Basic Nursing Virtues Nursing

Nursing: Nursing Virtues Nursing Virtues: Nursing Nursing Virtues Virtues can be defined simply as the habits of character that predispose persons to do what is right and moral. In the nursing profession, virtues are the habits that promote and affirm the values of independence, health, respect, well-being, and human dignity. Four virtues have been shown to be central to the nursing profession and its practice: compassion, humility, courage and integrity. Nurses are expected to conduct themselves within the provisions of these four virtues at all times.

Elizabeth Pask's article, 'Self-sacrifice, Self-transcendence, and Nurses' Professional Self' demonstrates perfectly how nurses can be guided by these four virtues to make the right decisions when faced with difficult circumstances in their practice. The subsequent sections detail how each of these four virtues influence an individual's practice, and what a nurse leader could do to support the growth of virtues and enable nurses fulfill their moral and ethical obligations.

Compassion: Compassion can be defined as the ability to empathize with another person, and be moved to do something to help remedy the situation (Crigger & Godfrey, 2011). This virtue of compassion forms the basis of care -- nursing care is all about developing an emotional responsiveness towards one's patients, and committing oneself to help them (Crigger & Godfrey, 2011).

Compassion drives the nursing practice in every aspect; nurses are driven by compassion to offer care services to their patients every day; and the same ought to be the case even when they are faced with circumstances that place them at risk (Pask, 2005).

Nurses are required to act with compassion and to affectively feel with their patients at all times; the virtue of compassion drives them to look away from their ego self and commit to something that is of greater importance than the self, that is, the well-being of their patient (Pask, 2005). Integrity: the virtue of integrity has to do with being moral and acting in the best interest of the patient at all times. Integrity should not be compromised just because a nurse emphasizes with or feels compassion for their patient.

Crigger and Godfrey (2011) give an example of an ethical dilemma where a nurse is caught between showing compassion and acting with integrity. In this example, a nurse feels empathy for their patient, who has been legally separated from her children because of addiction issues. She feels compassion and is driven by the need to help her get her family back; however, she opts not to because that would not be in the patient's best interest.

What is best for the patient in this situation is to allow herself the time and composure needed to recover before she can embark on the stresses associated with family. This is a perfect demonstration of how the virtue of integrity drives nurses' actions when faced with ethical dilemmas in the course of their practice. Humility: humility refers to the ability to accept one's limitations and imperfections. In the nursing practice, this translates to an ability to accept and acknowledge mistakes and to consequently learn from them (Pask, 2005).

One of the fundamental obligations of a professional nurse is to engage in the process of continuous learning -- the virtue of humility drives this process. Learning begins with acknowledging that we are not perfect. Moreover, humility influences one to act in the way of compassion -- it is only through being humble that one is able to escape their ego self and recognize their patient's well-being as greater than their own self.

Courage: this refers to the ability to stand for what is right when faced with threats, risk and opposition (Crigger & Godfrey, 2011). In the nursing profession, courage translates to holding on to moral rightness, and standing against anything that compromises the profession's integrity and the patient's well-being. Pask (2005) mentions that nurses face numerous challenges caused by among other things, hierarchical elements. Their leaders may sometimes engage in actions that go against the profession's moral standing.

The virtue of courage directs the nurse to refuse to be party to any such activity, even though such opposition threatens their own position, social status and source of livelihood. Strategies that Nurse Leaders could Use to Promote Virtue Growth Crigger and Godfrey (2011) propose a number of strategies that nurse leaders could use to nurture virtue growth and ethical decision making in upcoming nurses. For the compassion virtue, it is recommended that nurse leaders accord nurses in their teams sufficient clinical time with their patients.

Studies have shown that nursing students had greater opportunities to develop affective relationships or bonds with their patients.