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Kimberli I. Johnson

Personal Philosophy Paper

Synthesis for Nursing Practice 4142

October 14, 2017

Dr. Christine Turner

I pledgeKIJ
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Define Nursing

On this date, it is still hard for me to give a clear definition of what the definition of

nursing is, or what it means to me. I say that because the love that I have for this area, is more

than words can describe. I never truly knew when or how I knew nursing was in me. I just know

that it was something that I always wanted to do, and I only realize that when I look back. For

example, as a child, I would play nurse with my dolls or all my book reports were about

healthcare/nursing. I did not know back then it was meant for me, I just knew I loved it.

People always say, it takes a special person to be a nurse. I absolutely stand behind that

statement. In nursing you give yourself, your whole self. You give yourself to people you have

never met, you have never formed a relationship with, and you probably wouldnt see them again

after being discharged. Nursing is an everyday selfless act. You are continuing to provide holistic

care to promote wellness, prevent disease, restore health, and to provide comfort to complete

strangers without thinking twice about it. I must agree with the Bon Secours College Memorial

College of Nursing, where nursing is both an art and a science. Being able to care for individuals

and knowing how to act on it takes a lot of learning. To me, being able to see someone come in

with a health issue, different interventions are done, and that individual return to a state of

wellness is absolutely amazing.

When I think about myself, I think about how caring I am as a person. It is expressed

through the application of nursing knowledge in practice, critical thinking skills, interpersonal

skills, assertiveness, curiosity, courage, and humor. All of this helps you, as the caretaker, to care

for the patient who is the one that needs it the most. It was always emphasized in school that you
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must care for yourself before you care for someone else, which is true. Selfcare is important

because without it, your patients suffer. It took me a long time to realize that. Although, I am not

a nurse right now, there were situations where I would have to step back and care for myself.

Since I have gone through that now, I know I have the capability to step away from a situation so

that I can care for myself which in turns provides excellent care to my patients.

I have learned so much while attending BSMCON. When I first started I never realized

how much I would learn and the outcome of so much education. This environment allowed me to

be my personal self. I was given the foundation of knowledge, skills, and attitude in nursing

practice. Throughout my time here, I was always respected when I wanted to provide feedback

on how to improve healthcare outcomes and it allowed me to be part of leadership organization,

Student Government Organization. I have grown as an individual because of it.

Reflect on Philosophy

I believe nursing should be individualized when it comes to the person. I believe the good

thing about nursing it allows for different types of people from different social classes. When

you think about it, all nurses have the same goal: to keep their patient safe and get them back to a

state of well-being. We all have the same mindset about our patients, but how we get to that

point is individualized. I know my personality lifts patients spirits. So, I plan to use that to my

advantage. This is something that could be different from a classmate, but at the end of the day,

our goals are the same. I believe nurses should be able to provide adequate care to patients, while

following protocol, but still being able to individualize that care. Thats what I feel like I have

been doing since I started my nursing career.

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I had the opportunity, over the summer, to complete an externship on ICU. While on that

journey, I took care of a patient who was there for respiratory distress. He had an extensive past

medical history including a bilateral below the knee amputation. He had to be intubated, but after

a while on the vent, he started to realize that he no longer wanted it. He would have a

spontaneous breathing trial and he wouldnt pass it. He just couldnt breathe on his own yet. So,

each time I was in the room, I would encourage him. I would let him know that he would pass

the SBT. After continuing to care for him, I would come into the room and he would be more

accepting of me. So, that led to me joking with him. I could get a smile out of him so quickly.

Just by being there and continuing to let him know that he will do it and he can do it, he realized

that I was on his team. That I wanted him to be extubated as equally as he wanted. So, with my

philosophy of nursing, I believe it is important to give individual care. I know my personality is a

plus. So, I use that to my advantage.

Values and Beliefs

I am so happy with my decision to attend Bon Secours College. It has the same values

and beliefs that I do. I am a Christian and that is important to me. The fact that I can go to a

hospital and not worry about my religion is a plus. I believe working in an environment that

supports and my values, makes it so much easier for me to work and care for my patients in the

proper way. Being able to have a prayer in the middle of the day with my patients, makes

everything that I am doing worth it. I dont want to say my values have changed, but the values I

have/had has increased over the years. Being able to learn more about myself on this journey has

helped me to become the person that I am. The way I care for patients have increased. How I

think the family is reacting has changed. My overall outlook in nursing has changed. I,
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personally believe nursing is the best career anyone could choose. The fact that I get to meet so

many people and help them out the kindness of my heart is the best feeling.

Benners Theory

Patricia Benner uses Dreyfus Model to describe performance characteristics at each level

of development and to identify the teaching/learning needs at each level. Stage 1: Novice are

beginners. They have no experience. They are taught the situations and what could possibly

attribute to them. An example that Benner uses is taking daily weights, intake and output, vital

signs, and other features of a patients condition. When nurses first begin, they are novices. They

have no idea what is going on in the clinical setting. Stage 2: Advanced Beginners can now

demonstrate acceptable performances. This stage reflects Junior 2 students. They have encounter

different situations. Although, they may not necessarily know what to do, they can determine

that there is something wrong with the situation. As Benner stated, the persons instructor can

now formulate principles that dictate actions of both attributes and aspects. Stage 3 is

Competence. Those are nurses that have been nurses for two to three years. The nurse has so

much experience that she is constantly aware of a situation. They can determine which patient is

priority when receiving report. Stage 4 is the proficient nurse. They know the situation based on

long-term goals. They learned from experience what typical events to expect in a situation and

how plans need to be modified in response to the events. The last stage is Stage 5, the expert.

They no longer rely of rules, guidelines to understand a situation and to determine the action.

The expert can view the whole situation and make decisions based on that alone.

Acquisition Stage
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At this stage in my nursing, career, I would have to categorize myself as an advanced

beginner. Again, advanced beginners cam demonstrates acceptable performance, and

experienced several situations to note the recurring meaningful components. They include a

procedural list of things to do that are learned and used by the beginner. For example, I have

worked in the emergency room for 3.5 years. I have learned different ways patients present and

what we need to do. A patient comes in complaining of chest pain, they are diaphoretic, short of

breath, and have a feeling of pressure, I know that I would do an EKG because they could

possibly be having a heart attack. I wouldnt consider those action to be Stage 1, and they arent

quite stage 3.

Next Stage of Skill Acquisition

For me to move on to the next stage of acquisition, I would need more experience as a

nurse. I graduate December 14, 2017, and start my nursing career February 4, 2018. Once, I have

been an ER nurse for three years I may consider myself competent. I know I would need to

continue to learn and experience multiple situations to get to that level. I plan to take advantage

of the time I have with my preceptors because those are important moments. I think assessment

will help me as well. Just being able to recognize normal from abnormal would help to build the

confidence of a competent nurse. Since competent nurses lack speed and flexibility, I think going

to skill fairs and participating in simulations.

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References

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

Jersey: Prentice Hall.