PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING 1

Personal Philosophy of Nursing

Bryan Wharton

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

February 23, 2016

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Personal Philosophy of Nursing

Growing up, I wanted to be a doctor. I went to college and graduated with a degree in

Biology with a focus on Pre-Med. But through my experiences as I got older, in hospitals and in

everyday life, I realized that being a doctor was not for me and decided to choose a career in

nursing. As a patient, visiting family members, and working in hospitals, I noticed that nurses

form much better relationships with patients than doctors do. Now that I am in nursing school, I

am excited to be able to help patients, coworkers, employers and myself by creating positive

relationships that could last forever. I plan on doing so with my beliefs and values that I use to

create my personal philosophy of nursing.

Philosophy of nursing is defined as “statements of beliefs about nursing and expressions

of values in nursing that are used as bases for thinking and acting” (Black, 2014, p.262). Two

types of philosophies of nursing include individual philosophies and collective philosophies. As

individuals, nurses have their own philosophy that has gotten them through education and gotten

them to where they are in their career. Following their philosophies allows nurses to maintain a

consistent approach to their work and helps them get through everything working in a hospital

can throw at them. Relying on their philosophy will allow nurses to care for their patients no

matter what situation they are put in. This philosophy is not always going to stay the same

throughout a nurse’s career as they can learn new ideas, grow from different experiences and

adopt a collective philosophy from their school or workplace. These collective philosophies are

important because hospitals and schools both need guidelines for their employees and students.

Without a philosophy of nursing, it would be hard to maintain the level of care nurses and

hospitals want to provide and the level of care expected from patients and their families.
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An important part of a philosophy of nursing is a belief. “A belief represents the

intellectual acceptance of something as true or correct” (Black, 2014, p.256). There are many

different beliefs in this world coming from different religions, regions, and families. Growing up,

my dad was always negative and always seemed miserable unless everything was perfect. I

would look at him and eventually learn that there is no room for negativity in life. I believe that

staying positive and eliminating negativity can not only make your life better, but also help

impact the people around you. I want to carry this belief into my nursing education and career.

As a student, I do not look at assignments and exams as road bumps designed to stump me and

stop me but as stairs to get me where I want to be in my career. Instead of a negative situation,

assignments and exams are positive opportunities I can use to better myself. Once I am a nurse, I

want to use my positive attitude to help others. I believe a positive attitude is crucial in the

healing process and if I am positive as a nurse, my patient will be positive as a client. If you have

a negative patient, they will never believe they can get through the healing process, but if you

can get them in a positive attitude, they will have a stronger will power to fight.

Values are also major aspects of a philosophy of nursing. “Values are the freely chosen

principles, ideas, or standards held by an individual, class, or group that give meaning and

direction to life” (Black, 2014, p.258). As a nursing student, I value knowledge and

responsibility. Eventually, I will be relied on to take care of patients and I need to learn

everything I can in order to perform to the best of my ability and to install confidence in my

employer and my patients. I also have to be responsible for myself, my group of peers I will be

working with throughout my education, and the patients I will be working with. If I do not take

responsibility for my work, I will never be the nurse I want to be. Once I graduate, I do not plan

on ending my search for knowledge. I want to always be learning new things to better myself and
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my career. The more knowledge I gather, the easier it will be for me to take responsibility for my

work but also educate my patients.

My personal philosophy of nursing is to not be the best nurse I can be, but be the best

person I can be while being a nurse. I will always have the role of being a nurse and will always

do my job to the best of my ability, but I do not want to stop there. Taking care of someone else

will not be possible if I cannot take care of myself. It is my responsibility to develop positive

relationships with my patients and make them feel confident and comfortable with me while

giving them the best care. Educating patients with a positive attitude will hopefully not only help

them, but allow me to learn more as a grow in my career. I also want to make sure the people I

work with and I have positive relationships. Learning from the people around me and learning

with the people around me through experiences together will be a big part of getting to my

ultimate goal as a nurse. Finally, I want nursing to be a positive aspect on my personal life and

enhance my relationships with friends and family. My family and friends are very close to me

and I want to keep it that way. They will be the ones there for me when I am struggling and need

to get back on the right path.

People always say if you enjoy what you do for a living, you will never work a day in

your life. In order to enjoy nursing, I will always keep a positive attitude and not allow negativity

to bring me down. I do not want to look at nursing as a job, but as a fun and exciting opportunity

everyday I show up to work. By using my personal philosophy of nursing, I will stay positive in

life, school and eventually when I am a nurse. Staying positive will allow me to not stop learning

and will allow me to try to use my experiences to teach others. I will be able to help others and

allow others to help me, whether they know it or not.

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References

Black, B. (2014). Professional nursing: Concepts and challenges (7th ed.). St. Louis, MO:

Saunders.