RUNNING HEAD: Nursing Philosophy 1

Nursing Philosophy

Jessica Elliott

Delaware Technical Community College

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Nursing Philosophy

As a nurse, my personal values and beliefs play a role in how I interact and care for my

patients. Each night at work, I strive to treat each patient like they are my own family member.

Growing up in a Christian household, I was always taught to care for others- especially those in

need. In addition to my personal beliefs, my educational background plays a role in how I treat

my patients. Instead of attending a four-year college to obtain my bachelors, I chose to attend a

two-year community college to obtain my associates degree in nursing. By choosing the two-

year program versus the four-year program, I feel like I gained more hands-on experience and

have a greater ability to complete nursing skills. However, I still plan to further my education. At

the moment, I plan to pursue my bachelor’s degree in nursing. Eventually, I would like to

become a nurse practitioner and work in labor and delivery. No matter where my path takes me, I

will continue to learn new skills and gain more experience. Learning is a lifelong adventure.

A nursing philosophy that is similar to my personal belief is Katie Eriksson's "Theory of

Caritative Caring." In Ms. Eriksson's theory, she states that, "... suffering that occurs as a result

of a lack of caritative care is a violation of human dignity." (Petiprin, 2016) In this use of the

word "caritative," Eriksson is referring to love and charity. Stated even simpler, if a patient is

suffering because the nurse is not freely giving of herself or showing love through her work, it is

a violation of the patient's human dignity. As an oncology nurse, many of my patients are in

chronic pain. These patients require more than just "get fixed quick" care. While they may leave

the hospital within a few days, they know that they will most likely be back again due to their

disease process. With their higher than average readmission rates, a stronger bond is created

between the nurses and the patient. When these patients arrive to our unit, they are often relieved

to see the familiar faces of our nurses and other staff members. Because of the strong bonds that
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are formed, it is easy to show love and compassion to these patients. When the census is low on

our unit, we admit "basic" medical patients to our floor. When these patients are on our floor, it

can be harder to create a strong bond with the patient. Often times, they are unfamiliar to us and

are in a hurry to return home to their families. But, it is just as important to make a connection

with these patients in order to make sure all aspects of their needs are met. Love and charity

should still be shown to all patients- regardless of their diagnosis. (Petiprin, 2016) While my

theory may not be quite as "in-depth" as Eriksson's, I believe that each patient should be treated

with the same level of care that I would expect a loved one of my own to receive. In addition, it

is always important to try and maintain human dignity, especially while a patient is hospitalized.

In order to provide adequate for my patients, I have to care for myself first. I cannot help

others to get well if my own personal wellness is not properly maintained. Personal wellness is

based on five different aspects: physical, spiritual, social, emotional and intellectual wellness. To

be able to care for my patients, I have to be in good physical condition. Not only does this mean

that I need to be physically able to care for patients, it means that I must use proper lifting and

transferring techniques while at work to remain free of injury. On our inpatient oncology unit,

many of our patients are fearful about death. Several of our patients express these concerns, as

their nurse it is part of my job to listen them. In order to answer their questions, whether the

patient is religious or not, it is important that I know my own belief on the subject. I cannot help

someone else if I don't know my own position on the subject. In my opinion, spiritual and

emotional needs go hand in hand. To be able to provide for my patient’s emotional needs, I have

to have a handle on my own emotions first. When I allow outside stress or drama to interact with

my work environment, it only takes away from the care that I give. However, it's also easy to get

emotional while working on an oncology unit. Between patients significantly declining or even
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dying, it definitely takes out an emotional toll. With this being said, social wellness is an

important aspect for nurses as well. It's easy to get caught up in work and what's going on in my

patient's lives. Sometimes, I even forget about what's going on in my own life. In order to come

to work and do my best, I have to spend time on myself outside of work. Intellectual wellness is

a topic that I tend to struggle with. Since high school, I have had a hard time focusing while

studying. Writing papers or completing "task" related assignments have always come easy, but

studying is a different story. I am currently studying for my biotherapy/ chemotherapy

administration card. By completing this, I will be able to care for patients receiving

chemotherapy while admitted. Not only would this benefit myself, but my patients as well.

When reflecting on how I handle conflict management, I would have to agree with my

result from the "Personality Type" quiz. After taking the quiz, I was given the personality type of

Defender. Defenders are typically shy and humble. They also repress their emotions, which can

make them difficult to read and limits their communication skills with others. Since defenders

are timid, they may feel like they aren’t being heard in a conflict. However, defenders are also

open to change. While this group may repress their personal feelings, they always stand up for

others. This personality type describes me well. While I may agree to do too many tasks at once,

I have started to speak up and ask for help. Additionally, I tend to hide how I really feel in

particular situations. But, if a coworker or patient isn't being treated properly, I will be the first

one to stand up for them. When it comes to myself, I am extremely timid, but when it comes to

others, it's a different story.

In the nursing field, safety should always come first. However, safety is more than

making sure the bed is in the lowest position or that the bed alarm is initiated. Safety also has to

do with medications and skills, both of these can be the result of human error. "These include
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skill-based, rule-based and knowledge-based errors. Skill-based errors are slips that are

aberrations of patterns in a normal routine activity. A skill-based error can occur because of a

distraction or interruption, such as being interrupted as one calculates a medication and then

resumes at a different step. Rule-based and knowledge-based errors are due to mistakes in

conscious thought. Examples include workarounds and short cuts." (Disch, n.d.) To prevent these

errors, it is necessary to eliminate distractions. In these situations, a “double check” with an

additional nurse can also be beneficial.

As a new nurse, I not only look up to the leaders on my floor, but I also try to set

examples as well. As part of my nursing philosophy, my personal core values include caring,

integrity, and excellence. Caring is more than just showing kindness or concern about a patient,

itincludes acting upon these concerns. Caring is sitting with a patient for over two hours while

she receives a blood transfusion because she is too scared to be left alone. Not only in nursing,

but life in general, it’s the “little things” that add up to become the “big things.” An additional

core value that I incorporate into my nursing practice is integrity. The National League of

Nursing describes integrity as, “... integrity is evident when organizational principles of open

communication, ethical decision-making, and humility are encouraged, expected, and

demonstrated consistently. Not only is doing the right thing simply how we do business, but our

actions reveal our commitment to truth telling and to how we always see ourselves from the

perspective of others in a larger community.” (“Core values,” 2018) As a practicing nurse, I find

that integrity is an important value to have. Not only does it make a nurse more accountable for

her actions, but it is a value that patients expect from their nurses as well. Excellence is another

value that patients expect from their nurses. However, excellence is more than just doing your

best; it’s continuous growth, learning, and understanding. (“Core values,” 2018)
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“In the same way in which a compass points towards a magnetic field, our true north is

the internal compass that guides us successfully through life. It represents, at the deepest levels,

who we are as human beings. It is based on what is most important to us, our most cherished

values, our passions and motivations, and the sources of satisfaction in our lives.” (Middleton,

n.d.) My core values and beliefs are what power my internal compass. Without caring, integrity,

and excellence, I would not be able to properly care for patients. Along with my core values, my

personal wellness, conflict management style, collaborative care, and leadership beliefs all

impact my personal nursing philosophy.

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References

Core values. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.nln.org/about/core-values

Disch, J. (n.d.). Teamwork and collaboration competency resource paper. University of

Minnesota, School of nursing, 8Middleton, J. (n.d.).

Leadership skills for nurses. Nursing times leadership supplement, 12. Petiprin, A. (2016). Katie

Eriksson- Nursing theorist. Retrieved from http://www.nursing-theory.org/nursing-

theorists/Katie-Eriksson.ph