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Personal Philosophy

Michael Phelps

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

10/11/2014

There is no one concrete definition or idea to nursing philosophy; however, the majority
all mention a nurses use of empathy, knowledge, charisma, holistic approach, part of a
healthcare team, promotion of health, and protection of the patient. In my opinion, the
philosophy of nursing carries a lot of moral, ethical, and loyal aspects. A nurse should first and
for most understand and facilitate the care and well-being of mainly the patient, but also
everyone around them (coworkers, family, friends, and acquaintances). A nurse should not only
have knowledge but also fortitude to apply the knowledge to situations. A nurse should be loyal
and respectful not only to patients but also coworkers. Nurses should be able to work
comfortably with fellow coworkers and physicians. Most people say that nurses are always
looked up to as mentors and confidants, someone they can trust. I believe nurses should not only
establish and keep a persons trust, they should also trust others.
Opportunities in nursing today have grown in the last 10 years. One new opportunity is
the introduction of the nurse infomaticist career. Basically, these are nurses who merge nursing,
computer science, and information technology to help nurses sort and utilize large amounts of
information to be effective. (Hunter, Ph.D., RN-BC & Hebda, Ph.D., RN, 2014) This will be a
great opportunity for those who are tech savvy to help or become employed in the healthcare
field, like myself. These nurses will help with design and implementation of information
systems to help with healthcare decisions. Another opportunity has been the growth of Nurse
Practitioner to the healthcare field. Drugstores, hospitals, medical offices, and clinics have been
hiring Nurse Practitioners. The shortage in physicians has caused an attention and increase in
Nurse Practitioners in order to fill the vacancies. (Scudder, DNP, NP, 2012) Basically, for
general health concerns like vaccinations, sprains, medication refills, and small wounds.

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As there are opportunities in nursing, there are also challenges that the profession of
nursing faces today. The first challenge is a shortage of nurses. In some markets, the patient to
nurse ratio ranges from 8:1 to 4:1. (Rothberg, 2005). With a shortage of nurses, patient safety is
the main issue. However, some markets have an influx of nurses, mainly because there are
currently several schools flooding the market with nurses. On the flip side, another challenge is
the cost cutting measures employed by organizations. Generally, nursing in the healthcare field
is the largest expense and easiest to target for cutting cost. However, organizations have to look
at related effects when they decide to cut staffing. Retention of the nurse, length of stay for
patient, patient mortality, readmits, medical errors, patient and employee satisfaction, and hostile
events. (Rothberg, 2005) I would say that I am little like Florence Nightingale and Jean Watson.
I am the kind of person to be organized, looking for the direct cause; also I am more of a handson kind of person like Florence Nightingale. I am not completely holistic in my view of how a
patient should be treated. However, I do believe that patients need respect and understanding of
what they are going through. I also, believe that families should be part of the care a patient
receives and they should also understand what is happening to the patient, kind of like Jean
Watson.
I believe that I follow and align myself with Bon Secours values. I believe that everyone
deserves respect whether they are ill or going through a routine physical. I will admit, I am the
kind of person who will so you respect as long as respect is not tarnished. I believe in protecting
my patients rights, provided them with justice and upholding whatever dignity they have left in
the hospital. (Bon Secours International, 2014) I have a strong ethical conscious when it comes
down to doing the right thing for not only my patients but also coworkers. I am probably not the
strongest with stewardship, yes I believe in recycling and supplying people with information to

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help them. But I believe in doing what I can to help a person get better and to do no harm to the
individual. I believe compassion is one of those that a person can exhibit, but may not exactly
know how to go about professionally. I have never been a big fan of therapeutic communication,
I find it belittling to patients. I believe that quality and innovation go hand in hand. Sometimes
that best quality requires using innovation in the healthcare field, using better equipment or
techniques in order to provide a better experience. (Bon Secours International, 2014) Growth is
something I always strive for and enjoy doing; I enjoy the idea of learning new techniques and
things.
I really do not have a long term goal. My short term goal is to graduate the program with
my BSN. If I decide to continue my nursing education after the BSN program, it will more than
likely be Nurse Practitioner. I would probably enjoy a little more autonomy with patients.

On my honor, I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment or test, and I pledge that
I am in compliance with the BSMCON Honor System.

References
Bon Secours International. (2014). Our Values. Retrieved from bshsi.org:
http://www.bshsi.org/about-us-our-mission-our-values.html
Dictionary.com. (2014). philosophy definition. Retrieved from dictionary.com:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/philosophy
gsmeagle2918. (2010, June 13). philosophy of nursing. Retrieved from allnurses.com:
http://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/philosophy-of-nursing-485449.html
Hunter, Ph.D., RN-BC, K., & Hebda, Ph.D., RN, T. (2014). Informatics: New Opportunities in
Nursing. Retrieved from MinorityNurse.com:
http://www.minoritynurse.com/article/informatics-new-opportunities-nursing
Nursing Theory. (2013). Jean Watson's Contribution to Nursing Theory: Philosophy and Science
of Caring. Retrieved from Nursing Theory: http://nursing-theory.org/nursingtheorists/Jean-Watson.php
Rothberg, M. (2005, Aug 4). Improving nurse to patient staffing ratios as a cost effective safety
intervention. Retrieved from National Center for Biothechnology Information:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16034292
Scudder, DNP, NP, L. (2012, April 12). Growth of the Nurse Practitioner Workforce. Retrieved
from Medscape Nurses: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/761728