Personal Self-Concept: I Think That I Am

Personal Self-Concept:

I think that I am a fairly confident person who wants to do my best in the nursing profession and can do so given the particular range of talents and qualities that I possess. Helpful talents include the ability and desire to learn and acquire new knowledge as well as the tendency to reflect. Critical reflection is an important quality in nursing, particularly as espoused by the evidence-based learning field, since it enables me to evaluate my teaching and to determine whether current and authoritative research may not reverse and update current practice thereby nudging me in new directions.

I also like people and this is important for nursing. Important too is the fact that I have curiosity about other cultures and ways of life. I will need this in a field where the whole person needs to be respected for him or herself and where, as Watson (for instance) advocates, the patient should be considered in the context of her environment (family and community). Different environments cause people to behave in different ways. Tolerance for and curiosity about different cultural patterns stands me in good stead. My health, too, is good whilst my health risks are low. This is excellent for a stressful position. I have a large support system and exercise regularly. This is not to say that I am above stress, but I have a way of dealing with it. I do not consider myself particularly attractive. I consider myself an intelligent person.

My desired self-concept is that I maximize my talents to become the best sort of person that I can be. I would also like to be more patient, and like to deal with stress better. These are all realistic goals.

2. Professional self-concept:

Ironically, my origin made me less tolerant of other races that I actually am. Life experience and vast reading as well as interaction with a diversity of people have made me more tolerant. I do not think I am biased although I have read that some social scientists argue that all people are implicitly biased. I may be biased towards, and intimidated by people of certain professions (such as politicians) and of a certain class (such as the provocatively wealthy). This may influence my nursing towards such patients. I also dislike people who are radically religious and practice their religion in an aggressive, holier-than-thou manner. I would like o treat all people the same regardless of past and disturbing personal characteristics. I do not know whether this is possible.

3. Definition of Nursing

My own definition of nursing follows that of its founder Florence Nightingale which is 'nursing' in the literal sense, i.e. To provide for and care for the patient. This caring extends to all aspects not just to the illness so that one treats the patient in a holistic way (see Jane Watson), thereby hopefully preventing recurrence of the disease. 'Nursing' extends to caring for the patient as a whole. I also think that 'nursing' should precede the stereotypical image of it as pure simple and feminine nurturing. It should be seen, too, as something that can be intellectually-stimulating, inspiring, and involving many more fields than the simple mundane and physical labor that it is commonly thought to be. Nursing can be as much critical and activist oriented as any other profession.

Nursing Theorist / Theory:

I incline towards Benner's theory. Benner (2001) posits 5 different levels of development that the health-care practitioner moves through: novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert. Each one builds on the other as the nurse uses the reflection gained from her experience to improve her practice. Each of these five different levels constitute proficiency and skill not only in practical labor, but also in other components -- such as skilled communication and mentoring -- that are integral to the field of nursing. The novice nurse, for instance, tends to see the patient as an object made up of discrete pieces of information / data and specific tasks that she, the nurse, has to master. The expert nurse, however, on the top of the rung, can move beyond that approaching her task in a more automatic fashion and seeing the patient as an individual who is worthy of and requires her full respect. At the same time, the expert nurse can effortlessly and diligently move through her tasks without being caught up in the technical details. The expert is able to transcend the tasks and patient to read the whole picture, but she ignores nothing else whilst doing so.

I prefer Benner's model because I believe that a nurse is on a constant dynamic of growth and need not tear herself up with guilt if she fails to act according to her ideals. Nursing is a constant growth experience, and, rather than existing of one theory, it exists of many. But the theories all reflect the one discipline, namely, they are multi-faceted aspects of the same profession. A skilled nurse incorporates aspects of the various theories. But this is a life-encompassing objective.

e. Professional goals

My professional goals are to become the best kind of nurse that I can be. I would also like to move upwards through the ranks; to be less stressful in my dealing with patients; and to effectively and effortlessly integrate my home life with that of nursing so that each houses its own domain (stays in its own corner) and does not overlap. Ideally, I would like to contribute to research in the future and make nursing more of the prestigious profession that it can be by publishing articles to that effect.

I would like to treat patients and their families in a dignified manner; would like to learn whatever I can from physicians and communicate with peers in a diplomatic and skilled manner; I would also like to rise above stress and remain cheerful regardless of patient and circumstance dynamics.