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Professional Nursing Philosophy

Daniela Dursch-Smith

College of Nursing, University of Arizona

NURS 478: Nursing Leadership and Management in the Healthcare Setting

Sarah Hoogasian

November 20th, 2023

Introduction

To me nursing is not just one thing–it is an ever evolving practice that requires honor,

compassion, empathy, and resilience. I often think about how nurses are sometimes the only

health care workers that are focused on the patient, not their diagnosis. We are the most trusted

profession because we are honorable–we use our morals and ethical beliefs to guide our practice.

We are not afraid to advocate for all of our patients including those who are not able to advocate

for themselves. I have quickly realized nursing is a 24/7 honor that I will carry with me for the

rest of my life. I have already begun to receive late night texts from family asking me what their

laboratory results mean from their doctor’s appointments. My roommate, who was recently

diagnosed with lupus, constantly turns to me for medical advice and then a shoulder to cry on.

Throughout these past two years, I have been able to develop my own personal mission in

nursing, to provide exceptional care while preserving the dignity of all the patients I serve. This

includes striving to provide culturally competent care, continuing to talk to my ventilated

patients, and to hold my coworkers (both nurses and other healthcare professionals) to the same

standards I have set for myself.

Defining My Nursing Practice

Throughout my nursing career I will continuously lean on not only my skills, but my

values and beliefs to guide me through the profession. The values that I choose to direct my

nursing practice include: empathy, integrity, advocacy, and equity. Throughout my nursing

career I have been taught the difference between sympathy and empathy multiple times. I have

learned that empathizing with a patient can produce a far greater effect than sympathy. When

caring for patients I work to put myself in their shoes and share their emotions, rather than taking

pity on them. This can foster trust leading to an overall better patient outcome. Integrity
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encompasses multiple qualities I hope to carry with me throughout my nursing career–trust,

consistency, honor, and having a strong moral compass. I must consistently do the right thing,

even if there is no one to hold me to that standard. I think advocacy is something that is often

overlooked in the nursing profession. Many patients do not realize the behind the scenes work

put in to ensure quality care. I must also advocate for myself. Whether it is striking due to unsafe

working conditions or setting clear boundaries between work and professional life, nurses must

ensure that they are being respected and valued along with their patients. While embodying these

values to deliver excellent care, it is important that I provide equitable care as well. I will assess

each patient’s individual needs and abilities and provide care based on my assessment. While

some may strive to equally divide time and attention to each patient, I will work to ensure every

patients’ needs are met knowing that some may require more help than others. Using these core

values to guide me through my nursing profession, I believe I will be able to fulfill my mission

in nursing, to provide exceptional care while preserving the dignity of my patients.

Throughout the past two years I have learned how to perform a thorough assessment,

effectively communicate with peers and healthcare professionals, and how to provide treatment

to my patients (pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic). This past summer I worked ten weeks on

an emergency department unit in New York City. This experience developed my critical thinking

skills, I am now able to effectively think on my feet and relay information to the interdisciplinary

team. Teamwork is another essential skill I learned in nursing school. These past two years have

consisted of multiple group projects, simulation scenarios, interprofessional events, learning

about communication techniques, and communicating within the interdisciplinary team during

clinicals. These skills that I have fostered, have allowed me to rise to the challenges nursing

presents in its ever changing profession.

These beliefs, values, and skills have given me the opportunity to provide excellent care

to many patients throughout my schooling. This past summer, in the emergency department, my

nurse and I were assigned a patient that came in due to frequent worsening headaches over the

past few weeks. They were quickly diagnosed with a brain tumor. This patient was only a few

years older than me. I was quick to use my communication skills to advocate for this patient.

They were originally sharing a room with another patient but were escorted to an individual

room before they received the news (and where they stayed for the remainder of their time) due

to patient advocacy. This is where I learned the importance of equity–we had many patients who

were in hallways or sharing rooms, but I knew that this patient’s needs were much different than

my other patients. While this patient received attention from many other healthcare

professionals, I continued to practice with integrity, never discussing the patient’s treatment with

someone who was not on the team. I ensured that my nurse and I were staying on top of this

patient’s pain regimen, knowing that this was one of the only things we could do to provide some

relief. This is an experience that I will carry with me throughout my career and proudly reflect on

for years to come.

Integrative Nursing Principles

The combination of my beliefs, values, and skills along with the integrative nursing

principles have allowed me to provide excellent care. The integrative nursing principles have

shown me how to use evidence based strategies to support myself and my patients as a whole,

including the mind, body, and spirit. Including the integrative nursing principles in the

foundation of my care allows for a relationship-based care that is patient-centered. These

principles are tightly intertwined with my core values–empathy, integrity, advocacy, and equity–

and embody what it means to be a nurse.

One of my favorite integrative nursing principles that I will continue to base my care off

of is that human beings are whole systems inseparable from their environments (Kreitzer, 2015).

It is important to understand that patients are not their diagnosis and how impactful a person’s

relationships, experiences, community, and beliefs are on their recovery. The communication

skills I have developed will allow me to advocate for individuals, not their diagnoses. It will also

allow me to advocate for my patients; many patients have specific cultural beliefs that need to be

communicated and respected. In the past, this has allowed me to ensure proper translation is

being provided, ask about spiritual concerns during a comprehensive physical assessment, and

tailor a plan of care that reflects the patient’s wishes.

Another integrative nursing principle that I will utilize in my career is that integrative

nursing is person-centered and relationship-based (Kreitzer, 2015). My relationships with my

patients should be fostered through empathy, integrity, and caring communication, much like my

core values. My care will cover all aspects of a person, including their mind, body, and spirit. To

foster this principle, this past summer I would always pick up a few warm blankets before

entering a new patient's room. The emergency department was always cold, and I would often

walk in on patients shivering. By starting out their journey of care with a simple act of bringing

warm blankets, the patients usually gained respect and trust in me. This allowed me to really

listen to the patient’s needs and act accordingly.

My third integrative nursing principle that I will work to embody in my career is that

integrative nursing focuses on the health and wellbeing of caregivers as well as those they serve

(Kreitzer, 2015). This is where advocating not only for my patients, but myself as well comes

into play. I must be empathetic towards myself and give myself the same grace I give my

patients. This can be shown through using my communication skills to convey when I am in
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need of a break, calling out if I feel sick, and practicing self-care at home. This semester I have

built in some self-care habits such as exercising a few times a week, ensuring adequate sleep, and

practicing gratitude. I hope to be able to maintain these activities throughout my nursing career.

My Impact on the Profession

I hope to positively impact every person that I come into contact with within the nursing

profession. This could include putting a smile on a patient on one of their toughest days,

fostering an awesome learning environment for a student nurse, or helping a fellow nurse when

their workload is far greater than mine. By letting my core beliefs and values influence my

actions, I hope to inspire those around me–I want people to say, ‘I hope to be as good of a nurse

as Dani one day’. Like I mentioned above, equity is one of my values. At the core of equity is

cultural competence, with the first step being cultural humility. Before stepping into an

unfamiliar situation it is important to take a moment to acknowledge my biases and implement

strategies to overcome them. I must assess needs at an individual level, and acknowledge how

our differences only make us stronger.

Conclusion

Throughout these past two years in nursing school have shaped my skills, beliefs, and

values that I will use to guide my future in the nursing field. To me, nursing is not just a

profession, but a continuous commitment to empathy, integrity, advocacy, and equity. The

integrative nursing principles further enhance my approach, emphasizing the importance of

person-center, relationship-based, holistic care for myself and my patients. As I continue into the

nursing profession I aim to provide excellent care and to contribute to the growth of the

profession.
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References

Kreitzer M. J. (2015). Integrative nursing: application of principles across clinical settings.

Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal, 6(2), https://doi.org/10.5041/RMMJ.10200