Running head: NURSING PHILOSOPHY

Personal Philosophy of Nursing

Karen E. Cheeks
Old Dominion University

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2
Personal Nursing Philosophy

From the beginning of my nursing education to my practice as a registered nurse I

have always attempted to keep at the forefront of my mind the reasons why I chose
nursing as a profession. My personal philosophy has been shaped by the early influences
that I encountered as a child and young adult with the nursing field. The philosophy that
I ascribe to is that every human being is deserving of optimal health care and to support
my patients by giving the best of my clinical expertise with an human touch. Nursing
was always presented to me as an honorable and noble profession that encompasses all of
human kind, and I strive to uphold that influence as I impart nursing care.
Definition of Nursing
According to Tschudin (2013), the essence of nursing can be defined as
professionals who are entrusted with the responsibility of striving in their duties to
alleviate the suffering of human beings at their greatest need. Nursing as a profession has
had many definitions assign to it. Even though the nursing field is evolving in how it
defines itself, at its core the main objective of nursing remains its commitment to society
in providing the very best in healthcare. Tschudin (2013) states, Only in specific
circumstances are nurses responsible for patients and clients, but in all circumstances
they are responsible to them, which is important at understanding care at every level
(p. 125).
Nursing is overwhelmingly viewed by the public as being the face of compassion
in the healthcare field. The majority of nurses as they go about their daily duties make
great effort to not only demonstrate excellent clinical skills but compassion as they carry
out their nursing duties. The professional nurse recognizes that to achieve optimum

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outcomes for the patient all aspects of their needs have to be addressed. The needs of a
patient that are implemented into nursing practice are psychosocial, social, and physical
care requirements ( Scott, Matthews & Kirwan, 2014).
Because the nursing field has probably the greatest amount of direct contact with
patients, nursing has the opportunity to also be significantly influential in a patients
perception of healthcare delivery. Scott et. al.(2014) reports that, Patient satisfaction
with their healthcare experience is directly correlated with their perceptions of nursing;
which is mediated through patient interaction with nursing staff (p. 26). Nursing today
is defined by its past history, but still continues to broaden the public awareness of the
fields many attributes. Nursing for the most part has moved beyond the image of the
doctors handmaiden and made progressive strides in demonstrating nurses clinical
competence. Though nursing is valued for its clinical skill, it should never stray from its
roots of delivering healthcare with compassion. This is further emphasized by the
statement Good nursing is crucial because its absence means a patients experience that
verges on inhumane. When nurses get it right, we no less than touch and transform
peoples lives at what is often their lowest ebb. Conversely, uncaring, negligent and
couldnt care less nurses blight the lives, health and dignity of those that depend on
them ( Scott et. al., 2014, p. 30,31).
Purpose of Nursing
Nursings purpose I believe is to assist patients in attaining or maintaining their
optimal health. The nursing profession has the unique ability to be influential in how
healthcare is delivered to patients. The purpose of nursing is for nurses to deliver
excellent care with their nursing knowledge along with the compassion and care that the

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nursing field is well known for. Even though nursing is largely portrayed as a caring
profession, the fields clinical expertise should not be undermined. I have been able to
witnessed nurses who have been able to remain calm in a emergency situation while
giving expert care to the patients, and still be able to be of comfort to the patients and
their families when necessary. Sturgeon (2008) writes,
Whereas medicine represents technical, science-based approach to patient care,
nursing is seen to offer more compassionate work ethic. Caring in nursing
therefore is often described exclusively in emotional terms, with little or no
reference to the plethora of specialist knowledge and skills that underpin much
daily nursing practice (p.322).
The compassion component of nursing care does not have to be relegated to the
back burner to elevate nursings professional status, but neither should our nursing
knowledge and skills. Nursings purpose should be to collective acknowledge that they
are members of a highly skilled knowledge based profession that makes concrete and
measurable contributions to the health and wellbeing of patients (Sturgeon, 2008,
p.324).
At the forefront, the purpose of nursing should always have the patients best
interest in mind, and deliver healthcare with a clinical expertise and a human touch.
Values and Beliefs about Nursing
Nursing values brings so many positive benefits to the healthcare system. Some
of the values that nursing embraces are compassion, clinical expertise, and treating the
patient holistically.

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Compassion is one of the top values that are associated with the nursing field.
Compassion as defined by Merriam-Webster (2014), is a sympathetic consciousness of
others distress together with a desire to alleviate it (Merriam-Webster, 2014). Without
compassion for our patients we would be compared to robots. Imparting nursing care to a
patient involves treating that patient how they would want to be treated if the tables were
reversed. Nursing goes beyond just medically treating the patient, but also being able to
comfort the patient when necessary.
Nurses who have been through the rigorous training of nursing school know for a
fact that the healthcare system would not function efficiently without the expertise of
nurses. There is no substitute for good nursing, and thats why nursing knowledge and
skills is of high value. Possessing nursing knowledge and skill is what is able to set the
nursing profession apart from someone randomly calling himself or herself a professional
nurse. Nursing knowledge and skills are visible measurements of our value to the
healthcare system.
Last but certainly not least is the value that the nursing profession places on
treating the patient holistically. The nursing field has been at the forefront at recognizing
the importance of treating all aspects of a patient to obtain a maximum positive outcome.
This concept of the value of nursing approaching healthcare holistically is backed by
evidence-based research. In their article Scott et. al.(2014) states, Empirical work over
the past decade shows support for this conceptualization of nursing practice in terms of
psychosocial support, and a recognition of the patient-client as a whole person, with
psychological, social, and physical care requirements (p. 25). This statement correlates
with my belief that because of this value, nursing offers a valuable approach at treating

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the patient not as a diagnosis that needs to be fixed, but as a human being who presents
with unique needs that are not always associated with his medical diagnosis, but of no
less importance in factoring how care will be administered.
Two Principles that Guide Professional Practice
Two principles I have incorporated into my nursing practice is offering support,
and being an advocate for patients whenever necessary.
Being supportive towards a patient goes beyond just taking care of a patients
clinical needs. When a patient is absorbed with problems outside of their medical needs,
this can sometimes impede the healing process. I was once able to offer support to a
young mother, who was admitted to our floor and was emotionally distraught, because
prior to her hospital admission she was unable to find appropriate childcare arrangements
for her child. I assured her that I would do everything I could to help ease her concerns
about the wellbeing of her child. I located the social worker and informed her of my
patients situation. The social worker was able to place my patients child in a safe
environment until the patient was discharged from the hospital. Because of this support
the patient was able to focus on healing and made a speedy recovery.
A patient advocate is a guiding principle that governs my nursing practice. I can
recall having a patient that had terminal cancer, and his family members wanted him to be
resuscitated when the need arose. At the beginning of my shift as I entered this patients
room it was visibly apparent that he was having respiratory difficulty. After quickly
conferring with the respiratory therapist I thought the patient would have a better chance
of survival if he was placed in a critical care unit where he could have one on one
attention. The charge nurse was hesitant to make the transfer, because the family

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members had voiced their preference for our floor. Education was done with the family
members regarding transferring patient to a specialized unit to achieve best outcome.
Realizing that I needed to act quickly, I obtained an order for transfer from the patients
primary physician, and with the assistance of the charge nurse transferred the patient. The
patient did code later that day and he was able to survive. The family was happy that I
had been aggressive in obtaining the best care for him. Trying to do what is best for a
patient is at the core of what I believe being a patient advocate is.
Conclusion
This paper has served the purpose of analyzing the components that have shaped
my personal nursing philosophy. This analysis included defining nursing, the purpose of
nursing, values and beliefs associated with nursing, and principles that have guided my
professional practice. Certain attributes such as strong clinical skills and delivering
nursing care with compassion remain at the core of defining nursing. The purpose of
nursing is viewed thru my lens as largely implementing compassion and clinical skills.
Highly regarded values and beliefs of the nursing field explored were: compassion,
clinical expertise, and holistic treatment of the patient. Finally I examined two principles
that have guided my nursing practice as being a patient advocate and a source of support
to enable the success of my patients health outcomes.
Reflection
This assignment was useful in to aiding my analysis of the various approaches
that I utilize in my nursing practice. Researching other nurses and institutions nursing
philosophy was an informative method in being able to construct my own nursing

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philosophy. After completing this paper, I believe it will be conducive to my nursing

practice to review my nursing philosophy periodically.
References
Compassion. [Def. 1]. In Merriam-Websters online dictionary (11th edition). Retrieved
October 24, 2014 from http://www.merriam-webster.com.
Scott, P., Matthews, A., & Kirwan, M. (2014). What is nursing in the 21st century and
what does the 21st century health system require of nursing? Nursing Philosophy,
15(1), 23-34. doi: 10.1111/nup.12032
Sturgeon, D. (2008). Skills for caring: valuing knowledge of applied science in nursing.
British Journal of Nursing, 17(5), 322-325.
Tschudin, V. (2013). Two decades of Nursing Ethics: Some thoughts on the changes.
Nursing Ethics, 20(2), 123-125. doi: 10.1177/0969733012473013

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Honor Code
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 responsibility to turn in all
suspected violators of the Honor Code. I will report to a hearing if summoned.

Karen Cheeks
November 3, 2014