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Personal Nursing Philosophy

Nursing to me is not only a career choice, but an incredible opportunity to support

people’s physical and mental health at a point in their lives when they are perhaps most

vulnerable and most in need. Nursing is often regarded as one of the most trusted professions and

I believe this is for good reason. I define a nurse’s role as a combination of several important

responsibilities including providing the skills, knowledge and care needed to support a patient’s

physical health, to support their mental health, and to act as a patient advocate. Nurses act as a

patient advocate by providing patients and their families with the education and access to

resources they need to advocate for their own health needs. While nurses do act under the

guidance of a physician and in collaboration with a healthcare team, nurses will often be the

members of the team with the most direct interaction with a patient and their family. As such,

nurses are first-in-line to ensure that the patient’s physical and mental health needs are being

addressed and that they are being properly advocated for. My personal mission in nursing is to

continue to learn and grow while providing safe, quality care for my patients and doing my

absolute best to carry out these crucial and valuable responsibilities that the nursing profession

and nurses all around the world owe to their patients.

Defining my Nursing Practice

I believe that a nurse’s duty is to their patients, to ensuring that their patients physical,

mental, and emotional health are supported while the patient is under the nurse’s care, and to

being their patient’s advocate, ensuring that the patient is not only taken care of while they are

directly under the nurse’s care but that the patient has the education and knowledge needed to

support and advocate for themselves. My core values of integrity, respect, responsibility, trust,

and compassion help to guide my nursing practice and it is through these values that I can
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determine what I believe to be the best way forward through challenging moments in my career.

I combine these beliefs and values with the essential nursing skills and communication skills I

have accumulated throughout my nursing school education, my clinical experience and my prior

experience tutoring and teaching students to carry out my duties as a nurse as best as I am able.

During my clinical experiences with at the University of Arizona College of Nursing I

have had ample opportunities to embody these beliefs, values, and skills in my patient care.

When I arrive to my clinical shift at the hospital during one of my clinical or preceptorship

experiences, I begin my shift by receiving a report from the nurse of the previous shift and

introducing myself to the patients who will be under my care. After receiving reports on my

patients, I will identify the needs of my patients and prioritize the order in which I can address

their patient care needs. However, there are times as a nurse when challenging situations may

arise or a patient’s needs may extend beyond the more usual routine orders you follow

throughout your shift. I believe it is in moment such as these that a nurse’s values and skills

shine the most.

An example of one such patient scenario I experienced was during my preceptorship

when I received a call light from a patient who was hyperventilating, telling us she couldn’t

breathe, and desperately requesting us to give her a breathing treatment. As the student nurse

taking care of that patient, I held true to my responsibility as a nurse to make sure the patient’s

physical health was addressed first and foremost if something was preventing her from breathing.

I utilized my nursing skills to assess her, auscultating her lungs and assessing her oxygen

saturation and found that her lungs sounds were clear throughout and that her oxygen saturation

was steady in the upper 90’s despite her reported shortness of breath. After assessing her vitals,

she appeared to be stable from a respiratory and cardiac perspective and my preceptor and I
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suspected that perhaps her hyperventilating and shortness of breath could be related to anxiety or

some other form of mental distress. I then asked if she regularly received breathing treatments

and she explained that she had been getting them during the day shift with the respiratory

therapist. At this point my preceptor began to work on contacting the respiratory therapist and I

took the opportunity to hold the patient’s hand in her room and calmly explained to her what

steps we were taking to help her while making her to speaking calmly and lowering myself to be

at her eye level. I stayed with her for a brief period until the respiratory treatment was given, and

she began to calm down. Here I held true to my values of respect, responsibility, and compassion

as when other healthcare staff became frustrated with the patient for her anxiety, I empathized

with her and gave her the opportunity to be heard and respected. Since the breathing treatment

had helped her feel as though she could breathe, I arranged with the respiratory therapist as an

act of patient advocacy to have the mask left on to room air to help her feel more relaxed and

allow her to fall asleep more comfortably.

Integrative Nursing Principles

This patient scenario represents to me the importance of holistic, person-centered patient

care in nursing and how sometimes even when a patient’s physical health is not in immediate

jeopardy, it is still our responsibility as nurses to care for the patient’s mental and emotional

health needs. This scenario provides a window into how the use of INFF Integrative Nursing

Principles can be incorporated into patient care. My core values of integrity, respect,

responsibility, trust, and compassion all come directly into play in application of the third

principle of integrative nursing: “integrative nursing is person-centered, and relationship based,”

(Kreitzer, 2015). In taking care of the woman with anxiety who was struggling to catch her

breath and hyperventilating, after I ensured that her physical health needs were being met, I
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applied this principle directly. I recognized that to support her health most effectively it was

crucial to respect her emotions and develop a rapport and sense of understanding with her to

provide compassion and to gain her trust. In this way I worked in partnership with the patient to

help support her and find the best way to facilitate her wellbeing.

The first principle of integrative nursing: “human beings are whole systems inseparable

from and influenced by environments,” also played a crucial role in this patient scenario,

(Kreitzer, 2015). I recognized that my patient’s anxiety was likely linked to her current health

concerns and to being in the hospital, an unfamiliar and often scary environment. I recognized

my role as a part of her environment that had the potential to contribute to her anxiety, and by

applying my values of trust and compassion in letting her grab my hand, lower myself to her eye

level and speaking with her calmy about her concerns, I was able to play a part in creating a

more friendly and comfortable environment.

In modern healthcare it can often be tempting to resort to more intensive approaches to

treatment before first trying out less intensive approaches. Sometimes an intensive approach may

be necessary, such as in more acute scenarios, but whenever possible, integrative nursing

principles outline the importance of beginning with the least invasive approach first. In caring for

my patient in this scenario, the fifth integrative nursing principle: “Integrative Nursing is

informed by evidence and uses a full range of conventional and integrative approaches,

employing the least intensive intervention possible depending on the need and context,” played a

role as well, (Kreitzer, 2015). It is possible that my patient’s anxiety could and may eventually

need to be treated with medication if she were to continue to struggle with anxiety going

forward. However, I began with the much less invasive strategies of physical touch, calmly

speaking with her, and allowing air to blow across her face. This approach was able to calm her
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down effectively without the need to resort to more invasive treatment strategies like

medications.

My Impact on the Profession

Nursing serves such an important role in the lives of all of us at some point in our lives

one way or another as we age, either in our lives directly or in the lives of our loved ones. In my

clinical experience I have seen many great nurses who I believe demonstrate many of the same

values as I do and hold many of the same beliefs in the guidance of their care. However, I have

unfortunately seen many nurses who, in one way or another whether due to nursing burnout or

other reasons, do not provide care that would meet the expectations I would place on myself as a

nurse. Particularly in supporting patient’s mental health needs and being a patient advocate, but

in all areas, I hope that through application of my beliefs, values, and skills in my nursing

practice that I can serve as a role model for what I believe in and leave a positive influence on

the profession. I believe that by continually ensuring that I check for self-biases and reflect on

my experiences throughout my career I can ensure that I apply my care equally and inclusively

for all human beings who I care for throughout my career.

Conclusion

Through faithful application of my core of values of integrity, respect, responsibility,

trust, and compassion in my duties as a nurse to provide the skills, knowledge and care needed to

support a patient’s physical health, to support their mental health, and to act as a patient

advocate, I plan to provide the best patient care I possibly can. Going forward, the future goal of

my nursing practice is to adhere to my nursing philosophy and seek opportunities for learning so

I may continue to grow into my role in the nursing profession. I hope to leave a positive impact

on the lives of not only my patients but on the nurses and healthcare professionals whom I work
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with to hopefully support the development of a stronger healthcare system and nursing

profession as a whole.