Ethics self-reflection and personal values

Ethics Presentation

Ethics, particularly in the global economy in which society operates, is very important. For one, the foundation by which society operates is grounded in ethics. Having a group with proper ethical characteristics fosters an environment of trust. While working in this group, I found myself faced with numerous ethical dilemmas. Some of these dilemmas were minor, while others required thought to arrive at the correct decision.

While working in this group, the primary ethical dilemma that we faced was plagiarism. Although the information age has ushered in an era of unparalleled information exchange; this exchange of information has brought with it a litany of consequences. For one, it is a fairly simple charge, to obtain a substantial portion of our group project material for online sources, without any regard to those who created the material. The group, in essence, had the ability, to seamlessly copy online material, and represent it as their own. However, the group elected to take the honest and ethical alternative and create original material. Working on a group that is honest and trustworthy allows synergies to occur. It allowed for the seamless exchange of original and though provoking material. Although online sources aided in this process, it was the group that ultimately created the original work.

While working in a group on an ethical issue, new perspectives also emerged. Questions such as, "What exactly is ethics?" emerged frequently in the group. It felt challenging to arrive at my perspective of ethics and what it means to exhibit ethical behavior. Particularly, as an advanced nurse practitioner, a proper perspective of ethics is vital in the daily operations of the hospital. Daily, individuals are faced with ethical dilemmas that have the potential to have grave consequences on a litany of constituents. Families, friends, and communities, could forever be altered through ethical decisions. As noted in the group paper, the primary ethical impasse that is faced by nurse practitioners is whether or not a nurse should continue to administer care. This problem is further complicated by the notion that treatment will be ineffective, when and if, it is actually administered. Families often cling to the slim hope of survival, or a return to normal circumstances, when doing so is practically impossible. Is it then ethical for the nurse to continue to administer treatment? Should the nurse continue to administer care, even if it best to allow the patient to die? While working within the group, it was surprising to see the differing perspectives and alternatives that were revealed.

While working in the group, I also found it interesting to debate the various views exhibited by the other members in the group. Particularly when working on such a contentious issue as ethics, debates can be become very sentimental. This group was no different in that regard. I enjoyed working within a group that did not suffer from the common disease of "Group Think"; the propensity for other members of the group to simply go along with the group as oppose to indicating their true ideals and beliefs. While working in this group, it was enjoyable to debate the material that would ultimately be presented within the project as a whole. For one, it enhanced my overall ethical acumen, but more importantly, the entire group grew emotional as a result of this debate. This growth, I believe is fair to say, would not have occurred without the differing opinions exhibited by those within the group.

Finally, it was also beneficial to work in this group for the intangible skills that I eventally developed. Many of these skills can be transferred to other group projects that I will work on in the future. For example, by working within this group, my commitment and communication skills were enhanced. For example, the members of this group have various and often conflicting time commitments. As such, working within the group was somewhat a slow process as it required people to meet at the set time, which ultimately, enhanced my commitment to the group overall. In addition, individuals within the group worked together to find solutions to the problems of the group as a whole. As such, these individuals that conducted the work had the opportunity to participate in decision making within the group. This directly correlates to the overall group performance on this project. For one, the enhanced commitment and communication allowed for a seamless exchange of ideas without regard for group perceptions. The other intangible benefit of working with a group on this ethical project were, team bonding that helped facilitated project motivation, and better solutions in regards to project completion.