What Makes Me Who I Am

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

“Philosophies of nursing are statements of beliefs about nursing and expressions of values in nursing that are used as bases for thinking and acting. Most philosophies are built on a foundation of beliefs about people, environment, health, and nursing” (Chitty & Black, p. 298). By using person, environment, health, and nursing as a guideline to achieve the ultimate goals of nursing; I will discuss my personal philosophy and how these factors are used in nursing.

The development of a philosophy related to the profession of nursing is important in that it provides a framework for the nurse to base his/her work on. Philosophy is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means”. In other words, philosophies are based on beliefs and assumptions with an overall goal of obtaining an objective which states the nurse’s purpose in the profession. In my undergraduate nursing program I was exposed to multiple nursing concepts that guided my practice. Coupled with my ten years of experience in the nursing field, I was enabled to formulate my own framework or guide to nursing. The paradigm which resonates with me the most is the interactive-integrative perspective as it views practice “as having multiple, interrelated parts in relation to a specific context.” (Newman, Sime, & Corcoran-Perry, 1991, p.38). My framework includes three main components: the client, the professional nurse, and the nurse-client relationship.

As I prepare for my first classes in nursing school, I recognize my unique position to examine the values that I will bring into my nursing career. Without any experience, my values remain relatively unshaped regarding healthcare. In contrast, the values of nurses who have already accumulated a variety of experiences tend to be more nuanced and informed. For this exercise, I met with one of these experienced nurses—CC, a cardiac-catheterization laboratory nurse who just welcomed her third child. Together, CC and I explored the differences in our upbringings, how we were each sucked into nursing, and how our values have changed throughout different life experiences. Above all, I intended to delve into the story of her fifteen-year career in order to discover how an experienced nurse philosophizes patient care.

Everyone’s values and beliefs about the profession of nursing are all different. The four concepts of nursing are interrelated and all mean something different to every person, too. Throughout this paper, I will be reflecting on my values and beliefs about nursing through the four concepts while comparing them to a nursing theorist with views that are most similar to my own.

The greatest aspect about nursing is that it is never going to be just a job and is even more than a merely profession. Instead, it is a belief system or way of life and not a discipline that can simply be practiced then abandoned to the dictates of a time clock. To simply say that “I love people” or want to “help people get better” does not demonstrate the drive behind this feeling. Articulating my philosophy is not an easy task, to better explain my philosophy of nursing, I am going to use some values that I have learned. These tools truly explain how I feel and what has motivated me to pursue nursing as a career.

Philosophy is a set of ideas, values, and beliefs behind what a person does (Merriam- Webster Dictionary, 2015). All nurses have beliefs about what nursing is and is not. It is important to stay true to one’s personal, moral, and ethical values at all times. Nurses are morally and ethically responsible for their patients, decisions, and actions (Lindh, Barbosa, Berg, & Severinsson, 2010). Every nurse brings something different to healthcare because they have different philosophies and/or believe in different nursing theories that guide their practice.

What really makes you who you are? A better question would be, who really makes you who you are. I believe that the single biggest factor in what made you who you are today is your family and close friends. Yeah, there are things like intelligence or memory, but almost everything else about you is from your family. A person's outlook on life is influenced by their family's choices and actions that are related to them. Their actions and reactions to things are a result of the beliefs and moral compass of the people around them. Almost everything you know about yourself comes from or was started directly or indirectly by your family.

Professional values guide the decisions and actions we make in our careers. As nurses we are responsible for caring for patients during birth, death, illness and healing. If we are not aware of the decisions and actions to take it would be impossible to provide our patients with exceptional care. The values that are the foundation of the nursing profession are altruism, autonomy, human dignity, and social justice. In this paper I will define each value and describe their impact on nurses and nursing students.

It is very important for individuals to have their social, economic, and political philosophies because of its role in propelling an individual. Nursing have philosophy that makes nurses play their roles effectively and ensure that the safety of the public is maintained and also provide good care to each patient. In this paper, I am going to discuss my nursing philosophy through highlighting my background and what propels my nursing philosophy. I will then define nursing paradigm person, environment, health, and nursing; concepts of personal philosophy, and the importance of nursing philosophy.

What is it that makes us who we are? Is it how we were raised? Is it the specific time and location in space during our birth? Or is it by mere choice alone in every moment that makes us who we are at that moment, ever-changing? I could tell you that they are all are true. And I could also tell you that they are all false. And guess what, both statements would be correct. Here’s another shocker, truth is relative. You can turn something from an untruth into a truth and vise versa all with the power of belief, thought, and faith. If you truly believe with all of your heart that you are a product of your upbringing and nothing more, then you have made that true. You’ve also chosen to be a victim of your past but hey if that’s the truth you want you got it. Now if you believe that your upbringing is the past and nothing more, and that you choose moment by moment who you are, then that is true. Truth is based on your reality. And your reality is based on your thoughts and beliefs. There is no set reality. There are no set truths. Reality, just like truth, is relative to the being who perceives it. Now personally I have chosen not to be a victim of my past for that is all that it is, the past. And the past, just like the future, exists only in our minds. Without your mind, without you remembering the past or dreaming of future possibilities, there is no past and there is no future. There is only NOW. The universe has no concept of past or future. It only

As the years have gone by, and I have grown into my adulthood, my values have not changed. I see nursing as a profession that is not only committed to the lives of others but also continues to strengthen the nurse at his or her core. Caring for another human being is such a rewarding experience. When nurses offer their time and care for their community, their success will carry on with them throughout their entire career and will shape them into a better person. These qualities are the very reasons why I want to pursue a profession in nursing. Along with advocating

What really makes you who you are? Wait, a better question would be, who really makes you who you are. I believe that the single biggest factor in what made you who you are today is your family and close friends. Yeah, there are things like smarts or how well you remember things, but almost everything else about you is from your family. A person's outlook on life is influenced by their family's choices and actions that are related to them. Their actions and reactions to things are a result of the beliefs and moral compass of the people around them. Almost everything you know about yourself comes from or was started directly or indirectly by your family.

Nurses are responsible for taking care of their patients, who deserve safe and effective care. I believe that a nurse’s values are reflected in their care. As a nurse plans out his/her care, core values are at the center of his/her decisions. Values guide a nurse in difficult situations which can have a positive effect on the patient/nurse relationship. Patients, regardless of culture, deserve safe competent care and it is every health professional’s obligation to see that it happens.

What really makes you who you are? Wait no a better question would be, who really makes you who you are. I believe that the single biggest factor in what made you who you are today is your family and close friends. Yeah there are things like smarts or how well you remember things, but almost everything else about you is from your family. A person's outlook on life is influenced by their family's choices and actions that are related to them. Their actions and reactions to things are a result of the beliefs and moral compass of the people around them. Almost everything you know about yourself comes from or was started directly or indirectly by your family.