Runninghead: PHILOSOPHY PAPER Page 1

Philosophy/Leadership Paper

NUR 470

Keli Wilkie

California Baptist University

September 22, 2015

PHILOSOPHY PAPER Page 2

What is nursing?

Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention

of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human re-

sponse, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations (ANA,

2015). Each person, institution, and government have different ideas of what is nursing. The

meaning of nursing has many different descriptions and to each person they may believe it to

mean something different; and this does not make them wrong. Nursing is a title that covers

many different duties, responsibilities, situations and titles.

As a nurse, one is responsible for taking care of the patient, families, doctors, and every

other person that may walk through the patient’s door. Nursing starts at getting to know your pa-

tient and understanding their specific situation and condition. It is important in nursing to make

sure that the quality of care for the patient is outstanding and covers all aspects of their needs,

wants and healing process. The patient is the primary focus of nursing and every other responsi-

bility stems from the basis of patient care. Nurses must also focus on taking care of all doctor’s

orders and concerns, families’ worries and fears, along with making sure all visitors and person-

nel entering the patient’s room are not going to endanger the outcome of the patient (Meliniotis,

2011).

Nursing is a thought process, a mind set, a way of life. To be in nursing takes special peo-

ple who can put aside every feeling and opinion they have and put every patient they come

across ahead of themselves and their own needs. This field requires nurses who are able to stand

for hours, get yelled at repeatedly, blamed for everything that goes wrong, thanked for little, ac-

cused of errors, getting covered in bodily fluids, assisting patients in daily activities such as toil-

ing and feedings; but above all, nurses are the ones beside the patient guiding them through their

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recovery and healing. There are many aspects of nursing that seem very unpleasant to most indi-

viduals, and that is how nurses truly are cut from a different old than everyone else. It is a profes-

sion full of disgusting situations but also full of the most rewarding outcomes.

Who am I as a nurse?

Nursing is a profession full of compassion and love. As a nurse, I believe those are two

important aspects that I bring into my patient care. Throughout my life I have been in and out of

hospitals watching good and bad nurses and doctors care for my brother and affect his healing

process. These encounters with hospital personal and nursing pushed me towards deciding that I

wanted to become a nurse and be able to guide families and clients through the most difficult

times of their lives and allow me to make those horrible situations slightly better for the client.

To me, the most important part of nursing is making the client and family feel like they have

someone on their side during all the commotion and confusion when most feel like their opinions

and feelings do not matter once admitted because the doctors just do what they think is right.

I understand nursing is more than just being a patient advocate, but when speaking about

who I am as a nurse, I believe this is where the focus should be. Every nurse understand the med-

ical aspects of the job but not every nurse has the love, compassion and heart that they need to

give the client well rounded care. I believe that as a nurse I will be the one the clients remember

due to my big heart and empathy that I have. It is of great importance to me to ensure my client

feels like someone is actually there listening to them and caring about how their care and healing

is going.

How does humanbecoming affect me as a nurse?

Parse sees professional nurses as being on a journey to becoming skilled communicators

(Kupperschmidt, 2010). She uses different aspects of her humanbecoming theory to emphasis

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different parts of becoming a nurse and being a competent nurse focused on the patient and their

recovery. According to the American Nurses Association, Parse’s theory is about being in the en-

vironment with the client for quality care, being truly present with them and their journey

throughout their care, co-creating meaning between the patient and their care, and being able to

take responsibility for the client and their care (Kupperschmidt, 2010).

This theory affects me as a nurse by putting emphasis on the importance of how the pa-

tient is cared for having a lasting influence on the outcome of their care and recovery. By using

skilled communication and Parse’s theory it assists nurses in helping the patient through their

transformation and journey. The humanbecoming theory outlines the proper ways that nurses

should interact with their clients and how when the theory is used in practice it allows for better

outcomes in the patient care and maintain a healthy work environment (Parse).

How do biblical principles influence me as a nurse?

One of the most important aspects of nursing is being a leader. Everything nurses do stem

from the foundation of a leader whether it is taking care of a patient, being an advocate, standing

up to a doctor, or making tough decisions during a crisis. Without being a leader, a nurse is not at

their best and will not provide their clients with the care they need and deserve. I use the bible

and my faith in helping myself become a better leader and follower because without both of

those great aspects, I know I can not become the nurse I was put on this Earth to become. I need

my leadership skills and my faith to help guide me through this journey and to help me guide my

patients through their journeys.

Although the Bible is mainly focused on sharing the word of the Lord and explaining His

undying love for us, it also shares insight on how to become a spiritual leader. Throughout the

Bible we can see God using His spiritual leaders to help spread His word and share His love with

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the people. In the book of Proverbs it explains different leadership principles in which we should

live by. Proverbs 14:28, “The mark of a good leader is loyal followers; / leadership is nothing

without a following,” shows the importance of understanding that leadership is not just a posi-

tion, but instead it should be an influence on others (Grunlan, 2007). People need to be able to

listen and want to follow a leader not just because they have the title but because they work with

them and they make it about a team not being a boss. Proverbs 15:22, “Refuse good advice and

watch your plans fail; / take good counsel and watch them succeed,” teaches us about the impor-

tance of realizing when we need to seek advice from other people (Grunlan, 2007). It does not

matter how much knowledge someone has, if you can not get past the fact that at some point ev-

ery person needs help and advice from another person.

The last verse that speaks great meaning to me in the aspect of becoming a good leader

and thus becoming a great nurse is Proverbs 16:14, “An intemperate leader wreaks havoc in

lives; . . . Good-tempered leaders invigorate lives.” This verse speaks importance to me, espe-

cially when related to nursing, because it explains that no matter the situation it is important for

leaders to put their emotions aside and react in a calm manner in order to fulfill the duties of a

leader (Grunlan, 2007). Nursing requires us to support clients and their families in difficult situa-

tions and decisions that they may make. It does not matter our opinion of how we believe things

should be done, but rather to give the support and approval that the client needs for a positive re-

covery.

Who am I as a leader?

According to the American Nurses Association, there are nine principles of success to be-

come a good leader in nursing. Many of them focus on leaders make sure a decision is best for an

entire unit not just an individual and making sure to keep followers happy with the way the

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leader is handling decisions. It explains the importance of having passion and purpose to allow

the leader to have perseverance in which will better a nurse when being an advocate for clients.

Leaders need to have strong communication skills and be the example of the standards they ex-

pect all the followers to abide by (Guyton, 2012).

These principles are great qualities of a leader and as a leader I do my best to ensure that

I can be the best leader possible. I find it important to try to make everyone feel like their voice

is heard and that no one opinion is better than another. There is a giant difference in being a

leader and a boss and to me one must understand the difference to be the great leader. Bosses

stand above their employees and demand for them to get things done, while a leader stands in

front of their followers and help them succeed by showing them the correct way to get the tasks

at hand done. One demands, the other shows by example and helps. These are the characteristics

I have that I believe makes me a great leader and helps me with my nursing.

How have I changed in nursing school?

Throughout nursing school I have learned many new techniques and medical procedures

that are needed to become a competent and safe nurse. However, I would not say that I have

changed during nursing school. Instead I would argue that I have grown and developed into a

better person, nurse and friend. Nursing school has taken my qualities and characteristics and

shaped them into a stronger more intelligent person. My compassion for people and my love of

medicine has grown tremendously since I started the program three years ago. Over the past few

years I have found out more about myself and where I stand in my morals and beliefs on not just

medicine but in life. Meeting all these new students and teachers have opened my heart and eyes

to many new views on life. Then there are the patients that I have met and had the chance to

work with during my clinical rotations that have proven to me that all this hard work, late nights,

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long papers, and little sleep are worth it and will continue to be worth it for the rest of my life.

Nursing school has taken all my previous expectations about becoming a nurse and made them

better.

The only part about my life that I think has changed from nursing school is where I hope

to end up after I graduate. I always believed I would become a pediatric nurse and plan to at-

tempt to go into that field as soon as I was able to, however, I now see my life heading into the

mental health field or labor and delivery. I never expected I would want to go back to school to

receive my masters, but now thanks to nursing school, I have realized that my future dream sits

with becoming a nurse midwife and helping women and families through one of the hardest,

most painful, and wonderful experiences of their lives. Nursing school has made me into a

stronger, more confident woman than I ever believed possible and I would not be the woman I

am today without this experience and guidance.

References

American Nurses Association. (2015, March 15). What is Nursing? Retrieved September 20,

2015, from http://www.nursingworld.org/EspeciallyForYou/What-is-Nursing

Grunlan, S. (2007, November 1). Leadership principles from Proverbs - Ministry Magazine.

Retrieved September 20, 2015, from https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/2007/11/

leadership-principles-from-proverbs

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Guyton, N. (2012, August 11). Nine principles of successful nursing leadership - American

Nurse

Today. Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://www.americannursetoday.com/nine-

principles-of-successful-nursing-leadership/

Kupperschmidt, B. (2010, January 31). A Healthy Work Environment: It Begins With You.

Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/

ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol152010/No1Jan2010/A-

Healthy-Work-Environment-and-You.html

Meliniotis, C. (2011, September 19). Effective Nursing Leadership. Retrieved September 20,

2015, from http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/Effective-Nursing-

Leadership.aspx

Proverbs 14:28 (Revised Standard Version)

Proverbs 15:22 (Revised Standard Version)

Proverbs 16:14 (Revised Standard Version)

Selanders, L. (2012, January 31). The Voice of Florence Nightingale on Advocacy. Retrieved

September 20, 2015, from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/

ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-17-2012/No1-Jan-2012/Florence-

Nightingale-on-Advocacy.html