RUNNING HEAD: SENIOR PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY PAPER 1

Senior Personal Philosophy Paper

Maryum Abdul-Basir

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

Dr. Turner

NUR 4140

March 28, 2019

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Senior Personal Philosophy Paper

In my journey of becoming a professional nurse, I reflect on my time in nursing school

and how it has shaped my pathway into my professional career. At the beginning of my nursing

school journey I was asked to write about my personal philosophy of nursing. In that paper I

describe my “why” and what lead me to choose nursing as a career. I reflected on life

experiences, conversions, and interactions I’ve had that had brought me to my decision to pursue

nursing each day. In this paper, I will provide my definition of nursing and how I define my

personal philosophy, including my valves and beliefs and a patient encounter. Lastly, I will

discuss Patricia Benner’s theory from Novice to Expert and how it applies to my current stage of

development.

Definition of Nursing

One of the main reasons why I choose nursing is because of what I believe is the multi-

faceted identities that create the nursing profession. Nursing goes far beyond what many people

think when they think of nursing, which is bedside clinical nursing. During lecture we talked

about the art and science of nursing. I believe that these two elements must be practiced

simultaneously in order for effective nursing to take place. I define the art of nursing as the

actually calling. It is the care you give, the compassion you demonstrate, as well as the non-

judgmental and culturally sensitive attitude you possess. In nursing school, you are taught the

foundations of skills and knowledge that is necessary to provide care to patients. You are also

taught the importance of individualized care. It is that need for individualized care where I

believe much of what the art of nursing is formed. The art of nursing involves creativity, it
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involves you being about to look at the entire individual and all the elements that make up that

individual and formulate the best plan of care.

The science of nursing for me is defined as the knowledge and skill base that drives

nursing practice. It is putting all the theories and evidence into practice so that quality care can

be given. Much of the foundational education for nursing is based on sciences. The science

allows you to be able to framework of reference to be able to guide practice.

Nursing could not be what it is without having nursing education. Providing an

environment where learning can be fostered and built upon is one of the key elements that define

nursing. Nursing is a profession where learning is endless, and the amount of knowledge and

skill base is immeasurable. Nursing is truly a lifelong learning journey that constantly builds

upon the nursing education you receive when you become a nurse.

For me caring is one of the most significant components of what I consider nursing to be.

Caring is the foundation for which all related nursing components derive upon. Without care

nursing would not be what it is today. The early beginnings of the ministry of the Sisters of Bon

Secours started with care and compassion. For me, care is the main reason I chose to pursue

nursing. I felt that I have always had a nurturing and caring spirit and my purpose was to use that

to help nurture and care for others.

Service is a huge component of what forms nursing. Nursing is a service driven

profession. As a nurse, it is through your service and care that you are able to promote health

and wellness to patients and their loved ones. Service is the ability to be able to empower others

to help to create a caring environment. Service involves advocating for those in need and

assuring that their needs are met. Nursing service is rooted in being a change agent and

understanding the importance of building an environment of safety, care, and kindness.

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Personal Philosophy

During my time in nursing school I have been able to build upon my own personal

philosophy of nursing. One of the main tenets in my philosophy is the idea that everyone has a

story and every person you encounter whether it be a patient or a stranger on the street deserves

to be heard and deserves love and kindness. With this tenet it allows me to not only look at each

person as an individual it allows me to have understanding when it comes to the different

obstacles the face. I always search for the deeper context when interacting with patients and

families. For example, a patient may be admitted into the hospital for diabetic ketoacidosis and

initially the thought would be the patient is non-compliant with his/her diabetic treatment. Yes,

that may be true, but also the patient could be non-compliant because of financial reasons, or

because they just lost a family member and because depressed and stopped taking their insulin.

For me everything in nursing is not just black and white. There are many grey areas and areas of

color that can be found.

Trust is a very important tenet in my philosophy and is what I build my nurse patient

relationships upon. I have always had the desire to be honest and truthful in every aspect of my

life. Without trust I feel that no relationship would grow and develop. I have always made it a

point when interacting with my patients that I am clear about what I say and the things I stated I

would do. Sometimes time gets the best of us and you may forget to do something you told a

patient. I make it a point to not make promises but accommodate the patient’s needs and wants to

the best my abilities.

Teamwork and collaboration are keys in my nursing philosophy. I am a firm believer in

the saying “it takes a village”. I believe that that is one of the great things about nursing is that it

allows for you to collaborate with others to create the best plan of care. Being able to work in an
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interdisciplinary team allows for the transition of care to be implemented. There are times in

practice where you may encounter an issue that you have not seen before, in which you would

need to consult with other nurses or health care professionals. As a part of a healthcare team we

all have one goal and that is care and safety of the patient. Being a part of a team and knowing

that you have support and resources of knowledge is the great part of nursing.

Values and Beliefs

Having values and beliefs is an important facet in being able to not only care for yourself,

but care for others. During my first semester in nursing school I was asked to write about my

values and beliefs and how they help to create my personal philosophy of nursing. For me those

four values I wrote about previously, compassion, respect, integrity, and kindness still hold true

to my nursing practice today. For me showing kindness to someone comes as a second nature. It

is inherent in me to want to show people warmth and kindness. It is also inherent in me to show

compassion and empathy. I feel that compassion and empathy are things that are lacking in

today’s society. I feel as though it is important to stand firm on your values and beliefs, but to

not to those values and beliefs allow you to hold bias and judgement. It is important to use your

moral compasses to promote positivity and light. Respect and integrity for me go along with

being culturally sensitive and being aware of your self and others. Being culturally aware has

been a belief that I have seen grow within my nursing practice. The more I become expose to

different situations the more I am able to appreciate and learn from our cultural differences.

Nurse Patient Encounter

Recently in practice I had an encounter with a patient that allowed to reflect on the

reasons I chose nursing as career. I had just come onto my shift as a patient care technician on

my unit and was told by my charge nurse that I would be the only technician working that night
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and that we had a full unit with all beds occupied. After getting vital signs from the patients I

come to my final room. When I opened the door, I was surprised to see a patient that I had

previously, two weeks prior, taken care of when I was in my immersion rotation. When I first

walked into the room, I reintroduced myself and stated that I would be working as the technician

tonight. Immediately he had recognized me and stated that I had worked with him previously.

We engaged in conversation while I completed his vital signs and I asked him how he had been

and what had brought him back to the hospital. He stated he had another COPD exacerbation.

Afterward I finished his vital I asked was there anything I could help him with, and he stated no.

His body language, facial expression, and reply led me to believe that he had more he wanted to

discuss. I asked how everything was going at home and he began to tell me about how he was

having a really hard time at home and was forced to move with a friend. He spoke for about ten

minutes about the issues he faced. Throughout that time, I actively listened to him and offered

encouraging words. Afterward I asked if he would like me to pray with him. He stated he would

like that very much. I held his hand and prayed for him he was so moved he cried and thanked

me for taking the time out to listen to him. Throughout the shift I made sure to round on the

patient frequently to attend to his needs so that he did not feel as isolated and alone.

My encounter with the patient encompassed many of the tenets of Dr. Jean Watson’s

caritas processes. This encounter allowed me to understand the importance of presence and how

sometimes just a calming presence can make such an impact on a patient’s life. I was able to

offer self and instill faith and hope in the patient. Because of my previous interaction with the

client in immersion I had built a helping trusting with the patient that allowed for him to be open

with me. By caring for the patient, I was able to take care of his physical, emotional, and spiritual

needs. I was able to give his positive affirmations that would help encourage him.
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During my time in NUR 4140 practicum experience I had the opportunity to develop an

intervention that would look to decrease the incidence of falls on a specific unit. Patient falls is

an event that takes place in almost every medical facility in the world. Patient safety is always

the top priority for health care team members and with patient falls not only does it place the

patient in harm it potentially has effects on the entire health care system. This was my first time

proposing an intervention that could be used toward practice. When I was first assigned the task,

I was nervous, and I was unsure what would be an effective intervention for such a common

incident. Being able to work in a small group to develop the intervention allowed for our

different ideas to come together and create the best intervention that fit with the root cause of the

issue. We were able to use evidence-based practice models as well as data collected from the

hospital to formulate a root cause of the issue, analysis the problem, and come up with a solution.

We were able to tour the hospital unit, in which the intervention would be utilized, and interview

staff and patients. We were also able to meet with nursing leaders and quality improvement

specialists to see what interventions were being done now. Overall, the project allowed for us to

be a part of the change in practice we want to see. It gave us experience in being able to

implement new interventions and/or policies we feel may be beneficial to the units we work on

currently and in the future.

Patricia Benner’s Theory

In Patricia Benner’s 2001 book, From novice to expert: Excellence and power in clinical

nursing practice, she explains how nurses develop skills and an understanding of how to care for

patients overtime by combining a strong education foundation and personal experiences (Benner,

2001). In her book she discusses five stages of acquisition that a nurse goes through. The first

level is the novice level. This is the level the nurse has no experience and lacks confidence to
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demonstrate safe practices (Benner, 2001). In the level there is a need for frequent verbal and

physical cues. The next level is the advanced beginner level of practice. In this level the nurse

has some prior experience and is efficient is some skill. This area requires intermittent support

while knowledge is developing. The third level is the competence level, and this is a nurse who

has been on the job for two or three years. This nurse is able to demonstrate effectiveness and

has confidence in his/her actions while being able to complete care within an appropriate time

frame without supporting cues (Benner, 2001). The fourth level is proficient nurse who

understand a situation as a whole and understands the importance of long-term goals. This nurse

learns from experience the typical and atypical events to expect in a situation. The last stage is

the expert level, and this is where a nurse is able to operate from a vast understanding of the

whole situation and is highly skilled analytically. This nurse has an intuitive knowledge of each

situation and a massive amount of experience.

In my practice today I feel as though I am in the advanced beginner stage of

development. I feel that the education and practicum experiences I have received at Bon Secours

Memorial College of Nursing have allowed for me to gain knowledge and skill bases. I feel that

at the beginning of my journey in nursing school I was novice. I had no experience, had no skill

set, and needed support from nursing instructors. Now that I have completed practicum hours

and am 90% complete with my immersion hours, I feel I have a certain skill base and level of

confidence that would allow me to practice with support from a preceptor. I also have more than

two years of experience working in the hospital setting as a patient care technician.

In order to move forward in my clinical practice, I plan to first utilize the resources that

are offered to me such as mentorship, preceptorship, and clinical ladder advancement programs. I

plan to go back to school to receive my masters’ degree in nursing as well as a masters’ degree in
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public health. After graduation I will begin to work on the unit where I am completing my

clinical immersion. After a year I plan to apply to become a clinical nurse II. I also plan to join

some leadership committees that are on the unit.

In the transition year I plan to outside of work take time to care for myself and enjoy my

time. I plan to spend more time visiting and spending time with family and friends and as well as

visiting a few of my favorite places. Most importantly I plan to enjoy the moment and not be so

hard on myself when it comes to being able to transition from student to nurse. I want to not be

to self-critical and allow myself time to adjust and use the support system given on the unit for

new graduates.

As I reflect on my journey throughout nursing, I am excited to start my journey as a

professional nurse. To be able to service others, while creating the change in the world I want to

see is very gratifying experience. Each day I practice as a nurse I am able to take the values and

beliefs I uphold as well as my knowledge and experience to be able to provide the best possible

care to patients, their loved ones, and my fellow team members.

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Reference

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

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