Professional Moral Compass
Nurses are often faced with complex moral and ethical dilemmas in their practice. They are, however, required to act ethically even in the presence of personal risk. The manner in which one responds to unethical situations is influenced by past experiences, individual personality traits, knowledge of ethical principles, and personal ethical values (Murray, 2010). In this paper, I will explore the personal, spiritual, and cultural views that contribute to my worldview and philosophy of nursing as well as the manner in which these values influence my nursing practice. I will also define values, ethics, and morals in the context of my obligation to nursing practice. Further, I will examine how my personal values, philosophy, and worldview can lead to an ethical dilemma. Lastly, I will reflect on the moral and ethical dilemmas I am likely to encounter in my practice and how my personal perspectives affect my behavior and decisions.
My personal, cultural, and spiritual values influence my worldview and philosophy of nursing. My personal values include respect for life, fairness, justice, honesty, and respect for autonomy. My spiritual values include faith, integrity, love, harmony, truthfulness, and self-giving. My cultural values are a product of my familial, societal, religion, educational, and professional socialization. They include caring, humility, integrity, advocacy, and diversity. My personal values influence the way I interact and communicate with my patients. The value of justice influences my decisions with regards to allocation of available healthcare resources amongst my patients. Respect for autonomy helps me to actively involve my patients in decision making with regards to their own care. I endeavor to provide my patients with all the information and support they need to make informed decisions on their own care. Honesty helps me to have open communication with my patients. Respect for sanctity of life helps me to focus my care towards preserving life. My spiritual values help me to view patients holistically that is, as individuals comprising of a body, mind, and spirit. In addition, it helps me provide dignified and compassionate nursing care that is grounded on moral integrity. Moreover, it has helped me realize the importance of creating a healing environment that includes elements of nature such as water and natural light. Such elements help patients to connect with higher beings and find meaning for their illnesses. Awareness of my cultural values helps me to be culturally sensitive when interacting with my patients.
On nursing values, ethics, and morals, values refer to enduring beliefs or attitudes with regards to the worth of an object, person, idea, or action held by an individual or a group of individuals. They guide one’s decisions, responses, and actions. In the nursing context, there are at minimum three sets of values; the personal values of nurses, the individual values of patients, and professional nursing values. Nurses have an obligation to examine their own personal values on health, illness, life, and death. Awareness of one’s values is essential for nurses so that they do not impose their personal values on their patients and understand the reasons why they respond or react in a certain manner. Nurses also need to identify the values of their patients and clients that relate to health problems if they are to plan effective care. Professional nursing values include human dignity, caring, autonomy, integrity, social justice, altruism, and advocacy. Professional nurses are obligated to incorporate these values into their nursing practice. As a nurse, my main function is to provide care to patients and clients in a safe and appropriate manner. My values form a framework from which I evaluate my activities and in turn influence my goals, function, and strategies. Values are, therefore, a resource for my ethical conduct as a nurse (Shahriari, Mohammadi, Abbaszadeh, & Bahrami, 2013).
Morals in nursing are rules or principles of right conduct when dealing with patients, clients, their relatives, and co-workers. Ethics, on the other hand, are an organized way of reasoning that nurses use to determine moral conduct. Ethics also refer to the beliefs and practices of nurses or expected standards of professional conduct as stipulated in the nurses’ code of ethics. I am expected to adhere to the American Nurses Association code of ethics in my nursing practice which sets standards for ethical conduct for nurses. I am also expected to observe other relevant code of ethics for instance, organizational code of ethics. Notably, the existence of a code of ethics is not adequate to guarantee moral conduct in nursing practice. Rather, nurses must demonstrate moral ideals that go beyond individual rights and obligations. Nurses commit morally to their patients and colleagues to uphold virtues like faithfulness, compassion, sympathy, honesty, and love (La Sala, 2009).
On the issue of ethical dilemmas, they can arise when the personal values of a nurse are in conflict with their obligation to practice. For instance, a nurse who does not believe in abortion on religious grounds can find him or herself in conflict with his or her obligation to practice when required to provide abortion care to a patient. The philosophy of nursing requires nurses to put patients interests first when providing care and making care decisions. Therefore, a nurse can experience an ethical dilemma when scarcity of resources calls for actions that contravene this principle. For instance, when a nurse is required by organizational policy to discharge a homeless patient with uncontrolled diabetes because he cannot afford to clear his hospital fees (Edmonson, 2010).
Regarding my personal perspective on ethical dilemmas, I expect that I will continue to encounter moral and ethical dilemmas in my nursing practice due to the increasingly complex nature of care environments. This is because the sources of ethical and moral conflicts are not likely to decrease in the future but instead are bound to increase due to the following factors, performance expectations, limited resources, an increase in the proportion of the aged, advances in technology, and globalization of healthcare. I am hopeful though that the ethical and moral dilemmas I will encounter will not lead to my experiencing moral distress. Moral distress occurs when internal or external limitations prevent a person from doing what he or she believes is right. It manifests as feelings of anger, frustration, and regret. Rather, it is my hope that I will have the moral courage to do what is right and just from my own perspective irrespective of the personal risks involved. In this regard, personal views represent what an individual believes is important. They act as a guide to my priorities and choices and consequently, decisions and actions (Edmonson, 2010).
In summary, this paper has explored the values that contribute to my perspective and philosophy of nursing and the way in which they influence my nursing practice. It has additionally defined values, morals, and ethics within the nursing context. Further, it has examined how my individual values, philosophy, and perspectives can lead to ethical dilemmas. Lastly, it has reflected on the moral and ethical quandaries I am likely to face in my practice and how my personal views affect my behavior and decisions.
References
Edmonson, C. (2010). Moral courage and the nurse leader. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 15(3).
Lasala, C. A. (2009). Moral accountability and integrity in nursing practice. Nursing Clinics, 44(4), 423-424.
Murray, C. J.S. (2010). Moral courage in healthcare: Acting ethically even in the presence of risk. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 15(3).
Shahriari, M., Mohammadi, E., Abbaszadeh, A., & Bahrami, M. (2013). Nursing ethical values and definitions: A literature review. Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res., 18(1), 1-8.
