My Learning Self-Analysis

My educational process in the Baccalaureate degree program of Nursing at New York City College of Technology has sharpened my leadership skills.  The knowledge that I have obtained has strengthened my growth and has prepared me to tackle the real world.  Leadership skills are skills that every nurse should acquire throughout their professional practice.  My clinical rotations throughout the Baccalaureate program have helped me to analyze nurses as leaders in a different perspective.  Nurses are not only in the hospital to provide bedside care.  A nurse has many roles and one of them is to be leader and influence others.  The values and skills that I have learned have helped me to understand that there are different dimensions of leadership.  I will discuss the leadership behaviors that I have gained and how it has influenced my personal and professional values.

Throughout my clinical experiences I have observed that there are many key factors to successful leadership.  Integrity plays a major role in effective leadership.  I believe that in order to understand what integrity means, one has to have a clear and defined understanding of what one values in life.  I believe that integrity is the basis for leadership.  Along with integrity comes having an understanding of one’s own potential.  As a leader it is important that I strive for the best and that I motivate and inspire others around me as well.  I believe that it begins with self awareness and understanding the responsibility of our practice.  It is also important to be aware of our strengths and weaknesses.  Once one identifies their weakness, one is able to search for ways to improve.  A leader should set examples for others.  Another important behavior that I have learned is to have resilience.  I believe that having resilience is essential in the healthcare field.  There may be times when difficult situations arise.  It is important to be able to overcome this challenge.  Reflective learning and translation of that learning to the work at hand allows one to recover and then utilize this knowledge for the next difficult situation.  It is all a test of how strong one is when times get hard.

It is important that we have self awareness.  One way to evaluate our self awareness is by reflecting on our shift at the end of the day.  Asking questions such as, “how can I improve? Or “what did I do well”? Can help us gain an understanding of ourselves.  When I reflect at the end of my shift I feel a feeling of empowerment.  I feel like I am capable of improving and building on my weak areas.  When I understand my own needs, I am able to make certain changes to improve in the areas that I am lacking in. Lastly, I have learned how important it is to keep commitment to oneself.  Creating a balance that generates and renews the sprit and body is the most important leadership behavior to possess.  If the body is drained and not well kept, one cannot cope with stress or even think rational.  Taking great care of our bodies’ whether it is physically, emotionally or mentally is vital.  I believe in enjoying life.  I take the time out to have fun and appreciate life outside of work and school.  This helps renew my spirit and body.

My Philosophy of Nursing

Jean Watson, an American nurse theorist has helped shape my own personal beliefs and values as a nurse.  Her philosophy of caring for individual’s physical, mental and spiritual state of being has helped me to analyze the human body in another light.  My goal as a nurse is to provide the best quality of care possible to my clients.  I believe that everyone should be treated with respect in a nonjudgmental environment.

I have learned to be a diligent worker and provide care in an empathetic manner even under extreme pressure.  My motto is to treat everyone the way in which I would want to be treated.  This has led me to be understanding and provide amazing care to my clients.  Along with the care that I provide, my goal is to offer support mentally which will ultimately help the body heal physically.  My reflection after each shift of what I have learned has helped me to set goals on areas that I need to improve on.

The knowledge that I have obtained has helped me to pay attention to detail and to adapt in any environment.  Discovering my strengths and learning how to improve on my weaknesses will help enhance my skills as a nurse.  I want to be able to have an impact on each and every one of my clients, leaving them with a memorable experience.