Professional Outlook

NURS 300- Introduction to Theories and Concepts I

Purpose of Assignment
The purpose of this assignment is to enable the student to rediscover his or her personal
philosophy of nursing as it exists upon the completion of the baccalaureate nursing program.
Student Approach to Assignment
This project was one of our first assignments in nursing school. I remember trying to
decide what symbol depicts nursing to me personally. This was a reflective assignment that
allowed me to spend some time to get to know how I felt about nursing practice. I eventually
chose the Red Cross. In sophomore year, before our clinical rotations began, I did not identify
nursing with a hospital. I viewed nurses as health educators and leaders in the community and
my project reflected these beliefs.
Reason for Inclusion of this Assignment in the Portfolio
This assignment was included in my portfolio because it allows me to understand where I
have come from. The professional outcome project allowed me to create a collage of nursing
imagery and a paper to support my decisions. By including assignments from sophomore year, I
am able to see my growth and development towards becoming a registered nurse.
The following program objectives are highlighted:
Communication
Expresses oneself and communicates effectively with diverse groups and disciplines using
a variety of media in a variety of contexts
Example: The Professional Outcome Project was one of our first oral presentations in
nursing school. I presented in front of our nursing theories class and instructor using
my Red Cross collage as a visual aid to support my discussion.
Produces clear, accurate, and relevant writing using correct grammar, spelling and
punctuation
Example: As part of the Professional Outcome Project, the students were responsible
for writing a short paper to support discussion and explain their independent nursing
ideals. Attached to this oral presentation was a succinct paper that utilizes collegelevel sentence structure, organization and grammar.
Culture
Articulates an understanding of how human behavior is affected by culture, race,
religion, gender, lifestyle and age
Example: In this assignment and presentation, I discussed how human behavior is
affected by various cultures and specifically race and religion. On my collage, I

included an image of raised hands in a variety of colors. The multicolored hands

represented different cultures. Above the hands I included a picture of RN to
symbolize the relationship between nursing and culturally competent care.
Furthermore, I included an image of the Caduceus surrounded by a variety of
different religious symbols such as the Star of David. I discussed their various origins
and values during my presentation. Furthermore, in the paper section of this
assignment I gave specific rationales of why I included each image and how race and
religion affect human behavior.
Maintains an awareness of global environmental factors that may influence the delivery
of health care services
Example: One of the images I included on my collage was a yin and yang symbol that
was surrounded by the words, Mind, Spirit, Family, Society, Body. To me, this
image represented holistic and culturally competent care. It is also a reference to
Eastern medicine that can impact health care services within our borders and
internationally. In my presentation, I discussed the potential benefits of alternative
interventions such as acupuncture.