What is nursing? At the beginning I always thought it was just about helping people, which is one of the main reasons why I wanted to become a nurse. However, as I went through the nursing program and attended clinical rotations, I saw it was much deeper than that. My personal nursing philosophy evolved and changed to what it is today, that a nurse must possess these traits; compassion, knowledge, levelheadedness, critical thinking, and patient advocacy. I believe these are the traits that make a well-rounded nurse be able to work in any field they choose.
When my father had to have back surgery for his pinched sciatic nerve, I was a complete mess because I was worried about him never being able to walk properly again. I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to go back to work and do the things he loves because of his pain. When we were at the hospital getting ready for the surgery, the nurse who was with us could sense my discomfort. She had asked me what I was worried about and when I told her, she explained how she understood my point of view, but that it was a common procedure, and everything would work out just fine. She even gave some tips for my dad to do when he was feeling pain and which types of exercises would benefit him after the surgery. It was then that I discovered that the nurse’s job isn’t just to take care of the patients, but also the patient’s family. She sensed my discomfort and helped me talk about my feeling’s regarding the surgery my dad had to go through. As a nurse you have to be able to notice the nonverbal signs of the patient and their family members. It is a special trait that allows nurses to be great and be able to deal with any problems that they have to face. This is a part of my nursing philosophy.
Coming from a Brazilian family means that our food is definitely not the healthiest around. Our diet mainly consists of rice, beans and meat, and heaping plates for each family member. My diet consisted of carbohydrates and red meat as a younger child. As I am finishing nursing school, I have learned how important it is to have a well-balanced and healthy diet and lifestyle. This can help decrease the risk of many health disorders I have learned throughout school. I am trying to teach my parents how to maintain a healthy, well balanced diet so that they can improve their bodies and their minds. My mom is much more accepting of this new routine, while my dad is a little more difficult. He still wants to add extra sugar to his drinks and much more salt to his food, but he is a very active man in his job and at home so I am trying to convince him to decrease it little by little. I plan on educating my parents more about how eating healthy and having a healthy lifestyle will benefit them in their future.
Being in many different hospitals, I have been able to see the different, dynamic work environments. I have seen some terrible work environments where the nurses do not even seem to want to be there and much less have the desire to help the patients. There are other work environments where the nurses are amazing and have a wonderful relationship with each other, but have a strained relationship with the doctors and physicians. Then there was a work environment where the nurses help one another out and respect each other, but also have the respect of the doctors, and they have a wonderful working relationship. That is the type environment I would enjoy working in; a place where I can enjoy working with my coworkers, where we respect each other and work together towards the common goal of helping better our patients.
In conclusion, I am so grateful to have gone through this program to become a registered nurse. I have learned so much from my professors and from my clinical rotations. It has given me the skills and knowledge to become the nurse I would want to take care of me and my family if we ever got sick or injured. That is how I believe I will give the best care to my patients.
