Personal Philosophy of Nursing

MY PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING 1

My Personal Philosophy of Nursing

Sarah Reyner

The University of Southern Mississippi: College of Nursing

3 February 2014

NSG 337

Dr. Masters


Compassion. This single word has played an imperative role in my life and has in a way

directed my future. I have not always wanted to be a nurse, in fact, this decision is a relatively

recent self revelation. Until mid-semester of my sophomore year of college, I was beelined

straight for medical school to become a physician. I developed this fascination with medicine at

a very young age. I can recall proudly declaring on the first day of kindergarden “My name is

Sarah Reyner, and I want to be a brain surgeon when I grow up” when asked to introduce myself.

Almost two years into college, compassion flipped my world inside out. The feeling that

something was missing appeared to me and for the first time. I had finally acknowledged that

the enthusiasm behind my child-hood fantasy had been replaced with an eagerness to serve my

neighbor on a more personal level. Thereafter, with the help of family, friends, and many

prayers, I was introduced to the field of nursing.

Seeing the future with uncertainty was one of the most frightening periods of my life, but

in the end, I discovered who I am and what I value. I am currently in the nursing program at the

University of Southern Mississippi. Although my scope of practice is limited to caring for man-

nequins in the lab room, the few weeks that I have been in the program have reinforced my love

for the career. I have realized that serving others was the source of my attraction to medicine.

Nurses administer continuous care, healing, and empowerment on a daily basis to those who

need it most. Furthermore, they serve as the patient’s advocate and ensure that their needs are

fully met. I want to provide patients with the best life quality possible. I look forward to serving

my neighbor for a living and cannot think of a more important, honorable, and rewarding way to

spend my life.


Nursing is a career dedicated to serving others. To be successful, one must be diligent,

patient, and caring to all they come in contact with. They perform tasks for patients that cannot

perform them independently, provide a comfortable and sanitary environment, and counsel pa-

tients to retain a positive outlook; all of which, leads patients to a better health condition. Al-

though there is a great diversity within the field, every nurse exists for a primary purpose: to ac-

tively rehabilitate patients. I believe that nurses are the workforce of the medical field. They ad-

here to the physicians orders and interpret them to meet each patient’s individual need, or more

simply, to advocate for the patient. Often enough, physicians order a certain type of treatment or

prescribe medications that patients may not understand. It is the nurses job to provide the treat-

ment as well as fully explain the instructions of each treatment and the reasons behind them. I

desire to practice nursing because I want to be the one beside the patient’s bed during recovery.

I have always had a motherly quality, in that I enjoy making others happy, and I believe that this

career will allow me to do so on a daily basis.

The medical field is often misinterpreted or misjudged based on popular ideas. For in-

stance, many picture nurses as limited to taking vitals such as blood pressure, pulse, and temper-

ature. The truth is that nurses are the primary component to medicine. They are responsible for

restoring the health of their patients. Additionally, patients are not limited to those who cannot

function on their own due to some serious illness or injury. They are any person seeking care,

receiving treatment, and being educated on health promotion and prevention. With the exception

of a medical diagnosis, each of these pertain to the job of the nurse. Physicians or health care

providers determine the medical problem of the patient and decide the best option for treating

their medical diagnosis. The patient is then handed off to the nurse where the patient is then

guided along their course of recovery.


Such medical problems can originate from an endless amount of sources. However, the

community upon which the patient belongs to can play an imperative role in the patient’s health.

The economic status of the community can determine what type of treatment the patient can or

cannot afford as well as whether the patient has medical insurance. Also, the culture of the com-

munity could predispose patients to risk factors. For example, if a community was located near

factories, there is a risk for exposure to dangerous toxins in the air and water.

Nursing is composed of three dominant components that make up the field. Each of the-

ses three components interrelate with one another. The person is the one seeking treatment,

meaning they aim to restore some fault they are having with their body. The overall condition of

their body is the patient’s health. This consists of their mental, physical, and emotional well-be-

ing. One of the main goal’s of nursing is to control the patient’s environment. This includes

their physical surroundings such as the amount of stressors, sound, and lighting in the room, pa-

tient sanitization, and comfortableness.

One of my visions for future nurses is the equalization of care among each and every

each and everypatient. I want each patient to be provided with the same amount of quality care.

One reason I hold this as a main priority is witnessing the care of my aunt as she battled with

cancer. I witnessed first hand how she was cared for by several nurses. Some nurses were

rushed and performed their duties carelessly while others diligently took the time with my aunt

to ensure that she was cared for thoroughly. Essentially, I hope to instill in every nurse that the

patient they are caring for is someone else’s loved one and that no matter how busy we are, we

must treat each and every patient with the best care possible. On the other hand, one of the

greatest challenges I will face as a nurse will be being stern with my patients. I have learned that

many patients will be stubborn or uncooperative and that it is necessary to coach them through


certain exercises with austerity occasionally. I believe that this skill, like most others, will come

with experience as I become more comfortable with a nurse to patient relationship.

With this being said, I realize that my hopes for future nurses as well as my realized

weakness will grow as I journey through nursing school. I look forward to this education and ex-

pect to learn much of it in my professional development class. I still have many question regard-

ing the field of nursing such as career progression and the differences in nursing areas and

greatly look forward to finding answers in this class.

Personal Philosophy of Nursing

Documents

Transcript of Personal Philosophy of Nursing