Hence, nurses have the responsibility to advocate patients and help them out. Nurses engaged in professional activities should have the manner that protects patients’ autonomy in order to advocate for patients. According to Mahlin’s article, “Individual Patient Advocacy, Collective Responsibility and Activism Within Professional Nursing Associations”, “Patient autonomy is an essential part of patient advocacy” (Mahlin, 2010). Every patient has the right to choose whether to be involved in planning their health plan or not, because patients have autonomy to make the decision. As nurses, we should seek available resources to help patients to formulate decisions to utilize their rights and achieve their expectations if they confront a dilemma or they have inadequate health knowledge.
Moral leadership in nursing is about professionalism, responsibility, accountability, and competency. Nurses have an obligation to preserve their patient’s values, beliefs and dignity, to assure optimal health care, personal well- being, and promote quality of life. In all aspect of nursing, nurses are role models, healthcare providers, patient advocates and are required to meet the needs of their patients. Which can be done by communicating openly and honestly, being fair and trustworthy, being proactive, and by putting patients first. Nurses are face with ethical dilemmas on a daily basic therefore, must examine their own personal and professional values and morals in order to maintain a caring and compassionate relationship with their patients.
In the nursing profession, moral responsibility is perceived as a relation way of being that involves guidance by an individual’s inner compass that is comprised of values, ideals, and standards that motivate individuals to uphold what is right. Moral responsibility is crucial in the sense that it determines the manner in which a nurse cares, and attends to the patients. Generally, moral responsibility ensures that a nurse meets the set objectives that aim at administering paramount medical care to patients (Driscoll & Breshears, 2011). The doctrine has further augmented my level of moral responsibility. I feel that I am accountable and responsible for ensuring, and upholding the moral well-being of my patients.
Personal Philosophy of Nursing Beverly’s Personal Philosophy of Nursing In order to write a philosophy of nursing, I believe that first one must decide what philosophy means to them. William R. Thomas (2011), director of programs for The Atlas Society, explains philosophy as an inclusive system of ideas about human nature and the nature of the reality we live in. Studies reveal that this system is a guide for living centered on the issues it addresses and determining the course we take in life and how we treat other people is determined by one’s philosophy. Based on this information a nurse’s philosophy of their responsibilities as a member of the health care profession is significant. As a nurse grows with knowledge and experience their philosophy is likely to yield some transformation.
ANA’s Code for Nurses with Interpretive Statements (2008) is a primary resource for ethical decision making (Finkelman, 2012). There are four principles that should be considered when making ethical decisions. First the nurse needs to take into consideration whether the decision will violate the patient’s rights, this is autonomy. Second the nurse needs to make sure that the decision will not harm the patient and that it will in all aspects be good for the patient, this beneficence. Third the nurse is required to make all patient decisions with fairness, this is called justice.
In both, Henderson’s Need Theory and Orem’s Self Care Theory, the ‘role of nursing’ is the core concept. Henderson considered her definition of nursing her ‘concept.’ She defined nursing as, “assisting individuals to gain independence in relation to the performance of activities contributing to health or its recovery,” according to (“Current Nursing: Virginia Henderson’s Need Theory”, 2012). Orem defined nursing as, “actions deliberately selected and performed by nurses to help individuals or groups under their care to maintain or change conditions in themselves or their environments,” (Current Nursing: “Dorothea Orem’s Self Care Theory,” 2012). For both theories, the major assumption is that the nurse will care for the patient until the patient or his or her family can care for the patient. According to the Free Dictionary (2013), a metaparadigm is, “a set of concepts and propositions that sets for the phenomena with which a discipline is concerned.” In both theories, there are metaparadigms that have developed the framework for nursing practice.
It states that nurses are responsible in developing and maintaining an appropriate relationship; advising that nurses must listen to the people in their care and respond to their concerns, “Make the care of people your first concern, treating them as individuals and respecting their dignity”, (NMC 2008). Research demonstrates that there are many approaches to having effective relationships that can bring significant change (Hill and Kellems 2002). One is the clients’ motivation; another is the presence of a person who can offer a relationship that displays acceptance/unconditional positive regard, empathy and genuineness (Rogers as cited in McLeod 2003). As described by McLeod (2003), Rogers three core conditions are indispensable in facilitating change and are used in most health care disciplines. The use of empathy, unconditional positive regards and acceptance is important and if used correctly can achieve positive outcomes, assisting the nurse-patient relationship (McQueen 2000).
Ethics, Morals, and Values in context to Nursing Practice Nursing ethics provide the insight to the values and ethical principles governing nursing practice, conduct, and relationships. The Code of Ethics for Nurses adopted
Jean Watson is recognized for her theories on human caring and the way nurses give care. Her theories are used to educate nurses on the integration of care and compassion within the discipline and technology of today’s healthcare organizations to better serve patients. Watson believed that human caring is “not just an emotion, concern, attitude, or benevolent desire. Caring is the moral ideal of nursing whereby the end is protection, enhancement, and preservation of human dignity” (George, 2011, p. 29). With this idea in mind, assessment tools are used by the nurse and physician to protect, enhance, and preserve human dignity (George, 2011).
By doing this it will make for stronger influenced employee behavior. The Ethical Leadership component of Integrated Ethics addresses these issues head-on by providing health care leaders with practical tools and training they need to foster an ethical environment and culture that will help employees “do the right thing.” With me being a nurse, I participate in establishing, maintaining, and improving healthcare environments and I have conditions that I have to follow with my employment which is conducive to the provision of quality health care and consistent with the values of the profession through individual and collective action. There are many moral responsibilities that one would have as a leader in the healthcare field. The profession of nursing, as represented by associations and their members, is responsible for articulating nursing values, for maintaining the integrity of the profession and its practice, and for shaping social policy. The nurse promotes, advocates for, and strives to protect the health, safety, and rights of