After reading “Chapter 3: To Heal Sometimes, To Comfort Always,” complete the
questionnaire titled, “My Nursing Ethic.”
Using the reading and the questionnaire, write a paper of 750-1,000 words in which you
describe your professional moral compass
Personal Ethics
Ethics concerns about what is right or wrong and is essential in the delivery of skilled
professional care. It is therefore prudent for nurses to develop reasoning skills to understand the
principles and concepts that can assist them in dealing with various issues affecting their
practice. This paper therefore delineates on issues of ethics and its application to nursing as a
profession.
In the practice of nursing, personal, cultural, and spiritual values contributes to my
worldview and philosophy of nursing. Values are broad preferences concerning appropriate
course of action and they reflect an individual sense of right or wrong. As a nurse, I have my
personal, cultural and spiritual values that I observe and this values in one way or another affects
the way I perceive my world view and philosophy of nursing. My personal values as a nurse
are to ensure that I do not inflict pain to my neighbors. I am always disturbed and feel bad when
I do wrong to my colleagues. My cultural values that contribute to my world view is to
recognize and appreciate other peoples culture and to always ensure that, their cultural beliefs
does not deter me from providing appropriate healthcare. My spiritual values that contribute o
my worldview and philosophy of nursing is based on the concept of appreciating the spiritual
inclination of other people and ensuing that I only render my spiritual support when called for.
These values are instrumental in shaping and influencing my nursing practice. They play a key
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role in ensuring that I promote health, prevent illness, restore health and alleviate sufferings. I
am able to execute my duty as nurse with due diligent at the same time respecting human rights,
including the cultural rights, spiritual rights, life and choice.
In my obligation of nursing practice, moral and ethics are important aspects in ensuring
that I uphold to my professional duties of providing appropriate healthcare to my patients. These
aspects more or less mean the same. Values concerns with the idea of making the right course of
actions, morals concerns with judgment of the goodness or badness of human action or character
while ethics concerns the idea of choosing, that which is right and wrong. In nursing practice,
therefore, it is required, that I make appropriate decisions that are ethical and moral. Personal
values, philosophy and worldview may sometimes conflict with my obligation to provide
appropriate services to the patient but creating ethical dilemma. Ethical dilemma is a complex
situation, which involves mental conflicts that result to obeying one option and at the same time
transgressing on the other options. Personal values may create an ethical dilemma especially in
situation whereby my decision to prescribe a medication based on my professional is objected by
the patient. To the best of my knowledge, I may have assessed the situation and prescribed
treatment, which the patient objects to. This scenario may cause ethical dilemma as to whether, I
have the right to go ahead and administer the treatment or respect the opinion of the patient.
Therefore, this situation may actually trigger confusion and dilemma. In addition, beliefs may
also cause ethical dilemma in the case where, a patient holds different opinions that I do. For
instance, some patient cultural beliefs may deter me from providing the necessary medication.
For example, people that belief that they can get healed without taking medication but by the
powers and God miracles may lead to an ethical dilemma.
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In the healthcare field, there are many morals and ethical dilemmas that I am likely to
encounter as I provide my services. Some of the moral issues likely to be encountered includes,
information sharing about the patient, issues to do with informed consent, respect to the patient
and family members, responsiveness, integrity, compassion and trustworthiness. As a nurse, I
am required to ensure that I keep any information concerning a patient status confidential and
only disclose it upon the consent of the patient. This is an issue that, I will have to encounter in
my practice and required to handle diligently. The aspect of respect is also important and it is
hinged on the concept of listening to the patient and views of the family members in the way I
treat them and talk to them. It is unethical, and immoral for a nurse to be disrespectful as this
makes that patient lack trust and confidence. Being trust worth and upholding to integrity is yet
another important aspect in ensuring that I uphold to my morals. I have an obligation to be
honest and act with integrity to ensure that I promote health and alleviate suffering (International
Council of Nurses 2013). For instance, I will not be honest as practitioner if I misinform my
client on the disease that he/she suffers after my diagnosis.
Ethical dilemmas likely to be encountered includes, decisions concerning end of life
decisions. This is a decision that I will be faced with in my duty and therefore, I will have to
ensure that I use ethics when approaching it by following the right procedures. Another issue of
ethical dilemma includes, situations, where patient’s cultural, spiritual beliefs and ideologies are
contrary to my opinion as a medical practitioner. Therefore, in such instances, I believe I would
have to ensure that I act morally and ethically. My personal views and behaviors will be used in
reaching these decisions. My personal view is that, I act in human manner, with respect to the
individual. Therefore, I will have to put into consideration my responsibility as a nurse in
making the decisions. I have an obligation to promote health, and to alleviate suffering from the
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patients and therefore, my behaviors must be able to illustrate and promote this. Hence, my
personal views and behaviors will impact positively to the decisions that I make in ensuring that
I act professionally by upholding to the morals and ethics.
In conclusion, ethics is essential in my professional field more so in nursing practice.
Even though, personal values, culture, spiritual and philosophy may be different, nurses must
uphold to moral ethics. They have a responsibility of ensuring that they promote health, prevent
linens, restore health and alleviate suffering. Therefore, as nurse I have the responsibility to act
professionally in ensuring that I meet this goal by making moral decisions and reducing ethical
dilemma in the practice.
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Reference
Chapter 3: To Heal Sometimes, To Comfort Always,
International Council of Nurses. (2013). Codes of ethics for nurses.