Nursing like life is always changing. As we proceed through time we become more knowledgeable, we learn, we change. I have always been a sociable, emphatic personality who loves people. I have also always been attracted to the scientific and medical aspects of Nursing. Using the skills of assessment of mind and body and putting pieces of a puzzle together to reveal a greater picture are meaningful to me. Of course, in nursing there is much more.

As I have grown and developed I have seen the true meaning of being a nurse. It has less to do with tactful skill that is taught and developed. A real nurse has a quality that is intangible, that cannot be learned in a classroom and when a patient interacts with them the patient sees it and knows. When discussing philosophies, we can often use many terms that describe what we do and who we are. Nurses have a responsibility to the public to provide excellent care through practice based not on experience but on evidence. We must execute our skills professionally and without passing judgment. We provide patient centered care in which we call our patients by names. All nurses should strive to attain these qualities and practice as such. I believe these aspects are wonderful, because nursing is more that facts and figures and medications and skills. Nursing is a profession of people as such I have personally strove for the best relationship with a patient as possible. I think this is where nurses distinguish themselves from the other medical professions.

I believe a nurse should be above all else caring and compassionate, understanding and patient. Additionally, because nursing is always in motion it is important for nurses to assume the responsibility to further their education and maintain current in knowledge and trends. I think we command a certain amount of respect for the difficulty of our profession and the abilities we have acquired. In doing so, as individuals of the profession should do our part to maintain the standards we set for ourselves.

I originally entered nursing because my father was a nurse and saw the impact he had on his patients, I wanted to have a similar impact. As I have developed, I am grateful that I have continued my studies and feel more nurses should pursue higher education and continue to increase the standards of nursing. In the process, though we must not forget that indefinable quality that a nurse brings to the patient’s bedside. We must not lose our compassion and love of people. In the end we are caring for human beings in a most vulnerable time and the human connection is the most important, without it patients cannot respond to our treatments and efforts.