Working in health care is an important job. People put their trust in us to do our very best to provide them with the absolute best care. Being entrusted with such responsibility requires nurses to conduct themselves both professionally and ethically. Nurses must adhere to the professional values of human dignity, integrity, autonomy, altruism, and social justice. It is these five values that guide us in our practice and as nurses we must promote and emulate these values. They play an important role in the quality of treatment and success of an organization and help us determine right from wrong. Professional Values In order for nurses to practice ethically they must understand the meaning behind each professional value. The first value is human dignity. With each patient we encounter we must show them respect as individuals. It does not matter what the medical condition is, race, ethnicity, culture, religion or gender of the individual. The dignity of a person must be protected. As nurses we must respect the uniqueness of each individual we care for, as this is a fundamental right of all humans. A person with dignity feels a sense of self-worth and as nurses we must do our best to help our patients maintain that feeling of worthiness. Along with respecting human dignity nurses must practice with integrity. To act with integrity means to practice in accordance with standards of practice and adhering to a code of ethics. This means that nurses must act according to the code of ethics as outlined by the American Nurses Association. The code of ethics for nurses consists of 9 unique provisions. Each one was set in place to help guide nurses to make morally ethical decisions and lays the foundation for the nursing a... ... middle of paper ... ...epeat them in my head. This helps me to focus on the job I’m about to perform and gets me in the mindset to take on the new challenges each day on the unit may bring. Conclusion In conclusion , professional values are important for nurses to practice and maintain. By striving to maintain these values nurses can improve credibility for the profession, give back to the community and improve care and patient outcomes for everyone. Practicing professional values will help push nurses to evolve, as health care and how it is provided changes due to the advancements in science and technology. Organizations will find success and develop a pleasant work environment that employees will be proud to be a part of. Maintaining professional values will allow all nurses to continue practicing for the simple reason of wanting to care for others and give back to those in need.
Nurses everywhere face problems and challenges in practice. Most of the challenges occur due to a struggle with the use of ethical principles in patient care. Ethical principles are “basic and obvious moral truths that guide deliberation and action,” (Burkhardt, Nathaniel, 2014). Ethical principles that are used in nursing practice include autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, veracity, confidentiality, justice, and fidelity. These challenges not only affect them, but the quality of care they provide as well. According to the article, some of the most frequently occurring and most stressful ethical issues were protecting patient rights, autonomy and informed consent to treatment, staffing problems, advanced care planning, and surrogate decision making (Ulrich et. al, 2013). The ethical issue of inadequate staffing conflicts with the principle of non-maleficence.
Professionalism in the workplace in many professions can be simplified into general categories such as neat appearance, interaction with clients, punctuality, general subject knowledge, and likability. In nursing, professionalism encompasses a much more broad and inclusive set of criteria than any other profession. Nurses specifically are held to a higher standard in nearly every part of their job. Nurses are not only expected to uphold what it seen as professional in the aforementioned categories, but they are also expected to promote health, wellbeing, and advocate for patients, but also continually provide the highest standard of care, demonstrate exemplary subject and procedural knowledge, and abide by the Code of ethics set forth by the American Nurses Association. This Code of Ethics includes the complex moral and ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, fidelity, honesty, and integrity.
The four ethical virtues of health care must be shown, compassion, discernment, integrity and trustworthiness. Respecting a person’s autonomy understanding and acting on the belief the people have the right decision to make decisions and take action based on their beliefs and value systems. The ethical issues that would be encountered will be to treat each person with passion and respect regardless of sex, race, and religious preference. The environment has no human rights violations, sustains nursing ethical
The Code of Ethics for Nurses was created to be a guide for nurses to perform their duties in a way that is abiding with the ethical responsibilities of the nursing profession and quality in nursing care. The Code of Ethics has excellent guidelines for how nurses should behave, however; these parameters are not specific. They do not identify what is right and wrong, leaving nurses having to ultimately make that decision. Ethics in nursing involves individual interpretation based on personal morals and values. Nursing professionals have the ethical accountability to be altruistic, meaning a nurse who cares for patients without self-interest. This results in a nurse functioning as a patient advocate, making decisions that are in the best interest of the patient and practicing sound nursing ethics.
According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), (2010) “the nurse promotes, advocates for and strives to protect the health, safety and rights of the patient” (p. 6). Nursing responsibilities should be acted upon at the highest standard and must be based on legal and ethical obligations. Healthcare provider’s perception and judgment of the patient’s well being, as well as taking into account the rights of the patient in every action, is one of the key elements in nursing practice. International Council of Nurses (ICN) (2006) states “The nurse at all times maintains standards of personal conduct which reflect well on the profession and enhance public confidence” (p. 3).
Berman, A. J and Burke, K. (2000), looked at nursing ethics as an integral part of nursing, that has t has to do with moral principles and values that guide nurses to make decisions and choices that lead to quality and effective client care. In providing nursing care, nurses find themselves in situations where sensitive decisions are made about the best way to treat illness and solve healthcare problems. Values influence decisions and actions and value clarification promote quality decisions by fostering awareness,
The main points of provision five of the ANA code of ethics are as follows: section 5.1, which is moral self-respect, suggests that nurses must care for themselves as much as they care for their patients. Nurses must do their best to maintain professional respect to themselves in regards of their competence and moral character. Section 5.2, which is professional growth and maintenance of competence, suggests that nurses must continue to self and peer evaluate themselves throughout their careers. Nurses must continue to learn current, up to date nursing practices through self, peer, and higher education. Section 5.3, which is wholeness of character, suggests that nurses must develop and take into consideration their own moral perspectives when practicing in their careers. Nurses are encouraged to express their moral viewpoint when it is helpful to the recovery of their patients, but must never express moral beliefs based on social stigmas that could negatively affect patient outcomes.
Advocating and doing what is ethically right by providing the right service for the individuals within the community. In working on the class readings and discussions, I can’t help but piece together my community project with the ANA (2015), Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements. The fundamental values and commitments of us as nurses. Doing what is right, and advocating for the individuals we serve in the community. The second provision is all about the nurses’ commitment to the patient, family, and/or community, and the third provision is about the nurse promoting, advocating, and protecting the patients’ health and rights. To give one example that would be applicable to the practice of the nurse administrator would be to facilitate education and compliance with these provisions (ANA, 2015). According to Rosenkoetter and Milstead (2010), practicing with ethical conduct is one of the responsibilities for nurse educators. There is an integral responsibility to preserving current codes that are relevant to nursing practice (Carroll, 2015). As of this time in my clinical experiences, I have yet to come across an ethical dilemma. However, I do believe that my community project demonstrates my desire to do what is ethically right for the community and providing the proper service that everyone deserves, even at the end of life. In evaluating the last
There are several professional values that a nurse must possess altruism, autonomy, human dignity, integrity, and social justices are among these. Altruism is being concerned for the well-being and welfare of others; this includes their patients and colleagues. This is demonstrated daily through understanding cultural differences, considering the perspectives of others and mentoring others
...re else I would rather go to pursue my education. The values of Integrity, Respect, Excellence, Accountability, Creativity, and Honesty make up the ideal nurse. As an aspiring nurse, I vow to live by those values each and every day, so I can become the best nurse and person that I can be.
My core values and beliefs are honesty, caring, family, and lifelong learning, which I use every day in my life. The core of nursing is caring, knowledge, and integrity that focuses on the patient’s needs, healing, safety, and encouragement. Personal and professional beliefs overlap the driving force of nursing. The qualities of a good nurse are not or cannot be turned off and on, and are part of the person I am. We are just helping hands that are always striving to help others. I am not perfect. I am a human being and sometimes mistakes will be made, but I always try my best. If something goes wrong, I will examine the situation, and learn from it to make me a better nurse than I was before. I will monitor and reflect on my own actions to ensure that I am staying true to what I believe are the best nursing practices. When we find conflicts between our personal beliefs and those of the patient, we should uphold our personal and professional ethical standards. We should find someone to guide us through our conflict to find a solution that will not compromise our own
The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses has five elements that pertain to the Principle of Autonomy. Each individual element applies to “respect individual persons” (Baillie, McGeehan, Garrett T, M., Garrett R. M., 2013, p.33). In Chapter 2 of the Health Care ethics: Principles and problems text, it discusses thouroghly the consent of an individual to make their own decisions regarding their health and future requests of care. As a nurse or within all heath care professions, we must treat each individual patient with care, respect, and to remain mindful to the patient regarding any aspect of their lives. In the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses, it explains ways of maintaining the empathy required in the health field. It further discusses that the respect for human dignity must be a priority, relationships to patients must remain neutral, the severity of the situation, the right to self-rule, and the professionalism that must be upheld by the nurse and their associates.
Ethics is defined as moral principles that govern a persons or a group’s behavior, ethical principles apply to both personal and professional relationships (Webster, 2015). The field of nursing is a profession that has been highly regarded and respected in society. Most nurses enter the profession in order to utilize their clinical skills to help others in their time of need. Those in failing health rely on nurses to care for them in their most vulnerable states, and expect a level of compassion and humanity while receiving care. Nurses have an ethical responsibility to their patients, clients, and their community. Compassion, empathy, and integrity are staple characteristics that nurses possess that allow them to successfully perform their
The nursing code of ethics has a very standard definition. It is the base on how nurses should guide themselves in conduct by making the right decision regarding ethical issues. According to the National Student Nurses Association “students of nursing have a responsibility to society in learning the academic theory and clinical skills needed to provide nursing care” (2003). In the clinical setting nurses have a lot of responsibilities while caring for an ill patient, they have the obligation to practice their profession with compassion, love, and respect the uniqueness of each patient, as nurses we are not supposed to deny care to a patient because of their economic status, their skin color, race, or the nature of health problems, we are here to help the people in need in particular those of susceptible populations. The NSNA states that the code of conduct is based on an understanding that to practice nursing as a student is an agreement that trust and honesty is depended on us by society. The announcement of the code provided direction for the nursing student in the personal development of an ethical foundation and not limited to the academic or clinical environment but can assist in the holistic development of a person. (National Student Nurses Association, 2003)
Ethics asses the values, morals, and principles of nurses. Legal codes or laws are rules established by our government. It’s important that nurses have a clear and comprehensive understanding of ethical and legal codes within their career. The understanding of these codes is essential for nurses to safely practice and to protect their patients. Nurses must abide by these principles or face the consequences of legal action. These principles include autonomy, utilitarianism, confidentiality, and many others. Autonomy is the agreement to respect ones right to determine a course of action, while utilitarianism is what is best for most people as defined in American Nurses Association. In order to give you a