Philosophy Essay

Running head: PROFESSIONAL NURSE 1
Professional Nurse in the Works
Evangelina Estrada
James Madison University RN-BSN

PROFESSIONAL NURSE 2
Professional Nurse in the Works
Most likely when you were child, the question of “What do you want to be when you
grow up?” is thrusted upon you and some sort of self-identity learning would be the goal at the
end of the assignment. Now depending on what age you were asked, the answer could vary from
being a princess to an astronaut, or you might get the occasional firefighter, veterinarian, or
doctor. When asked I always said that I wanted to be lawyer, but I think the idea was mainly my
mother’s because she considered it to be a successful career that was well paid and had longevity.
When I started listening to God, is when I found myself wanting to become a nurse.
When I was younger, I hardly found myself needing a healthcare professional. The
routine doctor’s visit for the required vaccines, never any broken bones or illnesses, nor did I
have any family members that were nurses, much less any healthcare workers. I recently found
out that my maternal grandmother was a caregiver for the elderly but by the time I was born she
was on disability and no longer working. My first real encounter with a nurse was a Nurse
Practitioner who monitored my pregnancy at the local health department. I felt like she cared,
listened, and took her time to explain everything to a young first-time mom. When it was time to
deliver, I knew she wouldn’t be there which made me anxious and fearful of not having a
familiar face during labor. The day that I was admitted into the hospital to have my baby, I was
attended by labor nurses who were evidently passionate about what they did for a living. The
care and encouragement that I received by the nurses during my labor and delivery was
profoundly touching, a lasting impact changing the course of the future. After the delivering
doctor left, the nurses were who took care of me and made me comfortable, made sure I wasn’t
bleeding uncontrollably, and taught me to breastfeed my newborn. This was the day the dream of
becoming a nurse was born.

A year later after finding myself in a situation that needed me to be self-efficient on my
own, I started looking into nursing programs to begin my career. I knew that since I was no
longer by myself, my options were limited to local, two-year schools that would allow me to be
able to attend school, work, and still be home for my daughter. With the help from an educational
advisor at the local community college, I found myself enrolling in the pre-requisites needed to
apply for the program. The dream was coming closer to reality with every passing semester. Fast
forward a year to the first clinical setting held in a nursing home. I will be honest and say that
this part of nursing school made me not want to be a nurse. I had never dealt personally with
death and the dying and that is all that came to my mind upon entering the facility. Every clinical
that dealt with the aging population made my spirits sputter and thoughts of becoming a nurse
dwindled. I had thought several times during the beginning of nursing school whether or not this
was the correct path for me. I had now only been in the program for two semesters and could
easily drop out but after remembering why I wanted to become a nurse those thoughts quickly
evaporated. We were taught early on that nursing was multi-faceted which allowed for plenty of
different areas and specialties to choose from so I shouldn’t be defeated because of a few clinical
settings.
I made it to graduation learning to appreciate the aged, but I still did not prefer it. With
the fears and misconceptions posed to me from nursing school, I decided to take a position on a
general medicine floor at a teaching hospital where I would be taking both young and older
adults. From this point forward, I learned to overcome those misconceptions and began
appreciating and seeing the elderly as people and not as those closer to entering the pearly gates.
I learned so much my first year out of nursing school. I learned how to be comfortable in asking
for help and not just assuming that I knew what to do. I also learned how to think outside the box
when it came to helping my patients. I learned so much about myself by just listening and being
open to receive the information that was being given not only from my teacher and preceptors
but also my patients.
As Janice Deheny (Deheny, 2001) mentions in her article “Articulating Your Philosophy
of Nursing”, creating and embracing a nursing philosophy defines a nurse’s practice and qualifies
their values and beliefs. In determining my philosophy, I have looked back to the beginning to
create it. “Always be open, whether it be your eyes, your mind, or your heart. There is a whole
world waiting to be found, to be wondered, and to be loved. Allow yourself those humilities and
you will live like never before.” I chose this as my philosophy because by being open, I have
learned to overcome barriers I once thought stopped be from pursing this dream. I have seen,
wondered, and loved so many things about this profession that only makes me thirst for more.
In these short three years since becoming a licensed registered nurse, I have found myself
in orientation for at least three months in four different jobs. I have learned something new from
each position and have overcome challenges that were once in front of me. I have yet to stay in a
position for more than a year and so becoming a team player and becoming friends with other
nurses have been the biggest influences in my career to date. As I move along within Benner’s
Stages of Nursing Proficiency, I hope to one day become an expert practitioner in my current job
as a labor and delivery nurse (Black, 2020). Overcoming the notions I once had about the older
population and learning how to be open, not only with my mind but with my heart, has set the
motion for growth and leadership in caring for whatever patient population that my nursing
career shall take me.

References
Black, B. P. (2020). Professional Nursing; Concepts and Challenges. In B. P. Black, Professional
Nursing; Concepts and Challenges (p. 106). St. Louis: Elsevier.
Deheny, J. (2001). Articulating Your Philosophy of Nursing. The Journal of School Nursing, 1-2.

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Running head: PROFESSIONAL NURSE 1

Professional Nurse in the Works

James Madison University RN-BSN

Professional Nurse in the Works

becoming a nurse was born.

A year later after finding myself in a situation that needed me to be self-efficient on my

but also my patients.

career shall take me.

Black, B. P. (2020). Professional Nursing; Concepts and Challenges. In B. P. Black, Professional

Nursing; Concepts and Challenges (p. 106). St. Louis: Elsevier.

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