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Personal Philosophy of Nursing

Patrick P. Willis

School of Nursing, Old Dominion University

NURS 401: Professional Development for Baccalaureate Nursing

Dr. Tinnikka Robertson-Jones

July 18, 2021

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Personal Philosophy of Nursing

The nursing profession is highly regulated and standardized, and appropriately so, with

its education and licensing requirements, accreditation standards, regulatory boards, nursing

practice acts, and more. Despite the efforts to standardize much of the industry, nursing remains

highly individualized as well, with each nurse bringing a unique philosophy and personal

approach to their work. In this paper I explore my own particular outlook on nursing, including

my definition and purpose of nursing, my approach to key nursing relationships, and some of the

core principles that shape my practice.

Nursing Defined

Definitions of nursing are likely as numerous as nurses in the field. The American

Nurses Association (ANA) aptly describes nursing as both art and science (ANA, n.d.). Patients

are not merely a collection of physical data to analyze and solve; they are complex human beings

with emotional, mental, and spiritual needs as well. In addition to the intellectual understanding

of disease process and various ailments, the ideal nurse develops the art of emotional

intelligence, anticipating a patient’s unspoken needs and granting respect and dignity to all.

While many associate nursing with treating the sick, the International Council of Nurses (ICN)

provides a reminder that nursing is charged with caring for well patients of all ages (ICN, 2021).

The role of educator and motivator to well patients is an underappreciated and essential

component of nursing.

To me, compassion is the fuel of nursing. In a busy and stressful environment,

compassion is what keeps nursing people-oriented instead of task-oriented. Compassion allows

nurses to see the human being in the middle of medical treatment. Lori Burnell calls compassion

“nursing’s most precious asset”, as it aids in establishing meaningful connection with patients
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(Burnell, 2009, p. 319). Influenced by the aforementioned sources, I define nursing as the art

and science of health promotion, illness prevention, and healing interventions that cares for

human beings holistically and compassionately.

Purpose of Nursing

I see my purpose as a nurse as simultaneously limiting human suffering and fostering

human flourishing. As a pediatric acute rehabilitation nurse, my role is to help children regain

functional abilities after suffering traumatic injuries or disease. This involves continuing to treat

and alleviate effects of the injury while motivating the child to work through frustrating

roadblocks or limitations in their activities of daily living.

My primary influence in nursing comes from personal experience and has given me the

desire to offer others the same care my family has received. My daughter had open-heart surgery

at 1 week old, during which she had a stroke caused by a massive brain hemorrhage. To this

day, I take her to see just about every type of specialist and therapist available in an effort to

maximize her quality of life. Those early days of trauma and devastation, however, are what

turned me to nursing. I still remember Sarah, our daughter’s PICU nurse from nearly 5 years

ago, who hugged us while we cried, gave us honest yet sensitive answers, and encouraged us to

call at any hour for updates if we had to be away caring for our other child. When it wasn’t clear

if our daughter would survive, it was nurses like Sarah who brought both our daughter and her

parents through it. It was one of the few times in my life I have felt helpless, but I remember a

sense of being carried by the compassion, empathy, and expertise of our nurses.

Now, after years of watching and helping my own daughter through rehabilitative

processes, I get to offer my heart and experience to other families who have been down similar

roads. I was raised on the Christian ethic of doing unto others as you would have them do unto
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you. In the same way, I am purposed to be the kind of nurse to others that I would want to care

for my own daughter.

Nursing Relationships

Culturally Diverse Clientele

One of the great challenges and pleasures in nursing is building relationships with

patients who come from different cultures than one’s own. I believe nurses need to develop the

self-awareness required to identify and set aside personal biases in order to respectfully center

the cultural needs and preferences of the patient. When a nurse is willing to engage and educate

themselves about a client’s culture, they are far more likely to serve that particular client well.

Nursing theorist Madeline Leininger observed in the 1950s that child behavioral patterns were

often connected to the specific cultural background in the home. Her work to gain better

knowledge of diverse cultures ultimately developed into the Transcultural Theory of Nursing and

established cultural competency as an expectation in nursing (Busher Betancourt, 2015). Nurses

should be ready to adjust style, communication, and interventions based on a client’s cultural

needs. As the United States continues striving to be a nation inclusive of all people from all

places, nurses should be prepared to expand their cultural knowledge base.

In the Community

For 19 consecutive years, the American public has rated nursing as the most ethical and

honest profession, granting it considerable influence in the community (Gaines, 2021). Nurses

should leverage this influence to impact not just the individual patients with whom they interact,

but the communities at-large in which patients live. Florence Nightingale’s environmental

theory argued that the person and the environment are inherently linked, meaning altering one’s

environment can have significant effects on one’s health. Nightingale’s belief led her to
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challenge and dismantle unjust social policies against women. Additionally, while caring for

British soldiers in India, she concluded the best way to keep the British healthy was to improve

the health of the entire Indian community through cleaner water and irrigation, housing reform,

and education about hygiene and garbage disposal (Hegge, 2013). Today’s nurses should also

seek opportunities to advocate for improving community environments and social policies.

The Health Belief Model is a helpful predictor of human behavior that explores one’s

perceived susceptibility to and severity of an illness, perceived benefits of taking action, and

perceived ability to take action. In this framework, nurses can effectively influence the

community and improve public health by acting as educators and motivators for action.

Currently, health care professionals are interacting with the Health Belief Model worldwide in an

effort to educate society about the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and the efficacy of

vaccinations (Wong et al., 2020).

Interprofessional Collaboration

Nursing is a team effort requiring constant collaboration. In my rehabilitation setting,

nurses regularly collaborate with doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, and specialists in speech

therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and respiratory therapy. The ANA’s Code of

Ethics includes a charge to “value the distinctive contribution of individuals or groups as they

seek to achieve safe, quality patient outcomes in all settings” (ANA, 2015, p. 4). Understanding

and valuing each role in the bigger picture of the health care team is crucial for effectively

managing patient care.

Researchers studying teamwork theory have identified mutual trust as a recurring trait in

effective teams (Salas et al., 2013). Nurses can build this mutual trust through consistent honesty

and accountability. If others know you will be truthful and admit when a mistake has been
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made, relationships will deepen, and collaboration will be enhanced. Conversely, blaming others

and failing to follow through on commitments deteriorates trust.

Guiding Principles

The presence of ethics is essential to nursing as they inform a nurse’s judgment and

clinical decision-making. When following an appropriate ethical or moral framework, the nurse

can perform his or her duties with a clear conscience knowing principles were the guide. There

are many ethical and moral rules that guide my nursing practice, some which feel more

consistently relevant in my area of acute rehabilitation.

Autonomy and Self-determination

Autonomy is a primary ethical principle of nursing that recognizes a patient’s right to

make their own health care decisions, even if that means refusing a recommended treatment.

Respecting this right to self-determination means nurses may not use pressure, force, or deceit to

influence patient decisions. Nurses should be skilled in communicating the appropriate facts to

assist a patient in making an informed decision, and then the nurse must respect the patient’s

choice. In the rehabilitation context, there are times when a patient does not want to work on

feeding, dressing, or hygiene. In these moments, it is the patient’s choice, despite my best

recommendations and encouragement. It is important for the nurse to remain calm and

respectful, recognizing a patient’s autonomy over his or her own body.

Respecting Human Worth and Dignity

According to the ANA’s Code of Ethics, “The worth of a person is not affected by

illness, ability, socioeconomic status, functional status, or proximity to death” (ANA, 2015, p .1).

For a rehab nurse, a patient’s ability and functional status are almost always significantly

compromised. These present deficiencies, however, should never diminish the worth and dignity
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afforded a patient. A patient may feel embarrassed over not being able to do something they

used to, like pulling up their pants or brushing their teeth. Nurses lead the way in affirming

human value regardless of one’s abilities or circumstances.

Conclusion

I believe nursing to be a marriage between a compassionate heart for people and a

motivated mind for learning: an art and a science. My purpose as a nurse is to participate in the

health journey of others, whether working to prevent illness before it presents or intervening

afterwards with the intent to heal. I am committed to engaging in effective transcultural nursing

with my patients, promoting health in my community, and fostering teamwork among my

coworkers. Driven by a respect for autonomy, self-determination, and the innate worth of human

life, I strive to be the type of nurse I would want to care for my own children.

Reflection

I found this personal exploration to be helpful in focusing and grounding my practice as a

nurse. Nursing is a career highly susceptible to burnout due to staff shortages, highly demanding

work, potential for unreasonable expectations, and the overall stressful environments, among

other factors. Regularly revisiting my purpose and inspiration in nursing should be helpful in

combating some of the normal wear and tear of the job. For the first time I also thought through

the ways my ethical framework practically plays out in daily practice. Connecting various

theories and moral rules to concrete examples improved my confidence in my potential for

developing strong clinical judgment. It was an impactful experience to notice that these

principles are not only nice philosophical talking points, but also practical and relevant for

everyday nursing.
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References

American Nurses Association. (n.d.). What is nursing?

https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/workforce/what-is-nursing/

American Nurses Association. (2015). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements.

https://www.nursingworld.org/coe-view-only

Burnell, L. (2009). Compassionate care: a concept analysis. Home Health Care Management &

Practice, 21(5), 319-324. https://doi.org/fj7xz4

Busher Betancourt, D.A. (2015). Madeleine Leininger and the transcultural theory of nursing.

The Downtown Review, 2(1).

https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=tdr

Gaines, K. (2021, January 19). Nurses ranked most trusted profession 19 years in a row.

https://nurse.org/articles/nursing-ranked-most-honest-profession/

Hegge, M. (2013). Nightingale’s environmental theory. Nursing Science Quarterly, 26(3),

211-219. https://doi.org/gnvm

International Council of Nurses. (2021). Nursing definitions.

https://www.icn.ch/nursing-policy/nursing-definitions

Salas, E., Tannenbaum, S. I., Cohen, D., & Latham, G. (Eds.). (2013). Developing and

enhancing teamwork in organizations: evidence-based best practices and guidelines.

John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/odu/detail.action?docID=1195720#

Wong, L.P., Alias, H., Wong, P., Lee, H.Y., & AbuBakar, S. (2020). The use of the health belief

model to assess predictors of intent to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and willingness to

pay. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 16(1), 2204-2214. https://doi.org/ghc7bn

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HONOR PLEDGE

“I pledge to support the Honor System of Old Dominion University. I will refrain from any form
of academic dishonesty or deception, such as cheating or plagiarism. I am aware that as a
member of the academic community, it is my responsibility
to turn in all suspected violators of the Honor Code. I will report to a hearing if summoned.”

_______Patrick P. Willis_______________________ (Print Name)

_______Patrick P. Willis________________ Signature __________7/17/21________Date