Running head: PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING

Personal Philosophy of Nursing

Kelley Schlosshan
Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing
Transition to Baccalaureate Nursing
NUR 3240
Trina Gardner, MSN,RN
October 06, 2016
Honor Code: "I Pledge."

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Personal Philosophy of Nursing

The American Nursing Association 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." (American Nurses
Association, 2016) A patient is anyone under medical care or treatment. (Dictionary.com,
2016)My philosophy statement in nursing is to treat others as you wish to be treated, smile and
respect all patients. Compassionate nursing care should include the qualities of caring, patience,
respect, and ensuring the patient has a sense of dignity and self-worth.
My theory of nursing is closely correlated to Jean Watson's nursing theory, the
philosophy of human caring. Her theory incorporates four key concepts; person, environment,
health, and nursing. A person is one who looks at the body, mind, and spirit. (Masters, 2017, p.
54) Patients are to be valued, cared for, respected, nurtured, understood and assisted. Watson
defines environment as "the nurse is not only in the environment but the nurse is the
environment." (Masters, 2017, p. 54) Health and healing are harmony, wholeness, and comfort.
(Masters, 2017, p. 54) The nursing concept is holistic health care which is essential for the
practice of caring in nursing by considering the physical, emotional, social, economic, and
spiritual needs of the person. (Jean Watson Nursing Theory, 2016) Her theory is based on ten
clinical carative factors which she describes as the core of nursing with a basis in the philosophy,
science, and the art of caring. (Masters, 2017, p. 55) Watsons theory provides guidelines for
patient to nurse interactions and patient centered nursing care.
In my practice of nursing, I introduce myself, explain what will take place during their
visit, and tell them the approximate length of their visit, ask them if they have questions, provide

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education and include the patients family if possible. I respect people of other races, religion,
ages, and countries and do not pass judgement. A simple smile is sometimes all it takes to make
a difference. Recently I had a Spanish speaking patient that knew very little English. I used the
interpreter line to go over everything with him and made sure he understood his instructions
prior to surgery. I spent additional time with him, speaking slowly so the interpreter could hear
and relay my questions. At the end of his visit I ensured through the interpreter that all the
patients questions had been answered. Each patient cared for has a unique set of circumstances
and regardless of their nationality, language barrier, or age. It is important to treat each
individual with the dignity and respect they deserve.
As a nurse, it is my responsibility to follow the Bon Secours values. The eight Bon
Secours values are respect, justice, integrity, stewardship, compassion, quality, growth, and
innovation. (Bon Secours, 2016) The two values that are the most important to my personal
philosophy statement are respect and quality. Respecting people is ensuring everyone is treated
with dignity. Respect is the most important value when treating a patient. Respect starts at the
beginning of the appointment when addressing the patient as they wish to be addressed. It
continues when I knock on the door before entering a patients room, this respects their privacy
at a time when they are most vulnerable. I also believe respect is ensuring the patient realizes I
know their time is as valuable as mine when I let them know the approximate length of their
appointment. Respect is also ensuring each patient in our care is treated equally and provided
excellent care regardless of their beliefs, nationality or age. The Spanish speaking patient I
treated is an example of ensuring all patients are treated with respect. By utilizing the interpreter
I ensured the patient was communicated with in their language and also respecting the values of
care unique to their Hispanic culture. The interpreter helped eliminate potential uncertainties in

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their care. The Bon Secours value of quality is always important to me because I feel that each
patient deserves the best care and nothing less. Quality covers many aspects of a patients care
from striving to provide the best care possible, improve care and ensuring the confidentially of
all patient data. Data confidentiality is the first step in safeguarding the quality of a patients
care; keep all patient information confidential by ensuring patients charts are turned over; never
discuss any patients information in the open and only discuss patient information with the
people involved in their care. The quote from Albert Schweitzer "I can do no other than to have
compassion for all that is called life. That is the beginning and the foundation of all
ethics."(Quote authors.com, n.d.) . My values and beliefs as a nurse have not changed as I always
strive to provide the best patient care and give the patient the dignity that they deserve. I always
want to treat others the same way I want to be treated.
The Bon Secours values ensure we provide each patient cared for with good help and
compassionate care. Nursing is a very rewarding profession. When nurses go above and beyond
their duties and adjust to the patient's needs, it makes a differences in patient care and
satisfaction. My commitment as a nurse is to ensure professionalism is used to deliver
compassionate and accountable care to all regardless of their race, religion or ability to pay. Jean
Watson's theory is more about being than doing and it centers on the care of the patient.

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References
American Nurses Association. (2016). http://www.nursingworld.org/EspeciallyForYou/What-isNursing
Bon Secours (2016) Our Mission. https://bonsecours.com/richmond/about-us/bon-secourshealth-system/our-mission
Dictionary.com. (2016). http://www.dictionary.com/browse/patients
Jean Watson Nursing Theory. (2016). http://www.nursing-theory.org/theories-andmodels/watson-philosophy-and-science-of-caring.php
Masters, K. (2017). Role development in the professional nursing practice (4th ed.). Burlington,
MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.
Quote authors.com. (n.d.). http://www.quoteauthors.com/albert-schweitzer-quotes/