Since I was a very small child I remember always being the one that wanted to help anyone that I could in my neighborhood that was less fortunate than me. Whether it was providing them with clothing that was no longer of use to me or providing them with a meal. I knew then that I wanted to go into a field where I can be someone that people can count on and someone that can make a positive change in someone’s life by showing them love, compassion, empathy, and unconditional support.
Impact of nursing theorists on me
As I began learning about many influential nursing theorists that have made such an important and positive impact in nursing, I feel my ideologies relate most with Jean Watson. “Watson believes the practice of caring is central to nursing”. (Koernig Blais & Hayes, 2016, p. 109). Jean Watson can be seen as a transformational leader, someone who will, “motivate followers to achieve a common goal, rather than to work in their own interest”.
(Jambo, 2018, p.998). Which can be compared to the caring theory that “both the nurses and the patient come together in a caring environment”. (Koernig Blais & Hayes, 2016, p. 110).
The Transformational leadership style is one that it is used in many healthcare practices to improve not only the quality of patient care and the service they received but it also focuses on the satisfaction of the employees which in turn improves the quality of care the patients receive during their stay. “Promotes a positive practice environment, which leads to improved staff satisfaction, retention and patient satisfaction”.
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“ Amazing as always, gave her a week to finish a big assignment and came through way ahead of time. ”
(Bahadori, 2016, p. 135). A transformational leader is someone that interacts with their followers to promote confidence and encouragement to help them achieve their goals. They work by setting the example of a role model and leading with compassion, treating everyone with dignity and respect, they always carry themselves with the highest standards, as stated by Giddens, 2018 “transformational leaders focus on building relationships with people and creating a change by emphasizing values”.
My career in medicine
Between being in a primary care physician’s office and a phlebotomist at a hospital, I have been in the medical field for just about fifteen years now. Within these fifteen years, I have had numerous encounters which made it possible for me to show who I am as a person. These positions allowed me to do what I have always wanted but left me with a yearning to do more, which led to pursuing a career in nursing. As I began to learn about Jean Watson, not only did I realize my ideologies matched hers prior to even knowing about her, but after learning about her and her practices, I can say that this leader has definitely influenced my practices and personal philosophy of nursing. I have not only learned but see in my practices how genuine gestures of love and empathy have helped me to have better communication and interpersonal relationship with the patients. I have many memories of situations that I have come across but one that has always stuck with me is a situation where a patient was extremely frustrated with his nurse because he was not being listened to. He had always had problems when it came to getting intravenous lines or a simple blood draw due to the fact that his veins were not easy to find. Like many patients with similar complications, they have dealt with this struggle for all of their life, so many of them learn to know which site is better to obtain blood or insert an intravenous line. All this patient was trying to do for about thirty minutes was to tell his nurse where she should go, but he was not acknowledged and because of this miscommunication and disregard of the patient’s preference, he suffered multiple needle sticks. As I was walking to the floor all I can hear is yelling. Before entering the patient’s room, the nurse warns me about how rude and difficult the patient is and if he refuses the blood draw to just walk away. As I enter the room the patient automatically and understandably so, looks frustrated and starts yelling, I patiently listen to him, I don’t try to talk over him and allow him to finish. Once the patient had stopped talking I introduced myself and explained to him the procedure, right away he said no, but I explained to him the importance of the blood work and how this will help his doctor provide a better care plan for him to get him better and home. I also explained to him that I would use a small needle and promised him that I would not stick him unless I had found a vein and furthermore asked him if he had site preference. Right away his facial expression of the look of anger changed and he allowed me to draw his blood and at the end of the small procedure, he thanked me, not only for listening to him but also for being understanding and having compassion.
My experiences at a primary care facility
A second experience that I have encountered while working at a primary care facility as a medical assistant occurred a couple of years ago. The patient at that time was a young, 22-year-old, African American man who had been a patient at the office since he was a young child. He called the office following up on his most recent blood results which included an STD screening. I was the one who answered the phone call and had to inform the patient that he had to come in to speak with the doctor urgently. Given his previous history, the Doctor, and I were in disbelief that this patient came up positive for HIV. A life-altering diagnoses such as this, would shake even the strongest of individuals to their core. The patient, understandably so, was distraught. We followed through with confirmatory testing, which confirmed the diagnoses. In the meantime, I was then put in charge of handling the necessary paperwork that came along with the diagnoses, such as reporting it to the Department of Health and arranging the necessary appointments with the Infectious Disease clinic. Along with this, I spent some time talking to the patient, giving him a platform to voice his concerns, and answer any question he had to the best of my abilities to help him cope while moving through this stressful situation. The patient to today’s date regularly follows up at the office and continues to be immensely grateful not only the medical services we were able to provide, without judgment but also the support and counseling the Doctor and I were able to provide. In my personal experience this shows me how Jean Watson’s Theory of Caring can help anyone become a better healthcare provider by understanding the impact that caring, empathy, and treating everyone unconditionally will have on your patients.
Nowadays we live in a society that is filled with so many different cultures and people from different parts of the world. We come in contact with a very large diversity of patients, some with high degrees of education to some that never had the opportunity to attend school, and some that don’t speak the language. In my nursing philosophy, I believe that everyone is equal and that we should treat every patient with the same respect and attention we would want our loved ones to receive. I want to put forth my loving, empathetic and caring personality as I embark on this journey of life in the nursing field. I want to be able to say at the end of my shift that I was able to impact someone’s life in a positive way and made a change not only with the patient but with their families and also with my coworkers. I want to use Jean Watson’s Theory of caring as I practice as a registered nurse with my patients, I also want to follow The Transformational Leadership style not only with the patients but again with everyone that I encounter at work. I believe that one small change is all that is needed to start a positive change in any aspect of life. Being able to be a role model to the new nurses that I will come across or to my colleagues to help them achieve their goals and aspirations will be a rewarding feeling. Being a nurse is not just a job for me, it is more about being a voice for your patients when they can’t communicate, advocating for them for the best care that they deserve and should receive, being understanding and most importantly treating everyone equal.
My Professional Role Development in Nursing. (2022, Mar 13). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/my-professional-role-development-in-nursing/
