Running head: PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY 1

Personal Philosophy Paper

Linda Phan

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

Professor Christine Turner, PhD, RN

Synthesis for Nursing Practice NUR 4140

October 12, 2019

Honor Code “I pledge..”

PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY 2

Definition of Nursing

There are many ways to describe nursing and many nursing definitions but to me the

definition of nursing is a profession that is comprise of caring and compassion. As a student, I

have learned that nursing is to care for the dying, the poor and the underserved. Nursing has been

around for hundreds of years and we have all learned about Florence Nightingale who introduce

nursing into this world. Illnesses bring people down and nurses bring upon the healing process

by being empathetic and having compassionate care. Nurses go above and beyond just caring for

patients during their worst times. They also incorporate family members in these times of need.

Family members can bring healing and emotional support as well.

The introduction of nursing education has instilled many new nurses with higher level of

critical thinking while incorporating compassionate care to patients. As nursing students, we are

taught by experienced nurse educators on how to care and provide services to our patients.

When patients are in their worst time of health, nurses are the first in the frontline to

bring compassionate care. An educated nurse will feel that it is their duty to provide safe care and

be an advocate for their patients. As a soon to be nursing graduate, I feel that it my duty to serve

the community.

Personal Philosophy

I think that my philosophy of nursing is not just to care for the patient, it is also to

incorporate patient’s support system such as their families and friends. I have found that to be the

case lately during my clinical immersion. Patients families start trusting you when you can show

support by doing a simple gesture. Such as asking if you can get them anything to make them

comfortable. When patients are at the worst time with their health, myself as a nurse caring for
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY 3

them with family members and/or the patient’s support system, the patient will feel that you are

showing compassion.

When it comes to caring for patients, I approach it whole-heartedly. I try to keep in mind

that this could be my family member or loved one. I tend to think of it in this way because as a

patient you want to have dignity in the healing process and respect from your caretaker. I want

the same for my family and I will provide that level of care for others. My philosophy is if you

want to be respected by others then you need to show respect yourself and treat others the way

you want to be treated. Patients, their families, friends and support system should have the

feeling or sense of respect when you first walk into the patients’ room. Making them feel more at

ease around you and be able to express their needs and concerns. This is something that I will

always keep in mind as a new nurse and throughout my nursing career.

Values and Beliefs

During my journey through the nursing program, I have had to write many reflections

regarding my values and beliefs. I have found that my values have changed a lot since starting

nursing school. I realized now how much more valuable relationships with my family and my

husband are and not just the material gains I have in this life. When caring for patients, I noticed

that just spending those extra moments with them, it means a lot. Time is precious and is the

most valuable commodity. I realized this going through nursing school, I neglected to take some

time out of my day to spend it with my family. Instead focusing solely on studying.

My values and beliefs have certainly change a lot since writing my first paper on philosophy

nursing. At the time, everything was new to me and I had no experience in the nursing world. I

was just determined to dive into studying nursing! I felt anxious, insecure and didn’t know what

to expect. Thinking back on what I wrote, I still feel strongly about my beliefs in caring for
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY 4

patients compassionately and whole-heartedly. I believe that having faith in myself and

providing the level of care that I’d expect for my loved ones will produce great results.

Nurse Patient Encounter

I encounter a patient care situation during my clinical immersion. The patient had multiple

sclerosis, was non-verbal and contracted. It was the beginning of the shift and during shift

change. The patient’s sister and a caretaker friend were present in the room. While performing

my assessment of the patient, she could not verbalize anything clear to me and could not even

blink or nod her head. Moving on through the pain assessment, I used the adult non-verbal pain

assessment tool and I could not read any facial grimaces. Vital signs were normal. I could not

assess any withdrawal reflexes either. Due to the patient being contracted. The patient’s

respiratory rate was normal as well. As soon as I completed the patient’s assessment, her sister

stated the patient had pointed to her hip earlier and that she was in pain. I couldn’t assess this at

all because patient was contracted. I had to tell my preceptor and the patient’s sister told my

preceptor the same thing. The sister reiterated “I know when my sister is in pain, and she pointed

to her hip earlier.”

My preceptor relayed to me that since the patient’s sister has been the caretaker and advocate;

pain medication should be administered. Another comment came from the patient’s

friend/caretaker in the room also stated, “oh yeah, she is the narcotic queen”. This made me

worry due to recent headlines about the opioid crisis. Not to mention the fact the patient was

having respiratory issues as well. I told my preceptor that since the patient had respiratory

complications I was uncomfortable administering morphine IV push. She then administered the

pain medication. I will continue to provide safe care for my patients and express my concerns for

my patients throughout my nursing career.

PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY 5

Change Agent

This semester in NUR 4140 practicum; my group and I was assigned a problem in the

community regarding the Care-A-Van, a mobile health clinic. I had the opportunity to work on a

quality improvement project with my group. The issue we had to try to resolve was the long wait

lines to be seen. Since the Care-A-Van is a first come first serve model for seeing patients and

providing treatments, patients on occasion, will start waiting in line around midnight with their

children and sometimes out in the cold. Being part of this quality improvement project, opened

my mind into a different world of nursing.

I started thinking about community health nursing and how to try to improve community

healthcare that requires more financial resources. The problem that my group and I are working

on is a true world issue and is a completely different issue compared to caring for sick patients in

the hospital. It is a very complicated problem that requires a good amount of financial support

and medical staff to solve the problem. This experience has made me a change agent in a way by

giving me the opportunity to express my concerns and ideas to the Bon Secours leaders.

From Novice to Expert

From Novice to Expert is a concept developed by Patricia Benner that explains how nurses

developed skills overtime through education and personal experiences. Her concept has five

different stages. I would have to say I am a novice student nurse at the moment. The next stages

up is the advanced beginner, competent, proficient and expert. As a nurse going through these

stages, there will be personal experience involved that will help that novice nurse to grow

stronger and have more experienced.

After graduating and beginning my first job, I would consider myself a novice nurse because I

am still working with policy and procedures and I have a strong educational background with
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY 6

little skill set. Next, I will become that competent nurse through some skills set with experienced

and less mistakes are made. At the proficient level, I will be able to solve problems myself but

still relying on some help. The last stage is expert, in this stage I should know what I am doing

with minimal help from others but at the same time, I can educate others with my personal

experiences. In Benner’s concept, each step is build upon previous step and expanded to

experienced and clinical expertise.

Action Plan for Moving Forward

I feel that it has been a long journey through nursing school with so much vast knowledge.

Moving forward, I plan on studying diligently for the NCLEX exam and passing the exam. At

my current stage of development, I am a student nurse but in the next few months, I would

classify myself as the Novice nurse because that’s where new graduate nurses are. I am hoping to

build strong relationships where I will be working and advanced to the next stage without

difficulties.

As a student going through the nursing program, I have neglected self-care a lot. I feel as

though I did not have any time for self-care and there wasn’t enough time in the day to spend

with my family. Any spare time that I had, I would turn it into studying or trying to get ahead

with homework or basic chores such as laundry. Reflecting back on this, it has been

overwhelming but now I know now to take the time for some self-care.

I have found that I like to escape reality for a little while and go to the beach, the river or

somewhere near any body of water and just lay there listening to the sound of crashing waves

and the seagulls. This relaxes my mind, body and soul. Also, I have found hot yoga to be very

relaxing as well because it makes me feel physically healthy and it helps me sleep through the

night. Since these are some self-care that has help me, I intend on continuing it.
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY 7

For my long term professional goal development, I am hoping to move from that Novice

nurse to Advanced Beginner nurse to the expert nurse in a matter of time. Being a new graduate

nurse, I am confident that there will be a lot of opportunities for me to experienced and grow. I

intend on seeking every opportunity or chance I get to help me grow and developed into that

expert nurse. I am also hoping sometime in the future to advance my education and skills by

obtaining my nurse practitioner degree.

PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY 8

References

Dreyfus, S.E. (2004). The Five-Stage Model of Adult Skill Acquisition. Bulletin of Science

24(3).177-181. doi: 10.1177/0270467604264992