Becoming A Nurse: My Personal Philosophy Of Nursing

Personal Philosophy of Nursing Nursing is one of the most difficult careers. Nurses must possess a number of important traits including empathy, respect, and professionalism. We must be tenacious, patient, and optimistic. Every nurse is different, just as every patient is different. Every nurse has their own reason as to why they chose to become a nurse. Becoming a nurse is not for everyone. You must be prepared to work long hours. At times the job is physically and emotionally draining. Nurses miss out on holidays, birthdays, and many weekends with their family. We have to deal with upset patients and demanding family members. There are many days when I work twelve or even sixteen hour shifts without even one lunch break. Nursing
I believe the core of nursing is and always should be the patient. Patients should always be the top priority; they are people like you and I. Nurses should care for the patient by promoting health, healing and hope. Nurses should have integrity by respecting the dignity and morals of every patient. Nurses should be diverse by affirming the differences of ideas and values of every patient. Nurses should possess excellence by committing to continuous growth and improvement.
I believe that the focus of nursing is to advocate, have compassion, and respect patients and their family. It is my duty to make my care centered upon the patient’s needs and wishes. Nurses have not always had the power in health care as we do today. “Sociologists describe power as the ability to impose ones will upon others (Manojlovich).” Nurses have gained more autonomy through the years. It is up to us to empower each other and to empower our patients, because “powerless nurses are ineffective nurses
Firstly, right now being a nurse with only an Associate’s degree, I face limitations in the work force. The majority of the hospitals in Hampton Roads are requiring nurses to possess a Bachelor’s in nursing in order to be employed. Another limitation is that I have far less experience than nurses that have been practicing for years, which means I also lack clinical experience. One major setback for me is that I am a psychiatric nurse. I have no medical experience. I am afraid that if I continuing working in a mental health hospital I will forget all of the clinical experience I learned in nursing school. I know these are simply current limitations and I will overcome them. There is nothing stopping me from achieving my professional goal of becoming an extraordinary