This is a paper I just finished up for one of my classes. It's 'My Nursing Philosophy'. I had to follow a rubric so there's a few reference quotes in here but there is a lot behind my desire to be a nurse so I thought I would share.
My Personal Nursing Philosophy
I have always wanted to be a nurse. That sounds like a typical answer as I say it but it is just as true as it is cliché. In kindergarten my classmates and I were given an assignment to draw what we wanted to be when we grew up. There were some firefighters, some astronauts, and even a few teachers but I drew myself standing in front of a hospital dressed as a nurse. As I grew up and learned more about the profession the more dedicated I became towards getting my nursing degree.
The summer before my junior year at the ripe old age of fifteen I attended a technical school and earned my certified nursing assistant license. I was hired on at a skilled nursing facility one month before my sixteenth birthday. It was while working there that I realized nursing was my calling. Caring for people was something I could see myself doing for the rest of my life.
All my dreams came crashing down around me in October 2007. I was a senior in high school with big plans for college and couldn’t wait to get the heck out of dodge when I found out I was pregnant. I was devastated. All my life I had planned out my future and what it was going to look like. Being a mom at the age of seventeen wasn’t part of the plan. What was I going to do now? How could I raise and provide for a child of my own when was just a child myself? After months of worrying, thinking, and a lot of prayer I decided to place my child for adoption. I didn’t know it yet but that decision would make my determination towards becoming a nurse even stronger in two very big ways. The first was that I told myself if I made the decision to make my daughter’s life better by giving her to another family I was going to make my life one that she could be proud of. I wanted her to know that because I placed her my life was changed for the better too. The second reason was the care I received in the hospital. When I went to the hospital I was terrified. I had never been in the hospital as a patient before, let alone a patient that was about to have a baby. I remember walking through the front doors and asking the lady at the desk how to get to the Labor and Delivery unit. The lady, an older volunteer, smiled at me with the sweetest smile, walked around the desk, took my hand, and walked me down the hallways. She must have seen my terrified face. The nursing staff on Labor and Delivery must have too. They were wonderful. They were all so sensitive to me and respectful of the experience I wanted to have. The nurse that made the biggest difference though was my post partum nurse. During the days I had my family as well as the adopting family in and out visiting but at night I was all of the sudden alone. I remember holding my Malia and crying. I would sing to her then cry. I would feed her and cry. So would doze off for a few minutes, wake up, and cry some more. Then my nurse came in. Most of them had been in and out with pain pills and vital sign machines but this nurse was different. She sat in the rocking chair and just let me cry. She listened to me vent, helped answer my questions the best that she could, and even cried with me. She was my nurse all three nights I was there and I can’t imagine what my state of mind would have been like if she hadn’t. I can’t remember her name but to this day I can remember her face and the sweet words of encouragement she gave me. She said I was amazing and was doing something great. I don’t think she knew it but she was doing the same.
After I placed my little one for adoption I finished high school and went straight to college and eventually landed myself here, in nursing school. When I got my letter of acceptance I called my fiancé first, my parents second, and my little girls mom third. I was so proud of myself for actually getting myself there. She was too. I knew I had a long ways to go but there was an end in sight. These nurses that I had idolized for years, I was actually going to be one!
When I started nursing school I thought that nursing meant having a sick patient and making them feel better. Throughout this process I have learned that it is so much more than just physically making someone feel better. Nursing now, to me, means being compassionate, a teacher, a manager, a delegator, a professional, and an advocate. It means identifying with your patient and making them feel safe. It means listening to and standing up for them no matter what.
Nursing also doesn’t just mean taking care of a patient. It isn’t always just a single person involved but a concerned and loving family too. They need to feel like their family member is safe. They need to be listened to and well informed just like the patient does. The hospital is a very busy place with very sick people. I’ve learned it can make all the difference in the world for them to see a smiling face and someone who is actively listening and present while they are expressing concerns. These things shouldn’t be the extra mile; they should be the standard of care. In a study published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal they “found that patients with communication problems were 3 times more likely to experience a preventable adverse event than patients without such problems … with one-third of the patients who experienced preventable adverse events requiring readmission to hospital.” (Bartlett, Blais, Tamblyn, Clermont, MacGibbon, 2008). These numbers shocked me. Not only is it important to communicate effectively for the patient’s psychosocial well being, but for their physical one as well.
In his article “Communication: They Key to the Game” Dr. Jeff Konin states:
“Perhaps the biggest mistake one can make as a team (player) as it relates to communication is to underestimate the importance of any single piece of information. The team (player) must recognize at all times that he or she is a part of a team of health care providers. This means that new information regarding the injury or illness of a (patient) must be shared … in a timely manner.” (Konin, 2007)
As a nurse we will always be working as a team with different members of the healthcare team as well as the patient and their family. Patients now days are more involved and informed than they ever have been. It is our job to make sure that our patients feel like we are communicating and actively listening to them. Having been on the caregiver as well as the patient side of things I know how important this can be. My little brother was in a bicycle accident when he was younger and received a serious brain injury. The ambulance took him to the nearest hospital which was in Gunnison. I don’t remember much because I was pretty young myself but I do remember the doctors, nurses, and whoever else came in and out were all working so cohesively as a team. My parents have told me that the open communication that team had with them about what they were doing meant so much to them and helped to make them feel much more calm in such an emergent situation.
The other aspect that never occurred to me before nursing school was community nursing. The further I have gotten into this program the more opportunities I see to help my community to stay healthy and informed. If I can teach someone ahead of time maybe they won’t ever get to the point of having to be in the hospital because it will have already been prevented. That, to me, is worth all of the time spent.
I am so grateful for all of the learning experiences I have had throughout my life to get me to where I am. I know my learning doesn't end here. Tim goes on, things change, and the medical field is always evolving. I imagine, my nursing philosophy will always be evolving too.
References
Bartlett, G., Blais, R., Tamblyn, R., Clermont, R. J., MacGibbon, B. J. (2008). Impact of patient communication problems on the risk of preventable adverse effects on acute care settings. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 178(12), doi:MD Consult
Konin, J. G. (2007). Communication: Key to the game. Clinics in Sports Medicine, 26(2), 137-148. doi: MD Consult
- here's a few fun pics from nursing school (that is only a pretend pregnant belly my friends) and one from my senior pictures
