Moral Compass In Nursing

Introduction

When does the moment come when we acknowledge the path leading us towards becoming emotionally paralyzed and spiritually dry? These moments will come and go but to have a reasonable response to these revelations takes both courage and strength. This divine intervention came to me when realizing where my moral compass should point when I saw the reflection of God’s eyes looking into mine. From this encounter, He has directed the course of my moral compass into leading me on a path to strengthen myself and my career. My moral compass has helped set the ethical standards for my profession, shown me the role to play as a dental hygienist, and my philosophy towards pursuing quality when giving an oral health care exam.

Moral Compass

My moral compass points towards: honor, kindness, serving others, love, telling the truth, confidentiality and speaking positive words of encouragement into people’s lives that the Lord sees them as. In the field of dental hygiene, most of these characteristics go hand in hand and can be used to help provide a service to my patients. An area in which they do overlap is found in the Code of Ethics, written by the ADHA, stating, “we strive to live meaningful, productive, satisfying lives that simultaneously serve us, our profession, our society, and the world. Our actions, behaviors, and attitudes are consistent with our commitment to public service. We endorse and incorporate the Code into our daily lives” (ADHA,

When first starting the dental hygiene program, my perspective of this field was very limited into thinking, “just try your best in treating a patient when cleaning their teeth and then overall and in time, I will do well in my career.” I believed when I tried my hardest I was surely to do a good job, but I have discovered this to be proven otherwise. In offering the best quality of care, it is my role as a dental hygienist, to not only try to do a good job in average “cleanings” but to be accurate in my performance as a professional. This includes: to obtain diagnostic radiographs when interpreting a potential disease, to have proper form holding hand instruments otherwise this disrupts accurate results, to perform a thoroughly detailed examination of the intraoral and extraoral structures of the head and neck when looking for any unwanted lesions, and be able to educate my patient through every step the appointment. It is my role as a dental hygienist to not only provide the best quality of care but also a service that will be able to help my patient live longer and healthier