Becoming a baccalaureate-prepared nurse has exposed my life to so many new things that I had never thought I would experience. I am expected to be ready to serve in a variety of health care settings including critical care, mental health, palliative care and public health among many others. Nurses are normally the primary contacts for patients at hospitals spending a lot of time with patients, more than even doctors, and are thus exposed to the medical, emotional and mental experiences that patients undergo ( Williams, Gill & Mark, 2009). This hospital setting was my first major setting after qualifying as a nurse and it changed my life in many ways. Community service spells working with homeless people, army veterans and even prisoners have changed my perspective of life and what things I value in life and I will highlight these in this paper.
The maintenance of human dignity is a fundamental principle upon which the practice of nursing is based. As nurses, we are expected to always treat our patients in a manner that promotes their dignity as humans despite the differences or feelings we may have with them; their dignity as patients comes first above any prejudices we may have against them. This value of human dignity was something I had to learn to put in practice right from my first placement in a public hospital in a busy section of the city. I was posted as a nurse in the casualty department where I was expected to attend to patients in preparation for the doctor’s checkup. In one specific incident, an old man came into the hospital spewing racial slurs and insisting that he does not want to be touched by personnel from a particular race, in which I fall. After being calmed down by another staffer, I was assigned to help dress his gaping wound which he had come to get checked. It took a lot of patience and self-control for me to dress his wound keeping in mind that his dignity as a patient takes precedence. From then on, I am continuously learning how to separate my emotions from my work.
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I have always seen myself in a leadership role in my line of work and this has meant that put various personal and professional values into constant practice. On a professional level, I believe that a leader should be one who is able put their interests aside and champion those of the people he leads; servant leadership. Servant leadership is something feel is missing in many leaders today leading to a disconnect between what the people want and what the leaders prioritize. Integrity, I believe is the missing link between today’s leadership and the desired servant leadership. Once as volunteer nurse in a community project, I was placed in charge of medical supplies which were being supplied to homeless people and I came up with a method of ensuring all the drugs reached the intended recipients and none was diverted or returned. Other similar units to mine had drugs remaining which were then diverted back to private clinics and sold back to unsuspecting clients.
Throughout my work as a baccalaureate-prepared nurse, I have to come to develop my own working philosophy to ensure I continue operating within my personal principles. I promised myself that I will always strive to conduct myself in a manner that promotes social justice for all and puts the needs of my patients or those I lead before my personal interests. By practicing altruism where I prioritize the needs of others before my personal ones, I believe that I will be fulfilling my calling as a nurse. Service to others who require my specialized services should be the basis of my work and I intend to keep it that way no matter the positions I find myself in. Many nurses learn to be more compassionate to the less privileged members of our society due to the constant interaction ( Braband, Gaudino and Rogers, 2015). It is these voiceless people that I hope to be of great service to by increasing the range in which nurses can offer their services.
References
Braband, Barbara; Gaudino, Rebecca; and Rogers, Anissa T. (2015). "Exploring Students’ Perceptions and Understanding of Life-Altering Suffering: An Interview Project". Nursing Faculty Publications and Presentations . 11. http://pilotscholars.up.edu/nrs_facpubs/11
Williams, G. & Gill, S, & Mark T. (2009). Reflective journaling: Innovative strategy for self-awareness for graduate nursing students. Internationl Journal for Human Caring. 13. 36-43.
