The World Health Organization states that “nursing encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well in all settings.” Nursing is a professional discipline of knowledgeable care, acquired both through formal education and through life experiences, that promotes healthy lifestyles, prevention of illness, and provides care to the ill, disabled and dying person. Nursing is an art and science with caring as a core element grounded in discipline, and has multiple approaches to inquiring the best method to promote harmony in the physical, emotional, socio-cultural, spiritual environment of patients.

I chose nursing as my career because I want to help people reach their optimum level of health by providing knowledgeable, compassionate care that interacts with all aspect of my patients live. My core values of nursing are honesty, kindness, persistence, resilience, knowledgeable/ compassion care, confidentiality and integrity, which focus on my patient needs, safety, and empowerment. As nurses we have the power to change people’s lives by teaching and advocating for their health. I believe it is our responsibility to provide safe, nonjudgmental, holistic, compassionate patient-centered care to individuals in need regardless of their race, age, gender, spiritual beliefs, lifestyle choices, financial status, or disability. As advocates we must encourage our patients to become active partners/participants in their own health care and educate them and their families on diseases, their treatments, and healthy behaviors that will overall improve their health outcomes. To do this nurse must use their clinical judgment to help meet the needs of their patients and continue their education so that the most effective knowledgeable and compassion care can be provided to patients. We have an obligation to keep up to date without our skills and knowledge, so we do not remain stagnant in our beliefs, skills and practices, but evolve and grow as professionals through evidence-based practice and technological advances.

Nursing is more than just a career, it is my passion and love because I am able to use my knowledge and skills to help those individuals who are unable to help themselves, while striving to be an educator, advocate and promoter of illness awareness and prevention that supports good health practices, patient participation in health decision, and protects patient confidently when necessary.