The document is a philosophy paper written by a nursing student. It discusses the student's views on nursing, leadership, and how they have developed in nursing school. The student sees nursing as focusing on compassionate patient care and advocacy. As a nurse and leader, the student aims to put patients first and lead by example with empathy. Nursing school has strengthened the student's commitment to care and shaped their career goals, though it has not fundamentally changed who they are as a compassionate person.

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Philosophy/Leadership Paper
NUR 470
Keli Wilkie
California Baptist University
September 22, 2015

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What is nursing?
Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention
of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human
response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations (ANA,
2015). Each person, institution, and government have different ideas of what is nursing. The
meaning of nursing has many different descriptions and to each person they may believe it to
mean something different; and this does not make them wrong. Nursing is a title that covers
many different duties, responsibilities, situations and titles.
As a nurse, one is responsible for taking care of the patient, families, doctors, and every
other person that may walk through the patient’s door. Nursing starts at getting to know your
patient and understanding their specific situation and condition. It is important in nursing to
make sure that the quality of care for the patient is outstanding and covers all aspects of their
needs, wants and healing process. The patient is the primary focus of nursing and every other
responsibility stems from the basis of patient care. Nurses must also focus on taking care of all
doctor’s orders and concerns, families’ worries and fears, along with making sure all visitors and
personnel entering the patient’s room are not going to endanger the outcome of the patient
(Meliniotis, 2011).
Nursing is a thought process, a mind set, a way of life. To be in nursing takes special
people who can put aside every feeling and opinion they have and put every patient they come
across ahead of themselves and their own needs. This field requires nurses who are able to stand
for hours, get yelled at repeatedly, blamed for everything that goes wrong, thanked for little,
accused of errors, getting covered in bodily fluids, assisting patients in daily activities such as
toiling and feedings; but above all, nurses are the ones beside the patient guiding them through

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their recovery and healing. There are many aspects of nursing that seem very unpleasant to most
individuals, and that is how nurses truly are cut from a different old than everyone else. It is a
profession full of disgusting situations but also full of the most rewarding outcomes.
Who am I as a nurse?
Nursing is a profession full of compassion and love. As a nurse, I believe those are two
important aspects that I bring into my patient care. Throughout my life I have been in and out of
hospitals watching good and bad nurses and doctors care for my brother and affect his healing
process. These encounters with hospital personal and nursing pushed me towards deciding that I
wanted to become a nurse and be able to guide families and clients through the most difficult
times of their lives and allow me to make those horrible situations slightly better for the client.
To me, the most important part of nursing is making the client and family feel like they have
someone on their side during all the commotion and confusion when most feel like their opinions
and feelings do not matter once admitted because the doctors just do what they think is right.
I understand nursing is more than just being a patient advocate, but when speaking about
who I am as a nurse, I believe this is where the focus should be. Every nurse understand the
medical aspects of the job but not every nurse has the love, compassion and heart that they need
to give the client well rounded care. I believe that as a nurse I will be the one the clients
remember due to my big heart and empathy that I have. It is of great importance to me to ensure
my client feels like someone is actually there listening to them and caring about how their care
and healing is going.
How does humanbecoming affect me as a nurse?
Parse sees professional nurses as being on a journey to becoming skilled communicators
(Kupperschmidt, 2010). She uses different aspects of her humanbecoming theory to emphasis

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different parts of becoming a nurse and being a competent nurse focused on the patient and their
recovery. According to the American Nurses Association, Parse’s theory is about being in the
environment with the client for quality care, being truly present with them and their journey
throughout their care, co-creating meaning between the patient and their care, and being able to
take responsibility for the client and their care (Kupperschmidt, 2010).
This theory affects me as a nurse by putting emphasis on the importance of how the
patient is cared for having a lasting influence on the outcome of their care and recovery. By
using skilled communication and Parse’s theory it assists nurses in helping the patient through
their transformation and journey. The humanbecoming theory outlines the proper ways that
nurses should interact with their clients and how when the theory is used in practice it allows for
better outcomes in the patient care and maintain a healthy work environment (Parse).
How do biblical principles influence me as a nurse?
One of the most important aspects of nursing is being a leader. Everything nurses do stem
from the foundation of a leader whether it is taking care of a patient, being an advocate, standing
up to a doctor, or making tough decisions during a crisis. Without being a leader, a nurse is not at
their best and will not provide their clients with the care they need and deserve. I use the bible
and my faith in helping myself become a better leader and follower because without both of
those great aspects, I know I can not become the nurse I was put on this Earth to become. I need
my leadership skills and my faith to help guide me through this journey and to help me guide my
patients through their journeys.
Although the Bible is mainly focused on sharing the word of the Lord and explaining His
undying love for us, it also shares insight on how to become a spiritual leader. Throughout the
Bible we can see God using His spiritual leaders to help spread His word and share His love with

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the people. In the book of Proverbs it explains different leadership principles in which we should
live by. Proverbs 14:28, “The mark of a good leader is loyal followers; / leadership is nothing
without a following,” shows the importance of understanding that leadership is not just a
position, but instead it should be an influence on others (Grunlan, 2007). People need to be able
to listen and want to follow a leader not just because they have the title but because they work
with them and they make it about a team not being a boss. Proverbs 15:22, “Refuse good advice
and watch your plans fail; / take good counsel and watch them succeed,” teaches us about the
importance of realizing when we need to seek advice from other people (Grunlan, 2007). It does
not matter how much knowledge someone has, if you can not get past the fact that at some point
every person needs help and advice from another person.
The last verse that speaks great meaning to me in the aspect of becoming a good leader
and thus becoming a great nurse is Proverbs 16:14, “An intemperate leader wreaks havoc in
lives; . . . Good-tempered leaders invigorate lives.” This verse speaks importance to me,
especially when related to nursing, because it explains that no matter the situation it is important
for leaders to put their emotions aside and react in a calm manner in order to fulfill the duties of a
leader (Grunlan, 2007). Nursing requires us to support clients and their families in difficult
situations and decisions that they may make. It does not matter our opinion of how we believe
things should be done, but rather to give the support and approval that the client needs for a
positive recovery.
Who am I as a leader?
According to the American Nurses Association, there are nine principles of success to
become a good leader in nursing. Many of them focus on leaders make sure a decision is best for
an entire unit not just an individual and making sure to keep followers happy with the way the

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leader is handling decisions. It explains the importance of having passion and purpose to allow
the leader to have perseverance in which will better a nurse when being an advocate for clients.
Leaders need to have strong communication skills and be the example of the standards they
expect all the followers to abide by (Guyton, 2012).
These principles are great qualities of a leader and as a leader I do my best to ensure that
I can be the best leader possible. I find it important to try to make everyone feel like their voice
is heard and that no one opinion is better than another. There is a giant difference in being a
leader and a boss and to me one must understand the difference to be the great leader. Bosses
stand above their employees and demand for them to get things done, while a leader stands in
front of their followers and help them succeed by showing them the correct way to get the tasks
at hand done. One demands, the other shows by example and helps. These are the characteristics
I have that I believe makes me a great leader and helps me with my nursing.
How have I changed in nursing school?
Throughout nursing school I have learned many new techniques and medical procedures
that are needed to become a competent and safe nurse. However, I would not say that I have
changed during nursing school. Instead I would argue that I have grown and developed into a
better person, nurse and friend. Nursing school has taken my qualities and characteristics and
shaped them into a stronger more intelligent person. My compassion for people and my love of
medicine has grown tremendously since I started the program three years ago. Over the past few
years I have found out more about myself and where I stand in my morals and beliefs on not just
medicine but in life. Meeting all these new students and teachers have opened my heart and eyes
to many new views on life. Then there are the patients that I have met and had the chance to
work with during my clinical rotations that have proven to me that all this hard work, late nights,

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long papers, and little sleep are worth it and will continue to be worth it for the rest of my life.
Nursing school has taken all my previous expectations about becoming a nurse and made them
better.
The only part about my life that I think has changed from nursing school is where I hope
to end up after I graduate. I always believed I would become a pediatric nurse and plan to
attempt to go into that field as soon as I was able to, however, I now see my life heading into the
mental health field or labor and delivery. I never expected I would want to go back to school to
receive my masters, but now thanks to nursing school, I have realized that my future dream sits
with becoming a nurse midwife and helping women and families through one of the hardest,
most painful, and wonderful experiences of their lives. Nursing school has made me into a
stronger, more confident woman than I ever believed possible and I would not be the woman I
am today without this experience and guidance.
References
American Nurses Association. (2015, March 15). What is Nursing? Retrieved September 20,
2015, from http://www.nursingworld.org/EspeciallyForYou/What-is-Nursing
Grunlan, S. (2007, November 1). Leadership principles from Proverbs - Ministry Magazine.
Retrieved September 20, 2015, from https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/2007/11/
leadership-principles-from-proverbs

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Guyton, N. (2012, August 11). Nine principles of successful nursing leadership - American
Nurse
Today. Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://www.americannursetoday.com/nine-
principles-of-successful-nursing-leadership/
Kupperschmidt, B. (2010, January 31). A Healthy Work Environment: It Begins With You.
Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/
ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol152010/No1Jan2010/A-
Healthy-Work-Environment-and-You.html
Meliniotis, C. (2011, September 19). Effective Nursing Leadership. Retrieved September 20,
2015, from http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/Effective-Nursing-
Leadership.aspx
Proverbs 14:28 (Revised Standard Version)
Proverbs 15:22 (Revised Standard Version)
Proverbs 16:14 (Revised Standard Version)
Selanders, L. (2012, January 31). The Voice of Florence Nightingale on Advocacy. Retrieved
September 20, 2015, from
http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/Ta
bleofContents/Vol-17-2012/No1-Jan-2012/Florence-Nightingale-on-Advocacy.html