Nursing Values Personal Values and Nursing

What personal, cultural, and spiritual values contribute to your worldview and philosophy of nursing? How do these values shape or influence your nursing practice?

Of all the personal values that are most critical to me, to my identity and to my profession, the importance of helping others is first and foremost. I was raised within a culture where family connections are extremely critical. And within this cultural context, I have shared a spiritual affiliation that says we are responsible for the well-being of our fellow man. These are principals which have fed naturally into the advancement of my nursing career and further which have helped me to retain a certain level of attentiveness, care and dedication within.

This is of critical importance because there is an unquestionable connection between the ethical responsibilities of the occupation and the characteristics identified above. In particular, I have been raised with a sense of duty to those who may not be able to care for themselves. This is a fundamental philosophy for one who wishes to dedicate the emotional energy, demanding physical routine and specialized set of skills to comforting the sick. In fact, as the reading, "To Heal Sometimes, To Comfort Always," shows, these values have been identified as essential to the caregiving profession for millennia.

The text shows that these values even informed the Hippocratic Oath which...

According to its terminology, the avowing physician agrees that "into whatever houses I may enter, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining clear of all voluntary injustice and of other mischief." (PCBE, p. 1) The vow draws a close connection between the responsibility to heal and the need for a firm ethical grounding. For me, this underscores the fact that as caregivers, we hold the lives and well-being of patients in our hands. Therefore, it is critical that we arrive from a place that is strongly rooted in a positive value system.
Define values, morals, and ethics in the context of your obligation to nursing practice. Explain how your personal values, philosophy, and worldview may conflict with your obligation to practice, creating an ethical dilemma.

In the context of nursing, as described above, values play an important part in giving one the personal and emotional disposition to thrive in the role. Because nursing can be so enormously taxing and challenging an occupation, maintaining a high level of quality in care requires one to be guided by a clear internal compass such as can only come from a strong personal value system.

With respect to morals, it is absolutely imperative that a nursing professional understand the difference between right and wrong. As the Hippocratic Oath outlines, the healthcare provider is given a tremendous degree of responsibility and control over the life…