Nursing is a profession that prides itself in integrity, honesty and trustworthiness. True nursing revolves around service and commitment to the wellbeing of others, prevention of illness, and promotion of good health. I believe this is the hallmark of nursing. My philosophy of nursing is summed up in one abridged sentence; “Treat all patients the same way you would want your family members to be treated”. The implication of this statement is that patients must be given the best quality of care regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, race, socioeconomic status, religious preference, or whatever poor judgement they must have made which may have resulted in their need for care. Every person deserves respect and dignity, regardless of …show more content…
Every nurse must hold accountability as a core value. Being accountable for your actions, means that you learn and continually update yourself on current practices. It also means being responsible as a member of the medical team. The two most important values that I identify with are dignity and autonomy. Dignity is defined as “the quality or state of being worthy, honored, or esteemed. (Webster, 1828). Treating patients with respect and dignity can make the difference in their response to illness. Patients want to be treated as individuals that have a medical condition and are seeking help and in the same vein be treated with respect. Autonomy is another value that I cherish in patient care. Autonomy is descried as giving control and right to the individual to make choices (Cherry & Jacob, 2013). This is so important because nobody wants to lose their ability to make choices and make decisions. Autonomy is letting the patients make their decisions concerning their diagnosis and how health care is provided for them. To me giving the patient the ability to exercising autonomy is empowerment. For instance, I like to give my patients the choice to make decisions from the very little things such as if they would like to shave by themselves or would have someone shave for them, to the not so little choices as to making major decisions about diagnosis and treatment
Although nursing is universally practiced, not all nurses values and morals are the same. Nurses and nursing students are usually put in situations where they must operate within an ethical structure which is either unfamiliar to their cultural criterion or those of the patients for whom they are taking care of. The most prominent values and morals of nurses are based on human dignity and benevolence. Human dignity is the main component that branches off into other values under caring for health and well-being. Trust, integrity, autonomy, and privacy are one of the many sub-values that fall under human dignity. It is important for the nurses to respect and understand the culture and beliefs of the patient without being judgmental or confrontational. The wellbeing of the patient is priority and so the nurses must focus on gaining the patients trust first by tending to their needs and exhibiting
The first provision of the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) “Code of Ethics” states, “ The nurse, in all professional relationships, practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of health problems.” The second provision states, “The nurse’s primary commitment is the patient, whether the patient is an individual, family, group, or community” (Fowler, 2010). As nurses we need to respect the autonomy and allow for the patient to express their choices and concerns. We also need to provide them with support by giving them knowledge and understanding so they
Not all cases is patient autonomy the most important thing to respect and honor. There will always be situations where Medical paternalism is justified. Justifiable paternalism in a medical perspective is prolonging patients’ lives allowing them to exercise their autonomy. Failing to respect a patient’s treatment requests or denials is a violation of the autonomy at that point in time during their illness. While the previous statement is true, the medical professional is violating a patient’s future autonomy. For this reason, medical professionals have the right to act paternalistically, therefore medical paternalism is justified by means of future autonomy and obligations to promote patient
My philosophy of nursing focuses on making sure that nurses provide patient-centered care and to make patients feel like they are genuinely being cared for. Nurses must be guided by altruism. Nursing health care policies are rooted in the principle of altruism and nurses who take the initiative to take patients concerns seriously and show interest in their well-being, will only continue to grow and have satisfactory results. Watson viewed the individual as mind-body-soul and also, that there should be an internal balance between health and harmony (Zerwekh & Zerwekh Garneau, 2015). This is similar to how me and Watson see an individual because if a patient is not good in health, he or she will not be in harmony with oneself or others. There will not be an equilibrium with mind, body and soul, causing illness, depression and
Nursing has many aspects that contribute to its profession. Generally, when speaking with a nurse about why they went into this profession, you will hear it was to help people. Nurses tend to have a very caring attitude when it comes to others. This is one of the reasons I myself became a nurse, and why, I have chosen to further my career by seeking more education. One of the ways that I can educate myself is by learning what nursing means to me, and how I can grow in this profession. Seeking knowledge about how nurses before me saw the field as a profession and, what they thought nursing really meant is one way to do this.
This paper is a first attempt at forming and articulating my own philosophy of nursing.
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
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.
Autonomy is identified as another professional value and one that the nurse must possess. Autonomy is the right to self-determination. Nurse’s respect the patient’s right to make a decision regarding their healthcare. Practical application includes, educating patients and their families on their choices, honoring their right to make their own decision and stay in control of their health, developing care plans in collaboration with the patient (Taylor, C. Lillis, C. LeMone, P. Lynn, P,
The four fundamental nursing responsibilities of promoting health, preventing illness, optimizing health and alleviating the ill are represented in the code of ethics. (Arnold & Boggs, 2016) One can say that the code of ethics are rules that a nurse needs to follow in order to effectively communicate and protect the patients. The American Nurse Association provided the code of ethics to guide nurses to ensure that patient’s care, safety, rights and health are well cared for and well managed. Models like Utilitarian, deontological, and the human rights-based all contribute in answering dilemmas that can arise with a patient. Thus, explaining what some of the code of ethics are, and how the code of ethics influence our responsibilities as a nurse will impact the overall care of the
The American Nurses Association created guidelines for the profession including, a set clear rules to be followed by individuals within the profession, Code of Ethics for Nurses. Written in 1893, by Lystra Gretter, and adopted by the ANA in 1926, The Code of Ethics for Nurses details the role metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics have within the field (ANA, 2015). Moral obligation for an individual differs within professions than it does within an individual’s personal life, so the code of ethics was written to establish rules within the profession. The moral obligation to provide quality care include the fundamental principles of respect for persons, integrity, autonomy, advocacy, accountability, beneficence, and non-maleficence. The document itself contains nine provisions with subtext, all of which cannot be addressed within this paper however, core principals related to the ethical responsibilities nurses have will be
I chose nursing as my profession because nursing is my ideal profession. In nursing, I can provide others with the care and the knowledge they need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I can also give others the love and attention they need to be proud of the life they live. I think that society is very vulnerable and I want to make great contributions to the world of nursing. I don’t just want to be a nurse. I want to be a great nurse who is looked up to because of my experience, knowledge, and competence as a healthcare professional.
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 belief system of the nursing philosophy should imitate the nursing division’s beliefs and ideals for nursing and should be recognized by others. Nurses are vital in the daily operations of the hospital organization. They provide nursing duties which result in quality, care. To keep the organization functioning efficiently, it is essential to address values related to and beliefs about nurses. These values and beliefs focus around nurses’ rights, advancement criteria and their accountabilities to other health professionals, as well as professional organizations (Huber, 2014). At my facility, the nursing department’s mission and philosophy statement is the same as the mission statement for the hospital. I try to do my part by always doing the right thing. Sometimes it can cause me moral distress by I always go back to the thought of “is it in the best interest of my patient or the person involved”. As a team leader, I have several direct reports and am the charge nurse on the unit three days a week. I always begin the shift with my staff with reminding them that we are there to advocate for our patients first and foremost and to do what is in their best interest. The core values of my facility mean a lot to me. I urge my staff to always serve our patients with tenderness and mercy, to give the best quality of care, value the diversity of
Nursing is a discipline of knowledge acquired through formal education and through life experiences. My philosophy of nursing is to always see the beauty in the art of being a nurse. I chose nursing as my profession as caring for people and the nursing profession is a true art form.