can be education in school such as a certificate online, a

college degree, or learning a new craft. Continuing one’s education gives the brain intellectual

exercise and keeps the brain healthy.

General education is what prepares a student for courses that would apply to a degree

program. For instance, in nursing school students have to take a host of prerequisites. When I

was taking some of the classes, I remember saying to myself, “why do we have to take these
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classes”? While taking the classes, I didn’t realize it, but moving into the nursing program it all

began to make sense. We have to take these classes to enhance what we know and to prepare us

for the harder work a head. Life- long learning doesn’t have to be just schooling. It can also be

taking a cycle class, learning a sport, or doing an activity for the first time. The world is

constantly changing. The people in the world have to continue to learn, adapt and evolve with the

differences in it. Life-long learning continues to change us and show us new components in life.

Learning new elements increases our self-worth and makes us feel good about ourselves.

Nursing Theory

Nursing theories help nurses establish a way to practice. Betty Neuman is a theorist who

focused on Holistic Health and treating the entire person. She believed the complete person

should be included in the care not just his/her diagnoses. I believe my personal philosophy ties

into Holistic care. For example, when I show respect, give kindness, express compassion and

show integrity. I am not only meeting the patient’s physical needs, but I am meeting their

psychosocial needs as well. When people are ill it sometimes can be psychological. When a

patient is unhappy it can cause a delay in healing. The process to treat this person should include

everything surrounding the patient. Neuman believed, the patient to be a total system that is

comprised of may units. She also believed each layer consists five variable subsystems and that

each system should be addressed individually. (Current Nursing, 2012, para.35).

Furthermore, I have adopted this very theory and thought method when caring for patients.

I believe the whole person should be considered no matter the disease. For example, we were

taught to use Maslow hierarchy of needs to care for an induvial. This process helps the nurse or
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health care professional acknowledge the entire individual and the factors encircling the disease

process or causing the stress. Moreover, if a patient is not able to afford, groceries they are more

than likely not going to follow orders for specific diets. The patient maybe having a hard time

getting access to non-processed foods. This situation shows a relationship directly related to how

care givers must look at the full picture. Neuman also thought wellness is the condition in which

all systems parts and subparts are in harmony with the whole system of the client, while illness is

a state of insufficiency with disrupting needs unsatisfied (Current Nursing 2012, para. 31). In my

own experience, I believe that in order to be healthy it includes maintaining a healthy state of mind

as well as maintaining physical factors.

In my everyday practice, I consider the entire person. Now that I have had different

experiences in my nursing career, I can say mental health plays one of the biggest parts in overall

wellness. In my personal philosophy I stand by respect, integrity, caring, kindness and compassion.

These would be considered my core values. Caring for patients as a Case Manager has improved

my out- look in health care. For most of my patients, it’s not only their health that’s a factor, it

maybe not having a care-giver for support, having transportation to appointments, or even money

to pay for prescriptions. In times like this, I have to reach out and use many different resources to

help them. It’s not always a fast process, but it’s very rewarding at the end of the day to help a

patient with multiple issues. Holistic Care leads to prevention of depression, enhanced physical

conditions, decrease in hospital stays and the patient recovers faster. Lorenz- Miller states, Holistic

nurses in the past and present seek to advocate for self-care that includes the patient, family, and

health-care provider. This type of care includes the whole person not just the illness (Hart, 2019,
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p. 53). While caring for patients, the illness may be the beginning, but by the end of the hospital

say or visit the provider will find out the patient is much more complex.

Personal Wellness

Personal wellness is correlated with my philosophy of caring, integrity, respect, kindness

and compassion. When I care for my patients, I ensure I express these values. At times it can

become hard to always give of yourself, so it’s important to remember self- care. In the nursing

field it is very important to take care of yourself. Holistic Health is often referred to as taking

care of the mental, physical and spiritual aspects of the patient. Nurses care for patients when

they are most vulnerable. They provide emotional, and physical support to patients at all times.

Nurses can give so much of themselves they sometimes forget to take time for their own health.

Providing care in this fashion can be draining. If a nurse continues to neglect self-care it may

lead to Compassion Fatigue. Adimando makes reference that Compassion Fatigue is a

cumulative of un-resolved stress and emotional abandonment. Care givers must recognize signs

and symptoms of Compassion Fatigue. (Adimando, 2018, para.1). Signs and symptoms include:

lashing out, or becoming confused or frustrated easily. It is essential the provider recognizes

these signs and finds control. Ways to help get the body back to alignment is to eat a balanced

meal, exercise, mediation, and spending time doing something enjoyable. In addition, nurses

should be able to identify when things are too tough and ask for help. This closely relates to my

personal philosophy because in order to care for another person the caregiver has to take care of
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themselves. The care giver has to be mentally, physically and spiritually fit. If the caregiver

doesn’t take care of themselves. They are not able to take care of their patients with compassion,

caring kindness, integrity and respect.

Conflict Management

Conflict management impacts my role as nurse because conflict can interfere with

productivity and efficiency. I think if nurses can take better care of themselves mentally,

physically and spiritually it can reduce conflicts at the work place. I also believe my core values

not only work with patient care, but work with co-workers and staff. Treating people with

respect, integrity, kindness, care and compassion goes a long way. Healthcare providers have to

find a way to work together. Co-workers often have personality clashes that can result in a

conflict. Some of these differences include having different opinions, high stress levels, or

contradictory goals. In addition, McElhaney, states some stressors may come from leadership,

age pressures, job rules and personal prejudice (McElhaney,1996, para.3). For example, two

nurses are in disagreement about a procedure and neither wants to seek help from the supervisor.

The patient may not receive the same continuity of care if both nurses don’t agree on the same

treatment. Some strategies that can be used to address conflicts are deciding what’s working and

what’s not working, listening to what the other person has to say, and coming up with a strategy

that fits all parties involved. In my opinion Holistic Health and self-care can play an important

role. Nurses have to work together and be receptive of one another. When nurses take better care

of themselves, they can deal with stress and pressure more effectively. Three ways nurses can
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improve their health is: eat a balanced meal, exercise often, and practice stress relieving

techniques. The health care professional should start out with what they want to improve. Next,

they should discover goals with a time frame. Lastly, the professional should develop a chart and

follow it closely. The goals should be revisited quarterly. When healthcare providers take better

care of themselves it allows for fewer conflicts. I believe when someone is feeling mentally

strong and not stressed, they can make improved decisions when there is a conflict.

Quality and Safety Education for Nurses

In today’s nursing, the main focus is patient centered care. Educators are continually

integrating evidence-based practice into care plans and goals to accomplish better outcomes. The

care the health care professional gives must be patient centered and personal to the patient’s own

health care needs. When care is personal and centered it provides the healthcare provider with

accurate findings and allows the provider to be safer in their practice. The core values I have

established are: caring, compassion, integrity, kindness, and respect. These core values will

provide the patient with comfort and allow an excellent patient nurse relationship. When patients

feel comfortable, they are more likely to be open with the health care provider. This allows the

provider to effectively care for the patient and the patient remains free of harm. Safety standards

that have been developed to keep patient’s safe and provide nurses with continued education are

called QSEN standards. QSEN standards have been developed to educate nurses and integrate

collaboration with the health care team. Furthermore, QSEN helps nurses and educators develop

better strategies for their patients, families and team members. QSEN is continuing safety

practices and constant education. QSEN has 6 competencies: patient centered care, team work

and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety and informatics. In

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addition, patient centered care is to evaluate the patient by assessing the patient’s needs and

involving the patient in their own care. Patients are more likely to follow instructions when they

are included in their health care plan. When patient’s feel comfortable, they are much less

resistant to care. Patient centered care can include family friends or whomever is involved caring

for the patient. This care is generally focusing on the issues noted and whatever the patient wants

to focus on. For instance, the patient may have a personal issue they want to focus on, the

healthcare professional should add it into the care plan.

Likewise, team work and collaboration consist of the interdisciplinary team members.

The team can effectively manage patient care through working together and overcoming

challenges. In a team work approach the team must be proactive and willing to communicate.

For example, if there is a Code Blue, the team must be able to come together and operate as a

well-oiled machine to revive the patient. Every person has a function and must be able to operate

in that function well. Additionally, evidence-based practice contains establishing best safe

practices by exploring current processes and adjusting them as needed. For instance, when

beginning a feeding pump the old practice was to push 30cc of air into the peg tube to check for

placement, now evidence-based practice says that is not effective. The new standard is checking

the ph and amount of residual at the bedside. Next, quality improvement consists of continuous

evaluation of processes to improve patient safety and patient outcomes. New processes are tested

and put in place for better patient satisfaction, care, and overall outcome. For example, if a new

system of logging monthly vital signs is put in place the team might try it out and see how it

works. At the end of a set timeframe the team can re-evaluate the process and see how it has

been working. In doing so the members of the team can see what was wrong and correct it. Jean

Johnson states, nurses are the mainstay of the quality improvement department in health care
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institutions and systems, are frequently the ones to implement change as needed, and have

always played a major advocacy role for ensuring safe and appropriate care to patients (Johnson,

2008, para.1). Similarly, safety is one of the biggest concerns in health care. When patient safety

is taken into consideration, it minimizes patient harm using system effectiveness and staff

implementation of the correct procedures. For example, a safety measure implemented in

hospitals and Nursing Facilities is to have two nurses check the dosage of insulin prior to

administration. With the second check it alleviates the patient from a med error or fatality.

Patient safety as a professional competence, is the product of knowledge gained and clinical

experience, as well as organizational factors shaping these experiences (Vosper & Hignett, 2018,

p. 229.). When nurses practice safely, they are deemed safe and competent nurses. Lastly,

Informatics uses technology to assist with communication, documentation, and decision making.

QSEN competencies can help nurses integrate technology and practice while closing the gap in

quality improvement and safety. It allows records to be available with a click of a button;

therefore, providing better efficiency and patient outcomes. Using EHS allows the care giver to

answer questions more quickly, the system is responded to med errors, and it keeps record of

time. These are components integrated into most EHS systems. Consequently, quality and safety

improvement, one of the best ways to keep patients free of harm can’t be accomplished alone. It

takes the entire interdisciplinary team to take care of one patient. Constant education and training

will improve the working knowledge of health care professionals. Nurse leaders can adopt major

goals, such as consistent processes; safety monitoring; improved decision making transparent

communication; and collaborative, teamwork (Salter, 2018, para. 20). Nurses are the biggest

advocates for the patients and we must continue to learn, ask questions and work together to

accomplish a common goal.

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Leadership

Leadership is a mainstay in any profession. A nurse leader must be able to guide their

team utilizing leadership skills taught in nursing school as well as skills developed through

working experiences. Taking on the leadership role is more advanced depending on the career

path the induvial has chosen. A nurse leader has to incorporate core values and beliefs of their

own. These values should be something the nurse believes in and can demonstrate through their

work. Theresa Huber makes reference, when nurses begin to envision themselves as nurse

leaders, they embark on the journey of leadership that develops through personal experiences.

Ambitious leaders need to realize that leadership must be learned as well as developed. (Hubber,

2016, Para. 7). My own personal leadership core values include respect, integrity, caring,

kindness, as well as compassion. My nursing theory closely relates to my core values. Holistic

Health encompasses the entire person. In my opinion, to meet a patient’s health care goals all

pieces have to be included. For example, when working in case management I may not only have

to find a caregiver, but I may be involved in finding that patient a warm place to sleep. The core

values chosen have been acquired through my own life experiences. Including these core values

in taking care of my patients is also beneficial to co-workers. I work with co-workers and outside

venders, but I am not working in a leadership role currently. Never the less, the values and

leadership standards still apply. As a nurse leader the same values can be comprised in leading

staff members. Staff are able to see the core values and hopefully follow them through or acquire

their own. This brings me back to Betty Neuman’s theory regarding Holistic Health. She

believed the entire human being must be considered from start to finish. In Holistic Health the

patient’s home life, family and mental health may be part of the care. I believe this theory to be
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wholesome and true. Taking care of the entire person is used in my every day nursing practice. I

remember to include the entire person. The patient is a compartment of systems but should be

taken care of as a whole including mind body and soul.

In nursing we must stand for something and be the best at our jobs that we can possibly

be. I have developed five core values caring, compassion, integrity, kindness and respect. With

these core values I am able to take care of my patients as effectively as possible. My personal

philosophy is coupled with life-long learning, Holistic Health, collaboration and conflict

management. I believe combining these aspects of care, while continuing to learn new standards,

I can be a safe and effective nurse.

References

Adimando, A. (2018). Preventing and Alleviating Compassion Fatigue Through Self-Care: An

Educational Workshop for Nurses. Journal Of Holistic Nursing: Official Journal Of The

American Holistic Nurses’ Association, 36(4), 304–317.

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Retrieved from https://doi-org.libproxy.dtcc.edu/10.1177/0898010117721581

Current Nursing. Betty Neuman’ s System Model (2012)

Retrieved from http://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/Neuman.html

Huber, T. H. (2016). Leadership in Nursing. Kentuncky Nurse, 64(3), 1, Retrieved from

http://search.ebcohost.com.libproxy.dtcc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=c8h&AN=1164

34110&site=ehost-live

Jane Hart.Alternative and Complementary Therapies.Feb 2019.ahead of print

Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1089/act2018.29199.jha

Johnson, J. (2008). Quality Improvement Resource Paper.

Rereviewed from

https://mycourses.dtcc.edu/d2l/le/content/21552/viewContent/307694/View

McElhaney, R. (1996). Conflict management in nursing administration. Nursing Management,

27(3), 49–50. Retrieved

fromhttp://search.ebscohost.com.libproxy.dtcc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cmedm&

AN=8700494&site=ehost-live

Sherwood, G., & Zomorodi, M. (2014). A new mindset for quality and safety: The QSEN

competencies redefine nurses’ roles in practice. Nephrology Nursing Journal, 41(1), 15-

Stalter, A. M. (2018). Using systems thinking to envision quality and safety in healthcare.

Nursing Management, 49(2), 32–39. Retrieved from

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https://doi-org.libproxy.dtcc.edu/10.1097/01.NUMA.0000529925.66375.d0

Vosper, H., & Hignett, S. (2018). A UK Perspective on Human Factors and Patient Safety

Education in Pharmacy Curricula. American Journal Of Pharmaceutical Education, 82(3),

6184. https://doi-org.libproxy.dtcc.edu/10.5688/ajpe6184

Windle, M. (2015). QSEN: Quality and Safety Education for Nurses. MEDSURG Nursing, 9.

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