BELIEFS AND VALUES OF MY PROFESSIONAL ROLE

Robert D Delzer

Delaware Technical Community College

OCTOBER 1, 2017
BELIEFS AND VALUES OF MY PROFESSIONAL ROLE

Abstract

Personal values and beliefs are an important part of providing care while nursing. They can impact how

you treat those that you are caring for and how you resolve difficult issues. This philosophy will not only

encompass the care you give. It will show through how well you take care of yourself or neglect to do so.

And other qualities in a professional role such as safety, conflict resolution, and even leadership abilities.

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Personal values and beliefs can impact how a professional role is fulfilled. My personal beliefs in

a nursing role is that no matter how the person came into my care I do not judge them. I approach every

situation with a blank slate so to not bring in any prejudices or preconceived notions. Not all people with

diabetes and obese and lazy, I should know since I am diabetic and most do not believe me, and not all

drug users are just a lost cause. I have also seen at times when working with prisoners that other

approach them with a great deal of disdain and an uncaring attitude. This thought process goes against

what it is to be a nurse. Caring for others should be unconditional until proven otherwise by those that

are trying to exploit the caring being provided. People come from all backgrounds and you cannot truly

understand how they feel but only empathize with them to show you are there and willing to help. That

does not go without saying that some persons do require a bit of tough love to make them come to a

realization about themselves. Tough love, meaning that the cold hard truth of the situation may need to

be presented, possible correcting any misinformation, and to instill the thought that you are going to

have to work to get better.

To further myself as a professional and as a person, continued learning is a most. This learning

can be a structured education such as pursuing this BSN, or learning on my own just for pure

enrichment. I am always searching for new information and how things work being the curious person

that I am. No field of knowledge is off limits as you never know how it can be used. Some seemingly

random facts that I may know could be used to strike up an interesting conversation with a patient I am

caring for which creates a rapport and a better since of trust and caring. My curiosity into different

religions helps me understand how to care for those with different needs. With such a broad knowledge

base, it can also give me an advantage to think outside the box.

Helen Erickson's Modeling and Role Modeling theory of nursing, draws upon the fact that

everyone is unique even if they do have some similarities. It looks at both the nurse and the patient to

create a mutual relationship centered around understanding patients not as a grouping of people with

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the same illness but as individual cases that can have overlapping similarities and require an

individualized care for every patient. This theory follows many of the ethical principles that all nurses

strive to follow. Erickson's theory includes five goals towards nursing interventions: Building trust,

promote patient's positive orientation, promote patient control, affirm/promote patient's strength, and

to set health-directed goals. To me this theory shows an ability to adapt in most areas of care. It also

promotes the patient being involved in their own care giving them a place of power in the care they

receive, as they should since it is their life.

In my work, I always approach everyone no matter their background, illness, personal belief, or

whatever else makes them who they are, with an open mind and respect. Everyone, nurses included,

have their positives and negatives traits that impact their behavior and decision making. With accepting

who you, the nurse, and the patient are as people you can begin a relationship to better the care that is

provided. To me the goals of building trust is imperative to patient care. If the patient cannot trust those

providing care that will directly impact how they perceive the care they are receiving. A lot goes into if

and how someone is willing to trust those providing care. Body language, confidence, openness, and

following through with what is said is what I have seen builds trust. With body language, just simply how

you carry yourself can display to others if you are coming for a stance of power or lack thereof. It is not a

power in the sense that you demand respect, it is connected to the confidence linked to that body

language. Confidence can I may opinion be felt as well as seen. You know when someone walks into a

room and is confident in their ability. Openness is when you offer yourself to strengthen the link with

the patient. You will be showing that you are willing to lower your guard so that they will lower theirs. It

does not always work since some when in a vulnerable position tend to close themselves off. This is ok if

a trust can be formed. And following through is as simple as it sounds. If you say you are going to do

something, do it. After trust is established the other steps in Erickson's theory can be done with more

ease but still may not be an easy task. The next four goals are all about patient autonomy and

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beneficence. The nurse can now show the patient that they have control in care and can take an active

role in it. The nurse will build up the strength of the patient and promote a positive environment for

healing with goals set in place.

Personal wellness is a much-neglected part of nurses lives. We do so much caring for others

that we forget that we need to be in good mental and physical health. While Helen Erickson's Modeling

and Role Modeling theory of nursing does not directly discuss the personal wellness of the nurse it can

be modified to be used as a personal care plan and not just patient directed. The is theory treats every

person and situation as unique and should be approached as such. Taking care of your personal wellness

is unique to you and what works for others may not be good for you. Also, there is a heavy concept of

self-care, so you must be able to look and yourself and be able to follow through with action plans that

are made. This theory does fit into my own beliefs of personal wellness. I am the one the can change the

detrimental aspects in my life. For example, when I was told I was diabetic I made a drastic change in my

life. I took in all the information about my daily life and created a plan. I did not want to one day be

dependent on medication and wanted to prevent any further issues that would come. I used diet to

control my diabetes to great effect. And like stated before this situation was unique to me and not many

others could cut so much out of their diet. It was difficult but this self-care was the only way it was going

to be under control.

Conflict is an inevitable part of life. As a professional how I handle these conflicts will determine

how effective I will be as a nurse. Conflicts can come from disagreements about treatment, the status of

a patient, workstyle, personality, or many other things. These conflicts can be between anyone related

to the care of the patient, the patient, and their families. When dealing with conflict I tend to assess all

the information I can to see what the root of the issue is. Going in with an unbiased opinion is

paramount as the situation may not be what it seems on the surface. Emotions can run high with

conflict and if unchecked of controlled they can prove a hindrance to reaching a resolution. Emotions

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are a good aspect to have during conflict as it can bring confidence and the will to fight for your cause.

And on the other side of the coin it can cloud judgement and can close your mind to the thought of

other ideas. Going in with passion and conviction but with an open mind is a difficult balance to hold but

it is how I try to be when conflict to arise. Outside opinion are also a valuable part of conflict

management. They can provide some different prospective and open paths that may have not been

considered before. As a new professional nurse, I try to approach conflict willingly so to find a solution if

possible since conflict that is left and not resolved can fester and have a negative effect on patient care.

Safety is always on the mind of nurses. Safety is one of the most important qualities to patient

care. It can be represented in many forms, such as, reducing falls, being mindful of medication errors,

being observant to possible abuse, patient identification, and practices that may harm the patient. You

must be diligent insuring safety is met while in your care. There will be times that even though you are

trying to keep the patient safe with all your power, they may not comply and unintentionally bring ham

to themselves. This can be because of personally pride, confusion, or simply noncompliance to

guidelines and devices put in place to keep them safe. As with other aspects of patient care each

situation in unique. Some patients require you to have a heart to heart to about their care, some that

are confused may need to you play into their delusions so that they will feel safe, and some

unfortunately will require restraining to insure safety. I believe that to many nurses skip straight to

restraining. If done properly just simply talking can be enough to calm or redirect someone.

With my philosophy of open mindedness changes the way I act as a leader. I tend to not jump to

conclusions or tend to have a bias. I try to take in all that is involved and provide support to those in

need and recognition to those that are excelling. I also tend to lead from the front with the belief that a

leader is willing to do all that they ask of those following them. That doesnt mean that I try and do

everything myself but I am willing if no one can. I delegate to those that are strong in areas and to those

that need experience in situations. Those in a new role are not completely left to their own devices but

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are supported to make sure they are able to complete the task and learn from it. I do often lead with my

emotions but I keep them I check with my more analytical side so to not muddle up the message I am

trying to get across.

To say in short, I my philosophy is one of being open to all outcomes. To be prepared is to be

ready to tackle anything that is thrown at you. And yet, if there is an issue that is not directly prepared

for I can use the critical thinking I must find a solution and to adapt to my surroundings.

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References

Helen Erickson. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2017, from

http://whyiwanttobeanurse.org/nursing-theorists/helen-erickson.php

Modeling and Role Modeling Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2017, from

http://www.nursing-theory.org/theories-and-models/erickson-modeling-and-role-modeling-

theory.php

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