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Mary Lester

Philosophy of Nursing Paper


NUR 4142 Nursing Synthesis
03/23/2015
Prof. Susan Wilkins

Nursing is caring. Nursing is compassion. I define nursing as giving of yourself to help


others. Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursings values are evident in the care we provide.
Respect is an important aspect of our philosophy, mutual respect of patients, families, and
colleagues is what sets us apart from other healthcare providers in the area. The tenet of
respecting the individuals experience is what we strive for. Compassion is key to the care we
provide. Compassion means having empathy for patient situations and genuinely caring for
them. Compassion is one of our core values and enabled us to provide good help to those in
need. Quality health care for our patients is another significant value of Bon Secours.
Providing quality health care means meeting and exceeding standards set by our administration
as well as our patients. Quality also refers to maintaining or enhancing quality practices which is
important in an ever-changing healthcare system. These three values are important in my
nursing practice, as I try to provide care consistently with Bon Secours values in mind.
I strive to treat patients, families, coworkers, and providers with mutual respect, I greet
the janitor with the same attitude and respect as I would the CEO. I also practice respect with
my patients and their families, I keep patients informed regarding their health care, I provide
privacy, and I allow time for families to visit and also allow time for patients to rest and recover.
Compassion is what encompasses my entire nursing practice. I treat all patients with compassion
and caring, without compassion we are just going through the motions. I care about my patients,
I care if they are feeling poorly, I genuinely want them to feel better, and this is compassion. My
goal is quality care and performance every time I walk into the hospital. Providing quality care
means following policy, safety treating patients and doing our best every time, no excuses.
These are just some of the values I live by and practice nursing by.

A good example of how I practice Bon Secours values in my practice is when I was
caring for a patient having a schizophrenic break. When I took over this patient case in the
emergency department the report I received was typically condescending and judgmental. As I
provided care for this patient I treated him as a human being, not some disease. I provided
privacy where I could and respected his boundaries. I made conversation with him when he
asked me questions. When he was being transferred I treated him with respect, I didnt act afraid
or annoyed with him. I took time and care to make him comfortable and get him dressed to the
appropriate level. When he was afraid of having the blood pressure cuff on his bicep, I took his
blood pressure on his forearm; I also adapted my vitals by taking his temperature axillary instead
of orally. Upon his transfer his demeanor was calmer and less distracted, he was cooperative and
was able to communicate with us clearly, unlike before I took over his care. It made me feel like
I was making a difference in his life for a moment and thats what my nursing practice is about.
Upon rereading my original personal philosophy of nursing paper from NUR 1100 I was
pleased to see that most of the values that I identified in myself in my nursing practice hold true
today. I discussed in length about how caring and compassion were high on my list of values I
wanted to display in my nursing practice, two values that still are high on my priority list. Other
values that stood out to me when I wrote that paper were accountability and responsibility,
competence, dependability and promotion of health. I believe that all of these values can tie into
quality. Quality is doing the best you can for your patients, which I strive for every day. From
reading my original philosophy Im pleased to see that my values and beliefs have not changed.
I believe that my values have only gotten stronger as my nursing practice has grown.
Patricia Benners theory From Novice to Expert follows Stuart Dreyfus Skills
Acquisition Model, but is specific to nursing. This model describes five levels of proficiency:

novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient and expert. (Benner, 2001. p. 13-14) In the
novice stage, the nurse has no experience. Advanced beginners have experience and can draw
from that experience in order to assess situations and act accordingly. Competent nurses have
two to three years of experience and start seeing their careers in terms of long-term goals and
aspirations. Proficient nurses can see situations as a whole and not pieces. Expert nurses rely on
experience for guidance to act appropriately. (Benner, 2001. p. 20-31) I would say that I am
currently in the advanced beginner stage. I have had enough experiences that I am not
completely brand new to nursing practice, but I still have a lot of learning in order to be
competent. I have the ability to draw from past nursing experiences and not just rely on textbook
and classroom learning. I recognize it will take time and practice to move to the next stage of
my nursing career, but I look forward to becoming a competent nurse and in the future be labeled
as an expert in my area of practice.
I will need to do many things to move to the next stage of my nursing career. One thing
is to successfully complete my final semester of nursing school, graduate and pass the NCLEX
exam. In order to do this Ill need to stay focused and continue in my studies. Secondly I will
need to obtain an RN position and maintain it for at least two years to become more comfortable
as a new grad nurse and grow my personal values as a nurse. Thirdly I would like to become
more active within shared governance in the hospital system which I obtain an RN position. I
look forward to this next stage in my career and am optimistic about where my future holds as a
nurse.

References
Benner, P. (2001). From novice to expert: Excellence and power in clinical nursing practice
(commemorative ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

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