Personal Philosophy

I chose nursing as my profession because to me, nursing is all about being able to help individuals when they need it most. I am a very caring person, so wishing to join such a humble profession like this felt like the right decision for me. Regardless of gender, culture, financial status or lifestyle choices, a nurse’s goal should be to give aid in any way they possibly can to patients. To me, nursing should not be treated as a job. Instead, nursing should be treated as an honorable way of life.

My philosophy is that nurses have a duty to carry out to the public to provide safe, trustworthy, patient-centered care, no matter what. Because I feel that this is an important philosophy to live by, I must keep in mind that patients are not just random sick people in gowns, but instead, are individuals with their own specific background who require (and deserve) individualized care and attention. In order to meet the needs of each patient, it is important for nurses to use their clinical judgement. As advocates in the clinical setting, we as nurses should help patients by engaging them in mutual goal-setting as well as motivate them to become active partners in their own care. The ability to keep patient confidentiality is very important in gaining the trust of the patient, being that this is a necessary component to have when trying to provide the best care possible for the patient. Along with gaining the trust of patients, nurses must also educate patients and their families on healthy behaviors, diseases, and their possible treatments in order to improve their outcomes. We as nurses should do our best to live a healthy lifestyle, one that patients and other individuals in general can look up to and try to mimic in their own lives. If we as nurses cannot do this for ourselves, it would be nearly impossible to try and promote this lifestyle to patients.

Those who wish to be successful nurses have to make commitments. These commitments include being willing to learn all throughout their career, keeping current in skills, knowledge, and seeking self-enhancement. Doing this, nurses will not feel the need to stick to specific skills/ “old ways,” or be closed off to new learning experiences. Instead, nurses should evolve professionally through technological advancements and evidence-based practice throughout their careers, this way they will not feel as if they are “falling behind” in any way. The vision I have for myself as a nurse involves the concept of always wishing to continue my education, not only from textbooks and forums online, but from interactions with patients (learning about their own personal experiences) and other healthcare workers. I wish to learn something new every day and utilize this knowledge to improve my skills as a nurse.

My personal core values and beliefs as an individual are benevolence, adamance, lifelong learning, the importance of family, and success in achieving any goal I put my mind towards. These values and beliefs are things I live by in my everyday life, becoming important tools that I utilize to make decisions and carry out my actions with. I believe that the core of nursing is the ability to have compassion, knowledge, and persistence. The focus of nursing is based solely on the patient, whether it’s for their individual needs, healing, safety, or empowerment. I feel that my personal and professional philosophies intertwine, due to the fact that my personal values overlap the driving forces behind some of the core values of nursing. The qualities that make a successful nurse cannot be forgotten or simply turned off at the end of the day, so I believe that because they are part of who I am as an individual, I have the ability to be a successful person in life both in and out of the clinical setting. Although having these qualities can ensure my success in life, that definitely does not mean that I won’t ever make mistakes. If something goes unexpected from what I had planned, I will not pout or give up on myself. Instead, I will take those mistakes as a learning experience and do what I must in order to correct myself and avoid those mistakes from happening again in my future. I will continue preforming my nursing duties with confidence, knowing that because of my mistakes and learning from them, I am a better nurse now than I was the day before, and I will be a better nurse tomorrow than I was today from continuing to learn each and every day.

To live out my philosophy of nursing, I will uphold my personal and professional ethical standards at all times. As an upcoming nurse, I vow to take accountability for my own actions and must always remember that I am not alone- my fellow nurses can be great resources. All nurses deserve recognition and approbation for their reliability, consistent hard work, and vast knowledge. Nurses should support each other, as well as nursing students and other healthcare workers, in order to collaborate and maximize the patient’s health potential. Together, we have the ability to improve the image of the nursing profession in many ways, whether it be through daily work ethics, becoming involved in our community, political, and professional nursing organizations. Through these resources, nurses can work together to improve healthcare standards both in their own communities and around the world.

Nursing is not an easy profession by any means, yet, I still choose to stick to it. I truly believe that I am pursuing this profession to this day because I enjoy the fact that new opportunities and experiences will constantly come into my life. Every day there is something new to learn, whether it is from a classroom setting or hearing stories first-hand from patients that are being cared for by your own hands. To me, that’s one of the main reasons why I love so much this profession so much. The number of things a nurse has the ability to do for their patients as well as everyday individuals in their communities are astounding. At this point in time, the most important contributions to nursing that I have the ability to make involve the optimism I have for the future, enthusiasm in my work, and the ability to offer kindness and assistance to not only patients, but to their families as well. Once officially a nurse, I hope to be a leader and mentor as well as an inspiration to others. My biggest inspiration to become a nurse was my family, being that my mom is a registered nurse and my dad has been in the hospital on many occasions due to cardiac issues. From these experiences, I was (and still am) very inspired to pursue this career, following in the same path of people I truly look up to- those who carried out actions and care important enough to save my dad’s life. One day, I too wish that I will be able to inspire others to enter into the nursing profession.

References

Black, B. P., PhD, RN. (2020). Professional Nursing: Concepts and Challenges. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://evolve.elsevier.com/cs/product/9780323721295

Parse, R. R. (1999). Illuminations: The human becoming theory in practice and research. 2 ed., IL: National League for Nursing.

Parse, R. R. (2011). Human Becoming Theory. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from http://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/Rosemary_Pars_Human_Becoming_Theory.html