Definition of Nursing

As a nurse, I have the responsibility to show up at work and care for the patients that are dependent on my help. In order to do that successfully, I have to be fully committed to not only my patient but profession as well. Arriving to work on time, advocating for my patients, and making the correct choices when faced with ethical dilemmas are a few ways I can display commitment.

The values I had put forth include altruism, human integrity, honesty and generosity as well as helpfulness. Every nurse needs to have these four essential values to do their best for the patients. While a selfless concern for others well-being has been an oath that is taken by every nursing practitioner, I have, so far in my work towards the patients, have been altruistic and selfless. There are times when a difficult patient or an emergency (when you have a personal plan outside

When it comes to a nursing philosophy, every nurse has their own values, beliefs, and ideals that are different and unique from others. It presents a great challenge when incorporating these ideas into a professional practice. “Professional values are standards for actions accepted by the practitioner and professional group that provide a framework influencing the behavior of the group.” (“Professional Values: The Case for RN-BSN Completion Education,” 2008, p.1). Identifying which values are most important will have a huge

My philosophy of nursing comes directly from my desire to help people. I want to be a nurse because I enjoy being around people in their times of need and I get internal satisfaction by serving those that need help. I remember when I did some volunteer work for a hospital and that is when I realized my passion for nursing. I believe that the cure for many of the people's ailments is not just in medicine, it is in the care that they receive as patients in hospitals and their homes. This is where I believe that I can make a great difference in people's lives by helping them recover from their ailments.

My definition of nursing is that of someone who genuinely cares about the well-being of others and helps heal those who are ill. Nursing is both an art and a science because in order to understand a patients diagnosis you must know the pathophysiology and basic lab values. The science part of nursing allows us to make judgments on medication orders doctors prescribe, procedures, and practices. Art is also apart of nursing because as nurses we must have intuition, compassion, and warmth towards our patients. It is what allows us to therapeutically communicate with our patients. A person can have the science part, but not master the art and therefore, that person may be uncompassionate towards a patient. I have see nurses in clinical settings

Integrity is crucial to the nursing profession because it creates trust with others. This sense of trust facilitates open communication with patients and colleagues (Ridge, 2015). For proper communication to occur between a nurse and patient, honesty and sincerity are required. Good communication improves the quality of care provided to patients. Integrity driven nurses, possess a strong sense of themselves and act in ways of doing what is right consistently. Consequently, healthcare focuses on holistic care, meaning all aspects of a patient’s life must be considered, and the only way this

Integrity is a vital quality as a nurse related to the fact that patients literally entrust their lives to their healthcare team. According to Proverbs 10:9 "whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out." God is pleased with a person of integrity. I Chronicles 29:17a states "I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity." Nurses have the ethical obligation to maintain competence and proficiency, and as Christians, they also are morally bound to develop the virtues of honesty and integrity.

The nursing practice should be able to provide compassionate care for the patients, families and communities. By providing patient-centered care nurses not only accomplish tasks but provide the care that the patient is expecting to receive. It is important for nurses to perceive what the patients are experiencing and to be able to see through the patient’s eyes to be able to improve the health care provided and assist the patients in a better way. A nurse does not have to be exceptional to be able to demonstrate engagement and compassion, it should be part of the profession to ensure that knowledge, skills and attitudes are developed and delivered to the

Integrity is a deeply individualized phenomenon. It is the correlation between a person’s actions and their beliefs, principles, or convictions. Additionally, integrity correlates an individual’s actions and their self-understanding. When an individual identifies himself or herself as a nurse, there are often underlying personal characteristics that accompany. For example, most nurses identify themselves as caring individuals far before they become a practicing nurse. Ultimately, acting within an individual’s self-understanding is a demonstration of integrity (Nelson & Gordon, 2006). The integrity of the nursing profession has been challenged as the goals of healthcare delivery have shifted to improving the bottom line, leaving one to question if nursing has lost sight of its foundation, caring. In her reflection of the Caring Conference, Lou Reida’s expressed, “… I have been challenged to reflect on how I, as a future leader, will be able to find a balance between nurturing the caring spirit of nurses and the business component of healthcare,” (Reida, BSN, 2009). The purpose of this paper is to discuss how integrity of nursing may be compromised and the importance of leadership in the persistence of integrity throughout the profession.

This addressed ways in which the nurses could increase their participatory involvement in their professional community. One of the most telling facets of the meeting was the in depth discussion of key issues and challenges within the nurse force. Many issues broached during the meeting included ethical, emotional, relational and corporate concerns. The discourse on these pervasive problems served a few functional purposes. Firstly, they explained issues commonly faced by nurses, allowing people to find a sense of common ground. The communal dilemma among all nurses suddenly became evident, in spite of their differences in education or background. This served to advance and evolve the nurses as a whole, making them more empathetic contributors to the healthcare field.

A professional nurse is one who puts the needs and importance of patient care above all others. While striving for professionalism, nurses need compassion, patience, empathy, strong moral and ethics, accountability and the commitment to always act in the best interest of their patients. Nurses are held accountable for providing quality, safe, and effective nursing care (Hood, 2014). A professional nurse has the responsibility to continually improve and implement nursing standards while maintaining integrity by involving themselves in various tasks. Regular involvement in reading professional literature and sharing of evidence- based research with other healthcare personal helps increase knowledge and skills. This nursing ability can be used to encourage the actions of others in the healthcare team resulting in improved patient care. Nurses should encourage each other to become involved in hospital committees, provide an environment to encourage the discussions of ethical dilemmas, promote professional growth of nurses to voice their concerns and share viewpoints to address issues. “A professional nurse should expect to commit to a life of continuous learning growth and development”. (Hood, 2014, pp. 29). Nurses choose this profession to help others. As professional nurses we must maintain our ethics, values, characteristics, and commitment to drive our profession forward (CCN, 2015). Nurses must be autonomous, accountable, and be able to delegate to unlicensed assistive personnel. Being autonomous as a nurse means having control over their practice (Hood, 2014). It allows a nurse to take risks while being held accountable for ones’ actions (Hood, 2014).

The call bells are ringing, the doctor is asking for laboratory results, and the patient is complaining of chest pain; all these are happening at the same time and handled by a single person—the nurse. In today’s society, nurses’ roles and responsibilities have drastically changed. Nurses are not only limited to a hospital setting where they are assessing patients, handing out medications or assisting doctors. Nurses are also a counselor, an agent of change and a patient’s advocate. Nurses can also be an educator in a classroom setting, during clinical practice of student nurses or through public presentations. In addition, nurses can also take up roles as part of the administration. Even though nurses’ workloads are

As professional nurses, we all have our different beliefs and perceptions as to the nursing profession. An individual philosophy of nursing is defined by each nurse’s belief. My philosophy of nursing is rooted in my fundamental understanding of human beings and their nature of existence, rooted in the values of accountability, compassion, and professionalism. I do believe as a nurse, one should possess the qualities of disease knowledge base, compassion, honesty, professional skills, patient advocacy, and autonomy in the conduct of their practice. Every nurse is responsible over their own actions and judgements. The importance / significance of the nursing philosophy is engraved through the beliefs/ values that I hold that captivates my practice. It enables me to offer compassionate care, not only to the patients but also to their families. You not only focus on meeting their physical needs, but their emotional needs as well. It is also important to maintain patients respect, honesty, privacy, and autonomy which goes to further a trustworthy relationship with your patients. Knowledge is also an important element that an effective nurse should possess. By being a well-rounded knowledgeable nurse, this ensures one is able to incorporate classroom knowledge and skills into their practice which forms a firm foundation on which to base his/ her nursing judgment on.

Nursing is universal in the sense that nurses can be found almost in all countries around the world (Henderson, 1978). They are in the hospitals, in school clinics, in the community centres, residential homes and even play major roles in some of the popular soap operas in television. There are even television shows that mainly revolve around nurses and which chronicles what they do at work - both the positive and the negative. It is one of the most visible and easily identifiable occupations as compared for example to other occupations such as engineers, managers or even pharmacists, medical technologists and other health related occupations. This is partly because of what nurses do and most especially how nurses look - with some still

A common phrase I hear frequently from my family and peers regarding the nursing profession “nurses are unappreciated and overworked.” I see nurses as hard working people who are determined to save lives. Nurse’s play a great role in healthcare, they are the support of the hospital. They are a part of an assembly line that provides patients the care they need. If one step is interrupted, rifts will occur in patient care. Nurses may not be high on the ladder of superiority, but according to a yearly conducted survey, nurses are one of the top three trusted professionals. There is a reason why people trust nurses far more than doctors. Nurses are easier to trust; they create a stable environment and are more interactive with patients. An