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Allison Carlucci
As a nurse, it is important to identify and be confident in ones own set of beliefs and
values. In the nursing profession, there will be many situations in which one must know ones
own beliefs and must act accordingly. An individuals personal set of beliefs and values directly
influences their nursing philosophy, which in turn will impact their actions and behaviors within
their profession. A nursing philosophy is how an individual lives out their personal beliefs and
values and incorporates them into their professional actions at the work place. Though I am not
yet a nurse, my personal beliefs and values as well as my pre-established ideas about what it
means to be a nurse, will all contribute to, and influence my philosophy of nursing.
Definition of Nursing
Since ones own nursing philosophy impacts how one practices nursing, it is important to
define nursing philosophy in order to understand the goal of a nursing philosophy. According to
Fashioned after Aristotelian metaphysics, nursing philosophy can, in the view of one
contributor, be envisioned as a study of the nature, scope, and object of nursing with the
goal to define what nursing really is (Kikuchi). Or, philosophy, studied as an academic
discipline (e.g. ethics or philosophy of science) can offer its insights for nursing. (2014,
p. 299)
Therefore, this suggests that nursing philosophy incorporates ethics and seeks to define the
essence of nursing. This definition of a nursing philosophy also suggests that without an
understanding of the need of a philosophy, the nurse cannot be fully prepared to best meet the
the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness
and injury, facilitation of healing, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and
treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, groups,
This definition of nursing is very thorough and I believe it encompasses much of what it means
to be a nurse. It discusses the different aspects of nursing, such as protection, promotion and
optimization of health, prevention of illness and injury, as well as the importance of advocacy as
a nurse. However, it is also important to know ones limits. For example, while it is necessary
to educate patients and advocate for their rights, one must also support their decisions even if
you do not agree with them. Furthermore, I believe that nursing involves caring for individuals
and seeking to promote health in all aspects of their lives including the physical, mental and
Purpose of Nursing
Personally, I believe that the purpose of nursing is intricately related to, as well as similar
to, the definition of nursing. I think that the purpose of nursing is to promote and restore the
physical, mental and emotional health of individuals in need. Additionally, I think that the
purpose of nursing involves not only caring for the needs of patients, but also advocating for
them and educating them so that they can better take care of themselves when at home. I believe
that part of being a nurse involves demonstrating compassion and understanding for the needs of
It is important to identify and understand ones own personal set of beliefs and values and
how they relate to and influence nursing. In discussing beliefs and values, it is important to
delineate between the two. Module nine, Philosophy and Values, provides insight into what
constitutes both beliefs and values. Beliefs are ideas that an individual accepts as truth or as
being real. Values are ideals, behaviors, concepts, major themes or social principles that provide
meaning to ones personal life. Values are things such as truth, accountability, integrity, respect
and charity. These values affect the way we live our lives, make decisions and respond to
situations and issues faced on a day-to-day basis. The way in which we develop values is a life-
long process that involves three steps which include, choosing, prizing and acting. The first step,
which is choosing, is the intellectual part of valuing. People tend to consider the potential
consequences of choices when choosing their personal values. The prizing aspect of valuing is
typically emotional; people like to feel good about their values, as well as their choices, and have
them publicly validated. The last step in the process of valuing is acting. Acting involves an
individual consistently acting upon their chosen values, until they become a part of their day-to-
day behavior. All three of these steps are very important to the valuing process. The reason why
it is important for nurses to understand the valuing process is, when nurses understand the
values that motivate patients decisions and behaviors, they can tap these values when teaching
and counseling patients (Taylor, 2015, p. 95). Therefore, knowing my personal set of values
and beliefs, will help me to better meet the needs of my patients when considering educating
strategies. Some personal values and beliefs I have concerning nursing are honesty, integrity,
autonomy, compassion, fidelity, and justice. I aspire to demonstrate these values and beliefs as a
There are many principles and rules that are important to me which I try to exhibit
throughout my life. Though I do not have any experience as a nurse, and only minimal clinical
experience as a student nurse, there are principles that I hope to take from my life and apply to
my practice as a nurse in the future. Two principles that I want to guide my professional practice
relationship with a patient. If a patient does not trust their nurse, they could put up a wall that
could potentially block, or inhibit their receptiveness to interventions and education from that
nurse. Therefore, I think it is important to be trustworthy and if you say youre going to do
something, such as come back in thirty minutes, to follow through on your word. In addition, I
believe that integrity is very important as a nurse and hope to maintain integrity in my future
nursing career. Integrity encompasses many principles, including honesty, fidelity, being
responsible, maintaining professionalism in all aspects of your job, as well as being consistent
with your actions and words. An example of integrity and how it can be applied to my future
nursing career would be following all protocols fully and not cutting corners in order to ensure
optimal patient safety and well-being. Therefore, I hope to be trustworthy and have integrity, as
well as follow many other principles, in all things I do in my future career as a nurse.
Conclusion
In the nursing profession, there are many situations that require an individual to act upon
their personal nursing philosophy. Therefore, since an individuals personal set of beliefs and
values significantly influence their personal philosophy of nursing, one must first identify and
understand what they personally believe and value. Additionally, understanding the process by
which one develops personal values is beneficial to a nurse when educating a patient, in order to
PERSONAL PHILOSPHY 6
make the teaching more valuable by providing appropriate motivation. Understanding how
values and beliefs influence ones personal nursing philosophy will help to increase the quality
Reflection
This assignment has been very beneficial in that it helped me to identify, reflect upon,
and discuss my personal values and beliefs and how they influence my personal philosophy of
nursing. Additionally, it was interesting to realize how important it is to know my own values
and beliefs, since they significantly impact my definition of nursing and choices, as well as
actions, taken in the workplace. By doing this assignment, I learned about my own set of values
and beliefs, such as trustworthiness, honesty, fidelity, autonomy, compassion and integrity, and
how they will help to shape my personal nursing philosophy as I continue on my journey to
References
American Nurses Association. (2016). What is Nursing? American Nurses Association, Inc.
6p. doi:10.1111/nup.12065
Taylor, C., Lillis, C., & Lynn, P. (2015). The fundamentals of nursing: The art and science of
I pledge to support the Honor System of Old Dominion University. I will refrain from any form
member of the academic community it is responsibility to turn in all suspected violators of the