NURSING PHILOSOPHY 1

NURSING PHILOSOPHY
ASHLYN BENJAMIN
OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY
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Nursing Philosophy

My name is Ashlyn Benjamin. Ever since I was a little girl, my dream was always to

become a nurse. I grew up with family in the medical field; however, none of them were nurses.

It was nice to be able to catch a glimpse of the environment while visiting my mom at work. It

wasnt until my grandmother was reaching her final months that really opened my eyes to my

passion for wanting to help others. After she passed, I made it my goal to pursue my dreams to

be able to make a difference in peoples lives. Nursing is such an amazing field to be in because

of the high demand, the ability to touch others and make a difference in peoples lives, and to

have an impact on your own life as well.

Definition of nursing

There are many definitions of nursing. The word nurse comes from the Latin word nurtix,

which means to nourish. The American Nurses Association (ANA) defines nursing as the

Protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury,

facilitation of healing, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human

response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and

populations. The International Council of Nurses (2010) describes nursing as, Nursing

encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups, and

communities, sick or well in all settings. (Lillis, Lynn & Taylor, 2015) My definition of nursing

is very similar to what these organizations have defined it to be. When I define nursing, I define

it to be the act of promoting health, preventing illness, caring for people of all ages whether they

be sick or well, and always treating patients as well as families, staff, etc. with dignity and

respect.
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Purpose of nursing/values and beliefs

The purpose of nursing is the ability to promote health, prevent illness, restore health and

to facilitate coping with disability or death. A nurse has many different roles which include the

following: caregiver, communicator, leader, educator, advocate, etc. Health promotion plays a

very important part in nursing. Nurses promote health by identifying and analyzing problems,

strengths, weaknesses, etc. The main goal is to increase a persons well-being and health

progress. The goal for preventing illness is to reduce the chances of getting ill or reducing the

risks of further illness. For example, you can promote good health habits or even arrange a class

for smoking cessation. Teaching plays a major role in preventing illness. Educational programs,

community programs, health assessments, literature, etc. would all be great ways to help prevent

illness. When restoring health, the nurse takes action by performing assessments, referring and

reporting abnormal findings, planning, teaching, and providing direct care to the patient. Lastly,

it is very important to be there for your patient and family during a hard time such as death. It is

important to ensure that the patient as well as their family is as comfortable as possible during a

situation.

Personal values and beliefs

Those four factors listed above help contribute to my own personal values and beliefs of

how nursing is looked at. As a nurse, you are expected to follow ethics, have the ability to learn

as well as already have a vast amount of knowledge, be able to critically think, have dignity and

respect for yourself as well as others, always maintain a positive attitude and professionalism,

etc. From our textbook, it states, Identification of personal values helps nurses understand why

certain situations bother them. The knowledge helps nurses decide whether they can accept

differences in values when providing care. (Blais & Hayes, 2016) I had never thought of it this
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way, but when reading it, I cant agree with it more! It also states, Nurses must be aware of their

own values and attitudes in order to recognize when a situation might affect the care they are

able to provide. (Blais & Hayes, 2016) Your own personal values and beliefs are extremely

important in the medical field. For example, I know a woman who tried for months and months

to get pregnant. She was so happy and grateful when she heard the news that she was expecting.

However, two weeks prior to her due date, her world fell apart. She went to the doctor and found

out that her baby was dead but had to deliver the baby. This woman I am talking about is a nurse.

A few months pass and she comes to work to find out that on her assignment was a pregnant

woman who used drugs and alcohol to try to kill her baby because she didnt want it. The woman

I knew refused to take care of the patient because she didnt agree with what the patient was

doing to the innocent child that could possibly have a life. That example just shows how your

personal values and beliefs can affect the care you give to your patients.

Two principles and rules

The first rule is to always maintain professionalism. Your professionalism plays a major

role in the field. The main components are your professional attire as well as how you carry

yourself. You should always have a positive attitude and you should come off as neat, clean,

competent and confident! A patient is more likely to trust a nurse with their care if they come off

as competent and confident in the care they are giving. Rudeness, sloppiness, inattention to a

person, and other breaches of professionalism undermine the nurses professional image and the

effectiveness of individual nurses. (Lillis, Lynn & Taylor, 2015) For example, I make sure my

scrubs are wrinkle free and neat coming to work every day. No matter the day I am having, I

always make sure to meet the needs of my patients with a positive attitude. I make sure the

patient is satisfied with their care. The second rule I would like to state is the need for further
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education. By education, it doesnt always mean you need to go back to school for a higher

degree. I just think its important to keep up with your skills and have classes now and then to

ensure we are competent in the work we are giving. For example, every year we have a whole

list of modules we must complete as well as classes throughout the year we must attend. Next

week I even have a skills day where we must present our skills as well as refresh our minds to

other things such as bloodborne pathogens. We also have at work different meetings you can

attend that go over important as well as useful information. I think classes like this should be

mandatory for all nurses. Education plays an important role in the medical field, and there is

nothing wrong with expanding your knowledge even farther.

Conclusion

Nursing is one of the most important jobs in the world. Without nurses, who would there

be to give the care to patients in need like we can? When it comes to nursing, we are expected to

have a purpose, values, and beliefs. Ive learned a lot from this assignment. I had never thought

deeply about what my own personal values and beliefs are and how that can affect my care in the

medical field. I made a list of things that I could agree with that others may not. My goal is to be

the best nurse I can possibly be to my patients someday. I have established my own set of values

and beliefs, and I am determined to carry them out in the field, but not let them affect the care of

others. Our goal is to promote health and prevent illness. My goal is to also carry out the

principles that I believe in of professionalism and education needs. I believe if we all develop

relationships, values, and beliefs, that every nurse can be successful in their career.
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References

American Nurses Association (ANA). (n.d.). What is Nursing? Retrieved from

http://www.nursingworld.org/EspeciallyForYou/What-is-Nursing

Blais, K., & Hayes, J. S. (2016). Professional nursing practice: Concepts and perspectives.

Taylor, C., Lillis, C., & Lynn, P. (2015). Fundamentals of nursing: The art and science of

person-centered nursing care.