Running Head: KAYLA ADKINS NURSING PHILOSOPHY 1

Nursing Philosophy

Kayla Adkins

Delaware Technical Community College

NUR 300

Mrs. Bowie
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My name is Kayla Adkins and I currently work as a registered nurse at Peninsula

Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, Maryland. I graduated from Delaware Technical

Community College in May of 2019 and started working on the surgical floor at the beginning of

June. Since this was my very first job in the nursing field, I was not sure what to expect because

I've heard mixed reviews about this floor with regards to the turnover rate with nurses. Since I

have been working there, there have been multiple nurses and assistants leave, but it has never

crossed my mind to leave because I love the variety of patients I encounter.

I grew up having similar values as my parents, but the older I have gotten some have

changed. I have three main values that I live by and they are respect, caring, and dignity. These

are important values to live by especially being a nurse because you need to have these values

instilled in you if you want to be the best nurse you can be. Having these values have also helped

me with continuing my education because I continue to tell myself to never give up. Lifelong

learning plays an important role in nursing because you are constantly learning something new

and with the continuing education you will be better able to explain disease processes to patients.

I have already had many opportunities to teach and educate my patients on certain processes

because of my disease process class and can't wait to continue teaching them.

Jean Watson's theory of human caring supports my values and beliefs towards nursing.

She believed that medicine is not the only way to help heal a person, but mainly the caring

personalities from the nurses. Her trans-personal caring relationship theory is something that I

strive for everyday while working. I am not there just to give a patient their medications, but I

am a someone they can trust and talk to without feeling judged. She also believed that holistic

health care is central to the nursing practice. The nursing model that Watson believes in is very

identical to the one that is used every day in the nursing field which includes assessment, care

plan, intervention, and evaluation. I believe this is important because this model can be used for

all patients and is not individualized. Watson also believed that the “Patient is the focus of
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practice rather than the technology.” (Petiprin, 2016). This means that all your attention is

focused on your patient and nothing else. I also agree with her regarding the patients being able

to choose their care instead of the nurses pressuring their patients into doing something they

don't feel comfortable doing. As Jean said, “A science of caring is complementary to the science

of curing.” (Petiprin, 2016).

Watson believes that the caring personality will not only affect our patients but will also

affect our personal lives including our health. There are multiple components to wellness which

include physical, spiritual, social, emotional, and intellectual. According to Watson's ten carative

factors she believes, a nurse engages his/her own emotions in the caring relationship, not being

closed to new spiritual and emotional experiences, while looking after the physical and health

needs of the patient. As a nurse we like to do everything we can to help our patients but

sometimes we forget to help or care for ourselves. I can say that I find myself doing this most of

my days working. For example, I might not eat lunch until 4:30pm because I don't like leaving

the floor unless my patients are comfortable. If we can't care for ourselves how are we supposed

to give our patients everything we have. Self-care is mandated by the American Nurses

Association's Code of Ethics and the duties include to promote health and safety, preserve

wholeness of character and integrity, maintain competence, and continue personal and

professional growth. (Perdue University Global, 2019).

Professional growth as nurse doesn't happen overnight and you must be willing to

sacrifice to grow, it can't always be your way only. My style of conflict management was found

to be accommodating which means, giving in to maintain relationships. This type of conflict is

good for building good faith and relationships which is helpful when caring for patients,

especially ones that are “stubborn” or “hard to get along with”. Nurses have given me report

before and have told me that this patient will cause many issues, won't listen, etc. but I never had

any issues with them because I am able to see things from their point of view, and I am just a
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very cooperative person. If I can do something for them that they really want, and it doesn't put

their safety at risk I will help them. Patients can tell when you are there because you love your

job and when you are just there to get a job done. Loving my job helps with building trusting

relationships with my patients. Respect is another value that I live by and I have found that if you

have respect for your patients, they will have respect for you. Watson's theory was all about

caring for patients without the technology and building the trusting relationships with your

patients.

Patient safety is something that everyone is always thinking about and is the number one

priority on the floor. Safety is the effort to minimize the risk of harm to patients and providers by

improving both system of effectiveness and individual performance. This means preventing

errors and negative outcomes that happen unrelated to the patient condition being treated. If you

use the caring approach such as the one by Jean Watson, you may have a less likely chance to do

harm on your patient. Instead of giving a patient a narcotic for some discomfort I try to give

them ice or hot packs, encourage them to walk, darken their room, all of which incorporate the

caring and genuine person that I am. I also express patient safety in my everyday practice by

advocating for my patients. A lot of times patients are scared to speak up for themselves in front

of the doctor, so I will ask the questions for them, so the patient gets the answers they need.

There have been times when a doctor has tried to discharge a patient, but they have been in

severe pain, so I will talk to the doctor into keeping the patient for another day. If this patient had

gone home that day, there would be a very high chance that they would have been readmitted

within the next couple of days. It's the little things such as this that helps them earn my respect.

The values that I believe in as a person are also the values that should be expressed in a

professional role. Professional values and their behaviors are a foundation to the practice of

nursing. As a leader you are committed to excellence which includes; being a patient advocate,

making sure both your patients and staff are satisfied, having great communication skills, being a
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role model, wanting your floor to grow as a family, and recognizing and rewarding success.

Recognizing and rewarding success is very important to me because it makes me feel like I am

doing something right and that I am not the only one that sees that. I have only been a nurse for

eight months now and I have already been recognized by the president and vice president of the

hospital for giving exceptional care. I know I am not a leader just yet, but I have been told by my

supervisor and manager that I will become a charge nurse very soon. I am scared to do this but at

the same time they wouldn't just ask anybody to fill this role if they didn't think you were the

right person for the job.

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References

Guyton, N. (2011). Nine Principles of Successful Nursing Leadership. American Nurse.

Retrieved from: https://www.myamericannurse.com/nine-principles-of-successful-

nursing-leadership/

Perdue University Global. (2019, February 13). The Importance of Self-care for Nurses and How

to Put a Plan into Place. Retrieved from: https://www.purdueglobal.edu/blog/nursing/self-

care-for-nurses/

Petiprin, A. (2016). Jean Watson- Nursing Theorist. Nursing Theory. Retrieved from:

https://nursing-theory.org/nursing-theorists/Jean-Watson.php