The question of nursing ethic is one of the most important when we reflect on the role of this profession in our lives. The behavior of nurses, their observance of professional and moral principles, and the display of their ethics in practice has an obvious influence on other people’s lives. Any nurse regardless of area of practice can face various ethical dilemmas every day. In this essay I would like to show why I decided to dedicate myself to this profession, and share my opinion on why it is necessary for me to have a clear understanding of different ethical and moral issues I could face during my practice.
The idea of a human life being the most significant thing in the world is very close to my personal worldview. A life is something that can be easily taken away, but never brought back. In my opinion, it is also one of the dominant ideas in the modern world, with most of works of philosophy, literature, cinematography celebrating this value. The significance of a life of a human being is the first thing to influence my nursing practice, inspiring me to try to provide the best attainable care for all patients.
Another spiritual value that contributes greatly to my vision of nursing practice is altruism. I believe that every person, not only a nurse, should have concern for others and aim for doing good. However, in terms of my profession it is obligatory. I find this value very close to me, as I have wanted to help other people since childhood.
I would also like to mention social justice as one of the core values of nursing, as unfortunately there are thousands of people who face inequality in healthcare access across the world. As a nurse, I should work to ensure just treatment for all patients whatever their situation might be.
Values in general can be defined as steady attitudes about the worth of different concepts in life, such as an idea or an object. Given my nursing practice, these are the values mentioned earlier in the essay, such as human life significance, altruism, social justice, and also human dignity. According to the American Nurses Association (2015), “a fundamental principle that underlines all nursing practice is respect for the inherent dignity, worth, unique attributes, and human rights of all individuals”. Morals can be defined as a system, explaining what is right and wrong in behavior or attitude. The most important moral principles for nurses are the duty not to harm, loyalty, and responsibility. Ethics is defined as a set of governing rules in the nursing practice. A personal value may conflict with the ethics in a number of cases, including extending life with monitors and respirators, saving extreme premature babies, cloning etc.
One of the most difficult questions for me in terms of nursing ethics concerns patients living with supportive machine, or passive euthanasia, which is “a mode of ending life in which a physician is not an option given to prescribe futile treatments for the hopelessly ill patient” (Nordqvist, 2016). This issue is especially challenging for religious people, and this is the case when theological values can conflict with professional ethics. A similar dilemma arises in case of a patient having an abortion, while her nurse considers abortion murder (Bandman & Bandman, 2002).
Another difficult ethical issue may concern patient’s privacy. Jie (2015) describes a case of a dilemma identified as “if the nursing staff should tell other health care team members about the patient’s suicide attempt without patients consent”. An end stage cancer patient expressed the suicide thoughts to one of the nurses and asked her to keep secret from him. In order to prevent the patient from harming himself, the nurse chose to share the information with other healthcare staff, thus making the best ethical decision. I believe that my personal views should only serve my profession, and not stand in the way of providing good healthcare to those who need it. Patients in their most difficult times are relying on nurses, and they must not suffer because of poor or inadequate care given by a nurse whose values or beliefs differ in some way from the established professional values.
Passion: Why am I here?
My first and foremost reason for becoming involved in the nursing profession is the value I put in the human life. It defines my wish to contribute to preserving people’s health and lives, and to offer help for those who need it. The nurses are the key element of the whole philosophy of healthcare. To belong to this profession is a great responsibility, but it also gives you the respect of the society and makes you proud of what you do.
Nursing is a profession encompassing empathy for other people and search for connection with them. My sense of compassion towards other human beings is something that could help me to become good at my career and make a difference.
Motivation: What moves me to act?
My main motivation in nursing is the understanding that by doing my job I have a possibility to make other people’s lives better, thus contributing to the welfare of the society in general. Another thing to move me to action is the feel of reward after I have cared for a patient in the best way I could, the positive feedback from patients, their families and my colleagues.
In addition, nursing is a very dynamic profession, and the challenges that I face when pursuing it make me learn hard to become better in what I do. As a nurse I must constantly ask myself a question: Do I and my patient feel satisfied with the care that I have provided?
Inspiration: What keeps me in motion?
What keeps me in motion is the idea that when you help one patient, you actually provide help to more people. The feelings of this patient’s loved ones, the success of his or her professional area of responsibility are also at stake when you start taking care of this person during stressful times. By helping only one man or woman you make a move towards helping the whole society. The aspiration to improve a patient’s life, whether through providing care or supporting a family, inspires me each day.
Loyalty: Whom do I serve?
The question of loyalty can be answered in two ways. First of all, a nurse serves his or her patients to provide the best possible care, attend to their needs, and provide the necessary information to help them make health-related decisions. This is a basic relationship between a customer and a service provider aiming for the best result. The nurse’s actions are regulated by the professional code and the moral principles. However, from a wider point of view, I as a nurse also serve the society as a whole. I have a possibility to improve the world at large through caring for individual patients and supporting their families.
References
American Nurses Association [ANA] (2015). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. (6) Sinver Spring, MD: The Publishing Program of ANA.
Bandman, E. & Bandman, B. (2002). Nursing Ethics Through the Life Span. (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Jie L. (2015). The patient suicide attempt – An ethical dilemma case study. International Journal of Nursing Scieces, 2(4). 408-413.
Nordqvist C. (2016, April 8). Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. Medical News Today. Retrieved from medicalnewstoday.com/articles/182951.php.
