Four Core Virtues in Nursing Practice and Leadership

Introduction to 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 in accordance with these four virtues at all times.

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

Compassion in Nursing Practice

Compassion can be defined as the ability to empathize with another person and be moved to take action to help remedy the situation (Crigger & Godfrey, 2011). This virtue forms the basis of nursing care — it is all about developing an emotional responsiveness toward one's patients and committing oneself to helping them (Crigger & Godfrey, 2011). Compassion drives nursing practice in every aspect; nurses are moved by compassion to offer care services to their patients every day, and the same ought to be true even when they face circumstances that place them at personal 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 beyond their ego and commit to something of greater importance than the self — that is, the well-being of their patient (Pask, 2005).

Integrity, Humility, and Courage

The virtue of integrity involves being moral and acting in the best interest of the patient at all times. Integrity should not be compromised simply because a nurse feels compassion for a patient. Crigger and Godfrey (2011) offer an example of an ethical dilemma in which a nurse is caught between showing compassion and acting with integrity. In this example, a nurse feels empathy for a patient who has been legally separated from her children because of addiction issues. The nurse feels compassion and is driven by the desire to help her reunite with her family; however, she opts not to intervene because doing so 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 taking on the stresses associated with family reunification. This is a clear demonstration of how integrity guides nurses' actions when they face ethical dilemmas in practice.

Humility refers to the ability to accept one's limitations and imperfections. In nursing practice, this translates to an ability to acknowledge mistakes and to learn from them (Pask, 2005). One of the fundamental obligations of a professional nurse is to engage in continuous learning — the virtue of humility drives this process. Learning begins with acknowledging that we are not perfect. Moreover, humility encourages one to act compassionately: it is only through being humble that a nurse can set aside the ego and recognize the patient's well-being as more important than one's own.

Courage 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 means holding to moral rightness and resisting anything that compromises the profession's integrity or the patient's well-being. Pask (2005) notes that nurses face numerous challenges stemming from, among other things, hierarchical pressures. Leaders may sometimes engage in actions that conflict with the profession's moral standards. The virtue of courage directs the nurse to refuse to participate in any such activity, even when that opposition threatens their position, social standing, or livelihood. As explored in discussions of virtue ethics, moral courage is considered an indispensable character trait in any helping profession.

Strategies Nurse Leaders Can Use to Promote Virtue Growth

Crigger and Godfrey (2011) propose a number of strategies that nurse leaders can use to nurture virtue growth and ethical decision-making in developing nurses. For the virtue of compassion, it is recommended that nurse leaders provide nurses on their teams with sufficient clinical time with patients. Studies have shown that nursing students develop greater opportunities to form affective bonds with patients when given additional clinical time (Crigger & Godfrey, 2011). Leaders can therefore effectively nurture this virtue by ensuring that students have adequate time to interact with and connect to their patients.

The remaining three virtues — integrity, humility, and courage — can be nurtured through role modeling and case studies. Leaders themselves can serve as effective role models: students are more likely to internalize these virtues when they perceive their leaders as moral, humble, and courageous. Alternatively, leaders can teach these qualities using examples of renowned nurses such as Florence Nightingale, who displayed integrity, courage, and humility throughout her career. Additionally, case studies can familiarize students with the ethical dilemmas they are likely to encounter in practice and equip them with the knowledge needed to respond appropriately. All of these strategies can go a long way toward helping students develop virtue ethics and apply them in their daily care practice.

Conclusion

Together, these four virtues — compassion, integrity, humility, and courage — form the ethical foundation of professional nursing. Nurse leaders play a critical role in cultivating these virtues in the next generation of practitioners through deliberate mentorship, role modeling, and structured learning experiences.