Running head: NURSING PHILOSOPHY AND GOAL STATEMENTS 1

Nursing Philosophy and Goal Statements

Tatiana Novak

Grand Canyon University: NSG-310

April 15, 2019

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Nursing school teaches students a completely new way of thinking. It enables students to

think critically and prioritize all their actions. It also teaches you to put your patient first and be

their advocate in their time of most need. It is important to find your own philosophy of nursing

to follow so you can shape your caring for patients according to it. Through this assignment I

will discuss my nursing philosophy, how level one has shaped it, and my goals for the rest of the

nursing program.

When asked about what my nursing philosophy is and how I approach it I think of the

nursing theorist Watson and his ten concepts of caring. Specifically, Watson’s concept of having

a holistic approach in caring for patients (Friberg, Creasia, 2015). It is important to not only heal

the patient physically but also heal their mind and soul. I strongly feel that this is equally as

important as medicine or therapy because a patient with a strong will to live, a healthy mind, and

filled soul changes the environment of their healing completely and provides such a great

relationship between the patient and their nurse (Papathanasiou, Sklavou, Kourkouta, 2013). I

also relate to this approach because choose to see my patient as a whole and an individual, not

just the disease or illness they have that is trying to be eradicated. These patients are more than

just their disease and should be addressed as such. The goal of nursing is to care for them

completely as the individual they are and address all their needs. My approach to this type of

nursing care is to talk with the patient and build trust between the patient and myself. After

creating that trust the patient is more likely to open up and share what they are dealing with

internally and how I can help them in every way possible by designing a care specific towards

them.

In my level one classes, I found this holistic theory to be the most interesting and

effective way to heal a patient completely. The professors and books expressed that to be healthy
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has many definitions; it is subjective to the patient. However, I believe that if you have a healthy

mind, body and soul, that this is the true meaning of being healthy which proves as to why the

holistic approach has quickly become my philosophy. It became apparent that all the classes

were designed to teach students how to be a nurse with this approach because it is such an

important aspect to address the client as a whole when caring for a patient fully which I

appreciate immensely.

In my clinical rotations this level at a long-term care facility, it was, to be quite honest,

hard to watch. I did not see this holistic approach when the nurses were caring for their patients.

It was as if their only jobs where to pass medications and carry on with their day and the patient

wasn’t anything more than the health discrepancy they had. It also directly reflected why these

patients were not getting better and became stagnant in their health. It was hard for the other

members of my cohort and myself to observe and attempt to learn how to properly help patients

when this was our example. However, it made me want to implement holistic care in all of my

actions because I knew these patients were not receiving the care they needed or deserved. When

other members of my cohort and I entered rooms to help patients with their simple needs they

expressed to us how much they appreciated our initiative to care for them because they are not

receiving this care from their nurses. It was these little tasks such as helping them get dressed,

asking how they were feeling, or just asking simple questions to get to know these patients that

would cause them to express such emotion of gratitude and happiness that someone was there for

them. It made me understand how important nursing the mind with engaging conversations and

feeding the soul with caring actions were in the nursing field and it has made me quite passionate

in caring with a holistic approach.

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As time continues in the nursing program, I would like see some changes in my nursing

approach. Some goals I have for my skill development by the end of this program would be to

become more confident in myself and my ability to successfully treat and care for my clients as a

whole. Another goal I would like to reach, is to extend my care to the families of my patients as

well because they need the support of nurses to help them through their heartaches just as much

as the patients do. I would also like to make sure I learn all the information from nursing school

adequately and really absorb it with a good understanding to make sure that my patients are

taken care of with complete and accurate care.

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References

Friberg, E., Creasia, J. Conceptual Foundations: The Bridge to Professional Nursing Practice.

Retrieved from https://pageburstls.elsevier.com/#/books/9780323299930/

Papathanasiou, I., Sklavou, M., Kourkouta, L. (2013). Holistic Nursing Care: Theories and

Perspectives. American Journal of Nursing Science. Vol. 2, No. 1, 2013, pp. 1-5. doi:

10.11648/j.ajns.20130201.11