Professional Nursing Philosophy

Leah E. Belk

Department of Nursing, Delaware Technical Community College

NUR 300: RN to BSN Transition

Jeanmarie Maloney

December 4, 2020
 Professional Nursing Philosophy

My family instilled values and beliefs in me when I was young and those are to always

be respectful and treat others the way you would like to be treated. I will carry these with me

to my patient care. I always want my patients to feel respected and heard so that my patient

trusts me with their care. Health is defined differently according to each person, so it is

important as a nurse to understand this while being part of a patient’s healthcare team.

Knowing that I can contribute to my patient’s recovery gives me a sense of personal pride in

this profession. Continued education in the field of nursing to better educate me about my

patients will improve my skills as a nurse.

Lifelong learning not only enhances our understanding of the world around us, but it also

provides us with more opportunities in our careers. This type of learning requires the learner to

be self-motivated which is extremely important in any career. Lifelong learning shows a

commitment to improving and bettering yourself in your career. It also gives me more

confidence in my career and patient care which in the long run, will benefit my patients’ and

their outcomes. In the medical field, things are quickly changing and there is always something

new to learn. “With an exponential growth of medical knowledge and rapid development of

biomedical advances, health care professionals are facing challenges of staying current and

applying the growing medical knowledge to caring for individual patients” (Mi & Riley-Doucet,

2016).

The theory that most fits my values and beliefs about nursing is Virginia Henderson’s

14 Components of Basic Nursing Care because these are needs that contribute to the wellness

of the patient. The needs that Virginia outlined are very basic but important parts of nursing

care and autonomy of the patient. This nursing theory is very valuable to me because it

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outlines essential skills a nurse should have. “Nursing theories provide foundational

knowledge that enables nurses to care for their patients and guides their actions” (Gaines,

2020). This theory will help me develop my own nursing philosophy because all of these

basic needs are what have been taught to us already throughout nursing school. And although

they are basic needs, they are so extremely important and foundational in nursing. Henderson

believed that “the beauty of medicine and nursing is the combination of your heart, your head

and your hands and where you separate them, you diminish them” (Masters, 2019, p. 57).  

There is stress in all jobs, but there is especially high stress for healthcare workers who

are putting their patients first at all times. It can be hard to find time to focus on personal

wellness which can be detrimental to mental health and your career. As a part of my nursing

philosophy of treating people well and the way I would want to be treated, in order to achieve

that, I also need to treat myself well and that begins with my personal wellness. According to

Kelly Hancock (2017) from the Cleveland Clinic, some tips for personal wellness include

“focus energy on what you want, not on what you don’t want and invest your full and best

energy in the moments that matter the most”. It is personally important to me to find time to

exercise and plan my meals so that I do not have to worry about adding more stress into my

life. But another important part of personal wellness is spiritual, emotional and social

wellbeing which is definitely tough to focus on. Spiritual wellness is something that I need to

improve on and includes finding meaning in life events and individual purpose (“Spiritual

Wellness”). The importance of my personal wellness fits with Virginia Henderson’s 14

components of nursing because they include physiological, psychological, spiritual, and social

components that need to be done to achieve good health (“Henderson’s nursing”, 2019).

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 My conflict management style is collaborating with the other party in order to achieve

both of our goals. I like to hear everyone’s ideas about the situation, and I do not like anyone

to be the “loser” so to speak. This type of management ties into my values and beliefs because

I think everyone should be treated with respect even if there are differences. It is best to have

an open mind about things, especially as a nurse working with a team. Having this type of

management style will benefit me as a nurse and as a team because it will allow me to hear all

sides and collaborate to come up with a solution. Nursing is very team motivated and

everyone wins when we find a solution to a problem.

Patient safety is a vital and essential part of nursing care. Constantly improving nursing

practices to ensure better quality and safety is important to me. Allowing the patient to become

part of the care fits into my nursing philosophy because it makes the patient feel respected and

heard. Through the process of quality improvement, it allows for safe patient outcomes. Nurses

should always be vigilant and patient safety should be a top priority. I know that it is one of my

top priorities on a daily basis when I am working with my patients. My philosophy of caring for

my patients and treating them the way I want to be treated goes hand in hand with safety. If I

were hospitalized, I would want my nurse to always ensure that I am safe. Whether that be with

medications or avoiding injuries.

I think that leadership in nursing and personal nursing philosophies go hand in hand. I

think nursing philosophies or attitudes towards patients can also be translated into how you treat

fellow colleagues. For instance, treating someone the way you would want to be treated.

“Management and leadership of healthcare professionals is critical for strengthening quality and

integration of care” (Sfantou et al., 2017). As a leader, I want my team to be heard and feel

respected always, the same way I want my patients to feel. Being a good leader requires having

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well developed teamwork skills. “Significant positive associations between effective styles of

leadership and high levels of patient satisfaction and reduction of adverse effects have been

reported” (Sfantou et al., 2017).

Having a strong nursing philosophy not only reflects your beliefs and feelings towards

your nursing career but it is important for your care and treatment of patients. A nursing

philosophy is already part of you because it is part of your personality in many ways. “Your

beliefs may be what you have to hang onto when you lose a patient or when a patient makes you

happy and then moves on as their health improves” (“Philosophy of nursing”, 2020). Although I

have only just started my nursing career, I feel that my nursing philosophy is just being formed

and it may change throughout my career. Nursing is ever evolving and there will be many more

insights that will shape my nursing philosophy.

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 References

Dent, B. (2016). The Power of a Leadership Philosophy. Nurse Leader.

Gaines, K. (2020, September 14). What Are Nursing Theories? Nurse.org.

Hancock, K. (2017, January 23). Nurses: Focus on Personal Health and Wellness in the New
Year. Consult QD. https://consultqd.clevelandclinic.org/nurses-focus-personal-health-wellness-
new-year/.

Henderson's Nursing Need Theory. Nursing Theory. (2019, August 21). https://nursing-
theory.org/theories-and-models/henderson-need-theory.php.

Masters, K. (2020). Framework for professional nursing practice. In Role development in

Mi, M., & Riley-Doucet, C. (2016, April 16). Health Professions Students’ Lifelong Learning
Orientation: Associations with Information Skills and Self-Efficacy. View of Health
Professions Students' Lifelong Learning Orientation: Associations with Information Skills
and Self Efficacy.
https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/eblip/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/26088/20487.

QSEN Competencies. (2020). https://qsen.org/competencies/pre-licensure-ksas/.

Sfantou, D., Laliotis, A., Patelarou, A., Sifaki-Pistolla, D., Matalliotakis, M., & Patelarou, E.
(2017, October 14). Importance of Leadership Style towards Quality of Care Measures in
Healthcare Settings: A Systematic Review. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5746707/.

Spiritual Wellness. Spiritual Wellness | Student Health and Counseling Services.

What is a Philosophy of Nursing? (2020). ECPI Blog. https://www.ecpi.edu/blog/what-is-a-