Running head: PERSONAL NURSING PHILOSOPHY

Personal Nursing Philosophy

Jessica Organt
Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing
Transition to Baccalaureate Nursing
Nur 3240
Professor Karyn Schultz
March 8, 2015

Honor Code I Pledge

Personal Nursing Philosophy
Some people are anxious to prescribe their own system of values to others by implying
what should be. However, each person or group of persons is responsible for delineating their
particular philosophy (Masters, 2014, p. 90). To start, the author is a nurse at the VA Medical
Center, and has been so for the last eight years. In order to begin developing a personal
philosophy, it is important for the author to define a few simple things; nursing, why nursing
exists, and why the author practices nursing.

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What is nursing? Everyone who is asked this question will give a different answer. To
the author, nursing is patient-centered front-line care; practicing at the bedside with care,
empathy, and integrity while using critical thinking to provide the best care for each patient. The
author believes that nursing exists to provide care and comfort to each patient in their time of
need. Nursing means being the eyes and ears for the physicians who are not always present at
the bedside, and knowing when to call the physician. The writer believes that nursing is an
extension of the doctor, another branch of the medicine team that is at the bedside to provide
comfort when scared or in pain, to offer prayer when needed, and educate the patient and
families on any medications or procedures. Nursing should employ all of the values that Bon
Secours has listed: respect, justice, integrity, stewardship, compassion, quality, growth and
innovation (Bon Secours Values, 2015). Nursing should be centered on the patient, not taskoriented. This means that the care for each patient will be individualized, and specific to each
patients needs. Some patients may need more focus on spiritual and psychological health, while
others may need more focus on pain, etc.
So why practice nursing? The author practices nursing to be an invaluable tool in each
patients healing. It is an honor to be a part of a patients healing and care, and to be a part of
their life. The author works with the Veterans Administration, and works to serve the vets who
have already served. The author believes that providing the best care to those who have already
served, is invaluable and a true privilege.
In treating Americas veterans, the author believes it is essential to treat each patient
individually, as every patient will be different. Many soldiers who served have problems with
nightmares and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), while others do not. Nursing should be
person-centered in that each care plan should be individualized according to patient need. A full

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patient assessment should be completed, making sure to include spiritual needs as well. Asking
patients what they value, and what they consider to be important, allows the patient to maintain
some sense of control, and ensures that they feel they have some input in their care.
The environment plays a large part in healing for patients. Much of Florence
Nightingales beliefs focused on environment, and is still important to this day. Her beliefs on a
clean environment free of bugs and dirt, having clean air flow and proper ventilation, proper
nutrition, cleanliness, and noise are still imperative to follow (Masters, 2014). The author
believes that having a clean environment not only provides the proper sanitation to help reduce
bacteria transmission and disease, but also helps relieve stress for the patient. Allowing the
patient to incorporate parts of their personal environment to that of their healthcare environment
can help the patient to feel at home and safe.
Along with the person-centered treatment, each patient should be given the opportunity to
incorporate non-medicinal, homeopathic remedies if they wish. Every patient should be allowed
to practice any religion or treatment modality they wish, as long as it does not pose any safety
concerns. This means other treatments such as music therapy, acupuncture, and chiropractic
medicine should be offered and explained to any patient who inquires.
The author believes that each value under Bon Secours is important to practice. Respect
for the patient, family members, and for the nursing process as a whole, should always be
maintained. Nurses, and all healthcare members, should practice with integrity, honesty and
compassion. Nurses should continue their education, ensuring that they have the most up-to-date
information, as well as implementing evidence-based practice, providing quality care to every
patient (Bon Secours Values, 2015). Nursing leaders such as Jean Watson, suggested that
nursing take a holistic approach, much like the one the author has described. Watson suggests

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that nursing should determine what each patient needs at every encounter; a combination of

physical, mental and spiritual needs, and intervening as necessary (Masters, 2014).
The author envisions nursing to continue on the path that has been laid out by such
leaders and reformers as Nightingale and Watson. Nursing needs to encompass al realms of
health for every patient, and should be individualized for each patient, ensuring that all needs of
the person are met. This is not to say that there wont be any challenges in maintaining this.
Education needs to be a large part of implementing this philosophy, as each nurse needs to
understand how this works. Nurses need to understand that nursing is about the patient as a
whole, not simply just about their lab values and diagnoses. The author hopes that many nurses
take the opportunity to learn about other health care modalities, and any untraditional routes
the patient may wish to take. Nurses should maintain their ethical standards, and always practice
with an open mind and an open heart.

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References

Bon Secours Values (2015) Retrieved February 04, 2015 from www.bshsi.org/about-us-ourmission-our-values.html
Masters, K. (2014). Role development in professional nursing practice (3 ed.). Burlington, MA:
Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.