Analysis Of The Documentary ' The American Nurse '

The personal values that help contribute to my worldview and philosophy of nursing that is most important, is my religion. I am a Christian and this means that I am to be Christ like in my every day life and work. I am taught to treat others as I would want to be treated and care for them as I would do for myself. I am to help the sick, wounded, poor and widowed. Nursing in its roots are very much the same thing. Helping the ones who are unable to help themself. The underlying rule for nurses is to do no harm. My spiritual vales shape who I am, what I am and what I do. If I do all things as if I were doing them to the glory of God, then I know all things would turn out right. When obeying God and his commands,

Registered Nurses are regulated across the United States by organizations such as the National League for Nursing and the American Nurses Association. In addition to these organizations, each state has their own Board of Nursing who regulates state requirements of nursing education programs. A nurse’s character can be defined within the provisions of the Code of Ethics created by the ANA. Inside the provisions from the Code of Ethics are professional traits that are needed to work together in an interdisciplinary team. The four traits I use the most in nursing are accountability, respect, integrity, and collaboration. Core values are not the only

The American Nurse is a documentary filmed that premiered to a sold out crowd during the National Nurses Week in 2014. It is produced and directed by Carolyn Jones, a professional photographer who after suffering from breast cancer, goes out in search of nurses in the field and collect their experiences as they carry out their duties. While most of the people go to the theater for entertainment, this documentary gives a very different perspective for those who go to watch it (Jones & Frank, 2014). It is an educative segment that brings out the true meaning of its title, “The American Nurse; Healing America.”

A major contributor to my nursing philosophy was my being in the Air Force, and the many knowledgeable and supportive supervisors an co-workers that I had. The Air Force has the core values of integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do. I feel that these core values helped shape my nursing philosophy. I feel integrity is an integral part of nursing as we must always do the right thing no matter what. I believe that nurses must also put their service of helping others above themselves. Nursing is not a job but is a sense of duty, and I those who truly desire to be nurses have no issue putting others above them. I believe that nurses must also strive to perform to the highest level possible. We must strive for excellence in all we do as a means to provide the most competent and effective care possible. It is the reinforcement of these core values by my mentors, and their application to my professional and educational experiences that contribute to my personal philosophy of

“Philosophies of nursing are statements of beliefs about nursing and expressions of values in nursing that are used as bases for thinking and acting. Most philosophies are built on a foundation of beliefs about people, environment, health, and nursing” (Chitty & Black, p. 298). By using person, environment, health, and nursing as a guideline to achieve the ultimate goals of nursing; I will discuss my personal philosophy and how these factors are used in nursing.

The greatest aspect about nursing is that it is never going to be just a job and is even more than a merely profession. Instead, it is a belief system or way of life and not a discipline that can simply be practiced then abandoned to the dictates of a time clock. To simply say that “I love people” or want to “help people get better” does not demonstrate the drive behind this feeling. Articulating my philosophy is not an easy task, to better explain my philosophy of nursing, I am going to use some values that I have learned. These tools truly explain how I feel and what has motivated me to pursue nursing as a career.

When people think about nurses, many ideas come to mind. They think of the hideous old starched, white uniforms, a doctor’s handmaiden, the sexy or naughty nurse, or a torturer. The media and society have manipulated the identity and role of nurses. None of these ideas truly portray nurses and what they do. Nurses are with the patients more than the doctors. People do not realize how little they will encounter the doctor in the hospital until they are actually in the hospital. People quickly realize how important nurses are. Because nurses interact with their patients constantly, nurses are the ones who know the patients best.

Professional values guide the decisions and actions we make in our careers. As nurses we are responsible for caring for patients during birth, death, illness and healing. If we are not aware of the decisions and actions to take it would be impossible to provide our patients with exceptional care. The values that are the foundation of the nursing profession are altruism, autonomy, human dignity, and social justice. In this paper I will define each value and describe their impact on nurses and nursing students.

The development of a philosophy related to the profession of nursing is important in that it provides a framework for the nurse to base his/her work on. Philosophy is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means”. In other words, philosophies are based on beliefs and assumptions with an overall goal of obtaining an objective which states the nurse’s purpose in the profession. In my undergraduate nursing program I was exposed to multiple nursing concepts that guided my practice. Coupled with my ten years of experience in the nursing field, I was enabled to formulate my own framework or guide to nursing. The paradigm which resonates with me the most is the interactive-integrative perspective as it views practice “as having multiple, interrelated parts in relation to a specific context.” (Newman, Sime, & Corcoran-Perry, 1991, p.38). My framework includes three main components: the client, the professional nurse, and the nurse-client relationship.

Philosophy is a set of ideas, values, and beliefs behind what a person does (Merriam- Webster Dictionary, 2015). All nurses have beliefs about what nursing is and is not. It is important to stay true to one’s personal, moral, and ethical values at all times. Nurses are morally and ethically responsible for their patients, decisions, and actions (Lindh, Barbosa, Berg, & Severinsson, 2010). Every nurse brings something different to healthcare because they have different philosophies and/or believe in different nursing theories that guide their practice.

The values I had put forth include altruism, human integrity, honesty and generosity as well as helpfulness. Every nurse needs to have these four essential values to do their best for the patients. While a selfless concern for others well-being has been an oath that is taken by every nursing practitioner, I have, so far in my work towards the patients, have been altruistic and selfless. There are times when a difficult patient or an emergency (when you have a personal plan outside

Everyone’s values and beliefs about the profession of nursing are all different. The four concepts of nursing are interrelated and all mean something different to every person, too. Throughout this paper, I will be reflecting on my values and beliefs about nursing through the four concepts while comparing them to a nursing theorist with views that are most similar to my own.

Professional values are the foundation for practice; they guide interactions with client, colleagues, other professionals, and the public, by providing the framework for commitment to the Welfare of others. They are also belief or ideas to which an individual is committed and which are reflected in patterns of behavior. Institute of medicine (2000). In this article, I will define Altruism, Autonomy, Human Dignity, Integrity, and Social Justice. I will also identify how these values are demonstrated in our every day lives by other nurses and myself. According to Dougherty (1992) “Altruism is a concern

A professional nurse is one who puts the needs and importance of patient care above all others. While striving for professionalism, nurses need compassion, patience, empathy, strong moral and ethics, accountability and the commitment to always act in the best interest of their patients. Nurses are held accountable for providing quality, safe, and effective nursing care (Hood, 2014). A professional nurse has the responsibility to continually improve and implement nursing standards while maintaining integrity by involving themselves in various tasks. Regular involvement in reading professional literature and sharing of evidence- based research with other healthcare personal helps increase knowledge and skills. This nursing ability can be used to encourage the actions of others in the healthcare team resulting in improved patient care. Nurses should encourage each other to become involved in hospital committees, provide an environment to encourage the discussions of ethical dilemmas, promote professional growth of nurses to voice their concerns and share viewpoints to address issues. “A professional nurse should expect to commit to a life of continuous learning growth and development”. (Hood, 2014, pp. 29). Nurses choose this profession to help others. As professional nurses we must maintain our ethics, values, characteristics, and commitment to drive our profession forward (CCN, 2015). Nurses must be autonomous, accountable, and be able to delegate to unlicensed assistive personnel. Being autonomous as a nurse means having control over their practice (Hood, 2014). It allows a nurse to take risks while being held accountable for ones’ actions (Hood, 2014).

It is very important in any professional organization that the values of workers are aligned with that of the organization. In this reference the values of nurses hold a specific importance since it serves humanity and therefore its alignment with its organization is crucial for patient outcomes. Usually the values of any firm depends on things such as networking, educational opportunities provided to its employees, professional and personal growth and so on. Similarly, the values of nursing depend on things such as its technical skills, scientific knowledge and specific human values.