Each person enters nursing school with predetermined beliefs. These beliefs impact individual actions, reactions and decisions. A nursing philosophy is deeply rooted in beliefs and values.
“Nursing philosophy is based on the what, why and how of nursing, as it applies to you in alignment with your own beliefs and values around nursing practice. You don’t just have to go along with what you feel you should say or what others expect you to feel. This must come from true feelings and values from the heart,” the healthcare recruitment firm Nursco wrote in “Nursing Philosophy – Why Do We Do It?”
A nursing philosophy is also deeply ingrained in a nurse’s character and changes through the course of a career. What bachelor’s-level nursing students write as their philosophies will be different than what master’s-level students will write. A personal nursing philosophy shows that nurses are considerate of patient dignity and ongoing care.
Nursing schools value personal nursing philosophies, and they often require nursing students to write them. However, writing a philosophy can be challenging because some students tend to write what they think the instructor wants rather than what’s in their hearts