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Running Head: NURSING PHILOSOPHY

Week 3 Assignment

Nursing Philosophy

Vanessa Benning

Bryant & Stratton College

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NURSING PHILOSOPHY

When I think of the nursing profession the words empathetic, hard-working, sacrifice,

professionalism, and innovators comes to mind. These exact thoughts are what got my interest

peaked into the nursing field. I wanted a career that was going to make a difference, one where

my empathetic nature could work and serve others. There is something so gratifying about

helping those in need and being a pillar of support for people that otherwise might not have it.

To me nursing is a necessary piece of the puzzle that this world just can’t live without. The glue

of the healthcare system, holding every part together for our patients. We are the collaborators,

the educators, the caretaker, the advocate, the management, and the technician. As time moves

forward, we are only going to become an even more integral piece of the healthcare system.

For the short term my biggest goal is to soak up every bit of knowledge I can while in

nursing school. This is the knowledge that is going to allow me to be the innovator I strive to be.

The information that I am going to take away from this will farther open my mind for future

learning the rest of my career. In the long term my goal is to continue my education on a daily

basis. There was a nurse that I came across on a small clinical site. She was one of those people

that inspire you to become the greatest version of yourself. I will never forget meeting her for

the first time and how she enamored me with her knowledge base. Upon asking her “how did

you get so smart” she replied by telling me that she reads new research every single night before

bed. At home she reads up on different medications, new technologies, and studies. This is

interesting to her, and she wanted to be able to piece everything together. This is the kind of

nurse I strive to be. The goal for me is to continually keep up with my education, which in the

long term will not only help my patients but will help my efficiency. It is my sworn duty as a

healthcare professional to treat and help the sick to the best of my ability and judgement. This
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NURSING PHILOSOPHY

philosophy is the core of nursing in my opinion. Knowing our scope, helping those in need,

advocating for our patients and each other, educating the public, and putting people first.

To live out my philosophy every day there must first be a work-life balance. Every

person needs some personal unwind time in order to function properly and safely. Nursing can

be a hectic career that can take a lot out of a person. Fatigue, and burnout are real things that

nurses know too well. The fact of the matter is that you can’t help others if you need help

yourself. Along with work-life balance there must be some away time at work to stay healthy for

our patients. We all know in this career things can turn around quick, and before you know it

your break has come and gone. Making sure that you get some time off the floor is key in

patient safety and job satisfaction. Making sure that you can advocate for yourself and your

needs. When you are living out this philosophy you need to be able to think critically, be

diligent, put forth a radiating positive attitude, and be a leader amongst your peers. Setting a

good example spreads like wildfire, and having a positive attitude can make all the difference in

moral. The next and final step would be coming to the realization that people are who we strive

to save. There was a time a while back that I was reading up on some nursing internet posts. A

nurse had asked her group of peers a procedural question on a diabetic patient. As I scrolled

through the posts I came across a physician that chimed in with her commentary. The first thing

she spoke of in the post was “To start this off we first need to understand that we cant refer to

this patient as a diabetic, this is a person with diabetes.” This struck a chord in me. So often we

think of people as their diagnosis, their history, or their circumstance. We get so mechanical that

we forget the person behind the disease. Maybe they are a mother, maybe they are a teacher,

they are someone’s sister, or someone’s child. There is so much more about the patient than

their illness, and that is what the nursing philosophy is all about.