Nsg 400 - Professional Practice Reflection Paper

Professional Practice Reflection Paper

Lindsey Moffatt

NSG 400

July 15, 2014

Jennifer Millar

Professional Practice Reflection Paper

        When people think of a nurse they think of someone who takes care of the sick. Nursing has been around for decades and had a long history behind it. Nursing is one of the oldest professions as it started when the nurses cared for the sick in their homes, which makes the nursing profession much more interesting and valued. Nursing has grown into so much more and provides an endless of opportunity. Nurses care for people through illness, they promote health, prevent diseases and they also educate the public. I choose nursing as a career because nursing is influential and a rewarding profession. I feel nursing has no boundaries, you are continuously learning and you can go any direction you would like to go. Nursing provides endless disciplines such as: oncology, radiology, emergency, operating room, anesthesia, home health, hospice, and many more. I believe it takes a special person to be a nurse and make a difference and I want to be one of those people that make a difference.

I believe that my view on values and beliefs about life, health, illness, and death make big impact on what kind of nurse I will become. Values and beliefs set the attitude of the person and how they see things. Values and beliefs give direction, influence decision, and even ethical nursing decision making. I believe in quality of life and for as long as I can remember I lived with the mind set to always live life to the fullest. I believe life is a gift and we should not take it for granite. I believe that how we fuel our bodies reflects on how healthy our lifestyle will be. I believe life is short and we should take care of ourselves the best we can. Health is important as a nurse, because you are setting an example for your patients as your teaching them the best way to care for themselves. I believe we are advocates for our patients and their prospective of our whole self is essential to empower them as our patients.  

Attitude is everything when it comes to the impact of care you have as a nurse to patients. Values vary depending on personals cultural background, religious believes, ethic views, and social traditions (Blais & Hayes, 2011, p. 50). Values are passed on importance from greatest to least important and often times we find ourselves reflecting our own vales and relation to our patients. As a nurse we are expected to serve our patients and protect their dignity despite what our values and beliefs are. Values often times our personal values often times cloud the mind of what our professional values should betray. It is my duty as a nurse to respect and carry out my patient’s self-worth, wishes, and values. It is my duty to educate the patient to my best knowledge within my scope of practice without prejudice or influence of my own values, allowing the patient to make their own self determination and decisions.