| Course | NR 513 Professional Role Enhancement |
|---|---|
| Week | 3 |
| Paper type | Philosophy of practice statement |
| Length | About 1,140 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | MSN |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for NR 513 Week 3
Philosophy of Practice Statement: Two Commitments From a Perianesthesia Nurse That Rule Something Out, Each Tied to a Decision Already Made and Priced for a Bad Night
Student Name
College of Nursing, Chamberlain University
NR 513: Professional Role Enhancement
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Philosophy of Practice Statement: Two Commitments From a Perianesthesia Nurse That Rule Something Out, Each Tied to a Decision Already Made and Priced for a Bad Night
Why Two, and Why These
A statement of practice built from compassion, integrity and excellence would be true of me and of every other nurse in this section, so it would say nothing. This statement makes two commitments instead. Each is specific enough that a colleague working beside me could tell, at the end of a shift, whether I had kept it. Each is tied to a decision I have already made in twelve years in a postanesthesia care unit, and each says what it costs on a night when keeping it is hard.
Carper (1978) named four ways nurses know things: the empirical, drawn from science; the esthetic, shown in how care is carried out; the personal, which comes from the nurse's self-awareness in each encounter; and the ethical, which concerns what should be done. I use her framework as support rather than scaffolding. Each commitment below rests mainly on one pattern, and I say where I think her account is incomplete for my setting.
Commitment 1: I Do Not Release a Patient From Phase I on a Score Alone
The commitment. Before I release a patient from Phase I, I stand at the bedside, ask them to take a deep breath and cough, watch them do it, and check their oxygen saturation off supplemental oxygen for a full five minutes. I do this even when the recovery score says they are ready and the next patient is coming through the door.
The decision behind it. Four years ago, on a busy afternoon, a colleague and I had a man in his sixties whose modified Aldrete score had reached 9. Aldrete (1995) revised the original scoring system to use oxygen saturation instead of skin color, and it has been the standard shorthand for readiness in our unit ever since. His score was accurate. But when I asked him to breathe deeply, he could not, and his saturation drifted from 95% to 89% over three minutes off oxygen. He had residual weakness that the score did not capture. We kept him, the anesthesiologist gave a reversal agent, and he left an hour later without harm.
What it rules out. It rules out releasing a patient because the number is right and the unit is full. It also rules out delegating the final check to a monitor reading taken while the patient is still on oxygen.
What it costs. On a bad night, when I am the only on-call nurse and a second emergency case is waiting in the operating room, this commitment slows the flow. Five minutes off oxygen is five minutes the next patient waits. I have kept surgeons and anesthesiologists waiting and have been told so.
Commitment 2: When I Am the Second Nurse, I Stay Within Earshot
The commitment. When I am the second registered nurse for a colleague recovering a Phase I patient, I stay in the unit, close enough to hear her without a phone. I do not leave to restock, chart in the break room or answer a page from another floor until her patient has left Phase I.
The decision behind it. ASPAN asks that a Phase I patient never be recovered by one nurse alone, with the backup nurse near enough to hear a colleague's voice without a phone (American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses, 2025). On our unit, the second nurse is often treated as nearby rather than present. Last spring I was the second nurse while a newer colleague recovered a child after a tonsillectomy. I was about to go to the supply room when I heard the child's breathing change through the curtain; he was developing laryngospasm. I was there within seconds. If I had been in the supply room, I would not have heard.
What it rules out. It rules out treating the second-nurse role as a formality that can be met with a phone.
What it costs. It costs me the ability to use quiet periods for other work. On nights when I am the second nurse and my own tasks pile up, I stay behind after my shift to finish them.
Where the Framework Fits and Where It Falls Short
The first commitment rests mostly on empirical knowing: the science of residual neuromuscular blockade and the limits of a score. The second rests on ethical knowing, since it concerns what I owe a colleague and her patient when the standard and the usual practice differ. Both also involve personal knowing, because both came from moments that changed how I act. Carper's framework helps me explain why each commitment matters.
Where it falls short for my setting is that it describes kinds of knowledge held by an individual nurse. Both of my commitments depend on the conditions around me: a unit where five minutes off oxygen is tolerated, and a schedule that puts a second nurse in the room. A philosophy of practice in the PACU has to include what I will ask of the system, not only what I know. The American Nurses Association's Code of Ethics recognizes this in its attention to the nurse's responsibility for the practice environment (American Nurses Association, 2025).
What the Statement Leaves Out
Two commitments are not a complete account of my practice, and they are not meant to be. I left out commitments I hold but cannot yet keep reliably, such as always completing a full handoff at the bedside when the receiving floor nurse cannot come to the PACU. Writing that one down now would be a promise I would break within a week on our current staffing, and a statement full of promises I break is worse than a short one I keep. When the handoff process changes, that commitment can be added. I also left out anything a nurse in any setting could sign, because the purpose of this statement is to describe a perianesthesia nurse in one particular hospital, not nursing in general.
What Would Show I Had Broken These
The statement is only useful if it can be broken, so I name the signs. If a colleague sees me release a patient without the deep-breath check and off-oxygen saturation, I have broken the first commitment. If I am found in the supply room while a colleague's Phase I patient is in the unit, I have broken the second. I have asked the two nurses I work with most to tell me if they see either.
References
Aldrete, J. A. (1995). The post-anesthesia recovery score revisited. Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, 7(1), 89-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/0952-8180(94)00001-K
American Nurses Association. (2025). Code of ethics for nurses. https://codeofethics.ana.org/
American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. (2025). 2025-2026 perianesthesia nursing standards, practice recommendations and interpretive statements. https://www.aspan.org/Publications-Resources/ASPAN-Publications/ASPAN-Standards
Carper, B. A. (1978). Fundamental patterns of knowing in nursing. Advances in Nursing Science, 1(1), 13-23. https://doi.org/10.1097/00012272-197810000-00004
The Chamberlain NR 513 Week 3 instructions
The Week 3 assignment asks you to write a personal philosophy of nursing practice for the advanced role you are preparing for. Prompts typically ask for your beliefs about the person, health, environment and nursing, the theories or frameworks that support them, and how they shape your practice. Some versions ask for examples and for a link to the role you are entering. The key is to be specific. Beliefs that any nurse could sign do not show individuality, which is often its own criterion. Use first person, cite one or two frameworks where they support your view, and give examples from your work. Check your section's page limit, as philosophy statements are often short.
Inside the NR 513 Week 3 example
The example opens by explaining why it contains two commitments instead of a list of values. Each commitment follows the same pattern: the commitment itself, the past decision behind it, what it rules out, and what it costs. The first comes from a patient whose recovery score was correct but whose breathing was not, and it cites Aldrete's scoring system. The second comes from a child's laryngospasm heard through a curtain, and it cites ASPAN's staffing standard. A section on the framework shows which pattern of knowing supports each commitment and where Carper's account falls short in a unit shaped by staffing. The statement also lists what it left out and how it could be broken.
Reading the NR 513 Week 3 grading rubric
The rubric for this statement typically rewards clarity of beliefs, connection to theory, application to practice and individuality. Full credit on individuality goes to statements that a reader could not mistake for another student's, which is why the sample's commitments are specific to one unit. The theory criterion looks for accurate use of one or two frameworks and for the writer's own position between them, not a summary of several theorists. Application points go to examples showing how beliefs shape decisions. Some rubrics add a criterion on the advanced role. APA 7 format, first-person voice used well, and writing free of errors account for the rest, so treat the statement as a formal paper even though it is personal.
NR 513 Week 3 help: mistakes that cost points
The most frequent loss is a statement that forbids nothing. Compassion, integrity and excellence could be written by anyone in the course. Replace them with commitments specific enough to be broken. Another is building the philosophy out of theorists: summarizing four models and never stating your own view. Students also promise a standard of care they could not keep on a short-staffed shift, which a grader reads as untested. Tie each belief to a decision you have already made, and admit what it costs. If you claim a change in practice, say what changed and when. Finally, remove identifying details from any example, including unusual diagnoses or dates that could point to a real patient.
Get a NR 513 Week 3 example written to your instructions
Send whatever your classroom gives you, template included if there is one, and a custom philosophy of practice statement is written to it and returned inside 24-48h, the first one free. Tell the desk your specialty and the kind of setting you work in, because a statement written for a general nurse is exactly the document this assignment is trying to avoid.
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NR 513 Week 3 questions, answered
Is first person allowed here?
Almost always, and this is one of the few graduate papers where it is expected. The statement is about the writer's own obligations, so the passive voice makes it vaguer without making it more scholarly. Sections still expect proper citation for any framework named, so first person applies to the commitments rather than to the sourcing.
How many theorists do I need?
Fewer than most drafts use. One or two named frameworks, each doing visible work, beats a paragraph that lists five. What earns the theory row is the writer taking a position relative to a model rather than restating it. If a framework can be removed without changing the paper, it was decorative and the space is better spent on the commitments.
Can I write this if my specialty is not clinical?
Yes, and the assignment works the same way. An educator, an informaticist and a manager all hold commitments that can be broken, and the obligations attached to the credential do not depend on a bedside. Say which practice you are describing early, so the marker reads the decisions in the right context rather than looking for patients.
Where can I find a free NR 513 Week 3 sample paper?
The two-commitment statement printed above is a whole NR 513 Week 3 sample, open to all readers. A statement drawn from your specialty and your own decisions can be requested at no cost.
How long should an NR 513 philosophy of practice be?
Most sections set three to five pages, and a shorter, specific statement usually scores better than a long general one. The sample runs about four pages because it develops only two commitments in depth.