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Nursing Philosophy Reflection Journal

Matteline Fagan

Delaware Technical Community College

NUR460-601 Nursing Capstone

Dr. McKnight

July 9, 2023
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Nursing Philosophy Reflection Journal

As I progressed through this program I also progressed in my nursing career. When I first

started my BSN journey I was working on the Medical-Surgical floor taking care of a wide range

of patients and usually 6-7 at a time. Now I have started a new nursing path in the operating

room taking care of one patient at a time that is under general anesthesia. My nursing philosophy

has changed throughout my BSN journey and my nursing career. It started with the foundation of

caring for our patients through a holistic approach. This means to treat our patients through mind,

body, and spirit. We do this by acting with genuine compassion, comfort, and empathy towards

our patients. Not only did it change the way I treated my patients but also made me think about

my own morals and beliefs.

This philosophy was great to incorporate when I worked on the floor especially with my

oncology patients. However now I only have a few minutes to seconds that I get to talk and

interact with my patients. This means my main focus is being an advocate for my patient when

they are not able to be their own. I take into consideration what their wishes would be during all

surgical procedures. My nursing philosophy has now changed to incorporate more ways to be an

advocate and ensure safety.

Through my nursing courses I have been able to focus this advocacy through my research

papers. I have started a focus on operating room nursing and each course my papers focused on

how to provide better and effective care for my patients. In nursing research, I was able to write a

paper on music therapy in the operating room and how it helps reduce pain and anxiety for our

patients. This directly correlates with my nursing philosophy on how we can take a more holistic

approach to treating our patients. Music therapy can reduce the amount of narcotic medications

needed for the patient. In nursing informatics, I wrote a research paper on barcode technology for
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specimen collection in the operating room. Patients undergo surgical procedures to obtain

diagnosis such as cancer. As the operating room nurse collecting and documenting these

specimens for official diagnosis it’s important to follow the most safe and effective way. By

scanning patient specific barcodes and connecting them to specific specimens this ensures little

to no errors. Creating new technology to better patient outcomes is a way we advocate for them.

My nursing theory is described as the main goals of nursing are to help patients attain a

higher level of harmony within the mind-body-spirit. This really shaped my research and main

focus through all my nursing courses. I was able to focus on how I can help my patients achieve

better outcomes through more holistic approaches. The less medications a patient has to take

such as narcotics helps reduce addiction and lengthy hospital stays. I took my nursing theory and

applied it to the operating room and how I can offer a mind-body-spirit connection for my

patients.

My current perceptions, attitudes and beliefs have reinforced by nursing philosophy. I

still believe in providing the most compassionate care for our patients. In our community we care

for a large population of elderly people that may not have family in the immediate area. This

makes a need for a more compassionate care approach important because they do not have

someone to care for them. Before patients like this are put under general anesthesia its important

to provide the most relaxing and decreasing anxiety approach of care. This helps decrease vital

signs throughout surgery and a much more relaxing wake up for them.

My nursing philosophy also include a portion on personal wellness that is still very

important especially throughout the last 2 years with a global pandemic. Taking care of yourself

should come first before you can care for patients. What we educate patients about such as

enough sleep, exercise and proper dieting should be included in our daily lives. By taking a
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holistic approach caring for ourselves provides better care and education when care for others in

a holistic approach. Having a good state of emotional health will help nurses be there for patients

when they are going through something emotional. Intellectual wellness is how I can provide

compassionate care for my patients.

My nursing philosophy included nursing leadership and I described how it would take

time for my nursing leadership skills to develop. At the time I had only one year of nursing

experience whereas now I have a little over 3 years. Throughout my BSN journey I have taken

nursing leadership where I was better able to understand what nursing leadership meant to me. I

was able to explore the different leadership styles and what I felt most connected with. I chose

the transformational nursing leadership style because it is described as having four attributes:

charismatic, inspiration, intellectually stimulating, and considerate. I have now realized just how

much my leadership is like my nursing philosophy. I want to be able to lead without the need of

being overbearing and harsh. I want to be able to inspire those to better themselves and for the

right reasons.

Through practicum experiences I was able to follow two nurse practitioners which

provided me with experiencing professional nursing leadership. My first practicum was with a

nurse practitioner that had a lot of autonomy to treat patients and delegate to other registered

nurses. Through delegation I was able to see how she respectfully and appropriately delegates as

a nurse leader. In my current practicum this nurse practitioner works more hand in hand with

surgeons, so she is able to interact more with the floor nurses. She provides nursing leadership by

working with the ICU/Med-Surg/PCU nurses to get patients better and out of the hospital.

As majority of nursing is taking care of our patients but in reality it is also a majority of

working with physicians, surgeons, physician assistant, physical therapy, occupation therapy,
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respiratory therapy, other nurses and techs to provide the best patient outcomes. As a nurse you

have to be able to demonstrate professionalism and proper nursing leadership. As I transitioned

in my nursing career from Med-Surg to OR I went through a dramatic change in nursing

leadership. On the floor I was surrounded by amazing managers and educators but when I

transitioned to the OR I had no manager and an educator that was retiring soon. As a new hire to

the OR I had to lean on my coworkers to help my through my orientation. This made me realize

how much nursing leadership is important in have a well-functioning unit in the hospital. Since

starting my education pathway I have since become stronger in my nursing leadership skills.