Personal Philosophy, strength and weakness in my practice

I have been a Professional Registered Nurse with an associate degree for eight years. As a medical surgical nurse, I believed my duty was to care for acutely ill patients; treat them, sometimes alleviate their suffering, and refer them to the clinic for follow up. I have always loved my position in the hospital setting because it empowered me to put into practice my caring, compassionate, courageous and committed personality. As I started furthering my education in the baccalaureate program at New York City College of Technology, I became more aware of some of my hidden skills that people had mentioned to me in the past. My growth in my career helped me to discover that I am a compassionate listener, a courageous advocate, a committed manager and a knowledgeable skilled nurse. These new perceptions had improved my attitude about my philosophy in the practice.

My Philosophy in nursing is no longer just caring for the ill, but emphasize more on promoting preventive measures to keep them healthy. My professional nursing course enables me to speak up when there are concerns. From that course, I have learned how to handle professional discussions about issues in nursing such as inadequate staffing, patient satisfaction, and mandatory overtime. I develop new personal strength and vision to innovate and embrace new ways of working with my clients, their families, and my coworkers.  Knowing that nurses are the most available point of contact for patients, I make sure that their needs are recognized by the rest of the care team. I prepare myself to be able to answer their questions base on research, and share my knowledge and skills with them and their families.

Respect and dignity are keys to establish great rapport between care givers and clients. I show respect and dignity for all my clients regardless age, gender, mental, social or economic status by addressing them by their choice in gender and last name (Mr., Miss or Mrs. Brown). I listen, acknowledge and response to my clients concerns by prioritizing their needs. Depend on the situation, before providing care I Identify myself, explain what I am about to do and wait for patient authorization; this promote a sense of autonomy and encourage participation in treatment.

I am still struggling with the fact that care givers should empathize with client. Whenever I see clients as my love ones in some cases, I take their issues too personal and get overwhelmed.  In these situations, I tried to solve the issue as quickly as possible, offer alternative or make referrals.

I am very grateful to God for this privilege to be part of the health care team. My dream after the accomplishment of my degree is to become more involved on how to help developing a healthier community through primary preventive measure because it more cost effective.