Nurses responsibility in preserving patient dignity
Introduction
“Dignity is a basic human right and every individual deserves to be treated with dignity and respect (Amnesty International,1948)” (Matiti & Trorey,2008.p.2709).Dignity comprises the positive feelings that the individual has for oneself including self- esteem, respect, trust, self- worth ,honoring and valuing oneself (Baillie,2009).Even though, maintaining dignity is important in every profession, it is more relevant in healthcare because its maintenance can provide the patients with emotional comfort that may help in recovery. Since nurses are the frontline workers in the healthcare and taking care of patients, they have an indispensable responsibility …show more content…
The dignity of merit is the oldest sense of Latin dignitas which was used for referring to excellence and distinction and it is also related to the notion of respect and rights, dignity of moral stature is the dignity due to moral deeds or virtue and the dignity of identity is connected to the person`s integrity and identity as a human being. These three types of dignity are variable and it changes according to the circumstances but the dignity of Menschenw¨urde is different from others (Nordenfelt, 2004). Menschenw¨urde is a German word and it refers to the dignity that all humans have equally (Nordenfelt, 2004). The dignity of Menschenw¨urde provides the basis of equal human rights and entails that everyone will be treated equally with regard to basic human rights ,for instance, an older person has same human rights as that of a young adult (Nordenfelt 2004). In further research, Nordenfelt and Edgar (2005) accepted that the dignity of identity is most pertinent in context of illness as disability poses a threat to autonomy and personal identity. The themes ‘dignity as merit’ and ‘dignity as moral stature’ do not have much relevance in healthcare because nurses are responsible to treat all patients with respect for dignity without considering their merit or moral status (Nordenfelt and …show more content…
The importance of preservation of patient dignity has long been supported by nursing educators, researchers, theorists and clinician. Respect for dignity is considered as a central value within nursing codes. Respect, autonomy, empowerment and communication are identified as some of the attributes of dignity (Griffin-Heslin , 2005).Nurses need to have knowledge of these attributes while taking care of patients to protect their dignity. Maintaining dignity is imperative in nursing because it can have severe effects on the health and well-being of the patients (Matiti & Trorey, 2004). When dignity is not valued, patients can develop unnecessary feeling of stress and anxiety and also decreased sense of self – worth (Matiti & Trorey, 2004).This experience affects the recovery and emotional health of the patients. On the other hand, when dignity is protected, patients experience emotional comfort which helps in speedy recovery (Matiti & Trorey,
Introduction
“Dignity is a basic human right and every individual deserves to be treated with dignity and respect (Amnesty International,1948)” (Matiti & Trorey,2008.p.2709).Dignity comprises the positive feelings that the individual has for oneself including self- esteem, respect, trust, self- worth ,honoring and valuing oneself (Baillie,2009).Even though, maintaining dignity is important in every profession, it is more relevant in healthcare because its maintenance can provide the patients with emotional comfort that may help in recovery. Since nurses are the frontline workers in the healthcare and taking care of patients, they have an indispensable responsibility …show more content…
The dignity of merit is the oldest sense of Latin dignitas which was used for referring to excellence and distinction and it is also related to the notion of respect and rights, dignity of moral stature is the dignity due to moral deeds or virtue and the dignity of identity is connected to the person`s integrity and identity as a human being. These three types of dignity are variable and it changes according to the circumstances but the dignity of Menschenw¨urde is different from others (Nordenfelt, 2004). Menschenw¨urde is a German word and it refers to the dignity that all humans have equally (Nordenfelt, 2004). The dignity of Menschenw¨urde provides the basis of equal human rights and entails that everyone will be treated equally with regard to basic human rights ,for instance, an older person has same human rights as that of a young adult (Nordenfelt 2004). In further research, Nordenfelt and Edgar (2005) accepted that the dignity of identity is most pertinent in context of illness as disability poses a threat to autonomy and personal identity. The themes ‘dignity as merit’ and ‘dignity as moral stature’ do not have much relevance in healthcare because nurses are responsible to treat all patients with respect for dignity without considering their merit or moral status (Nordenfelt and …show more content…
The importance of preservation of patient dignity has long been supported by nursing educators, researchers, theorists and clinician. Respect for dignity is considered as a central value within nursing codes. Respect, autonomy, empowerment and communication are identified as some of the attributes of dignity (Griffin-Heslin , 2005).Nurses need to have knowledge of these attributes while taking care of patients to protect their dignity. Maintaining dignity is imperative in nursing because it can have severe effects on the health and well-being of the patients (Matiti & Trorey, 2004). When dignity is not valued, patients can develop unnecessary feeling of stress and anxiety and also decreased sense of self – worth (Matiti & Trorey, 2004).This experience affects the recovery and emotional health of the patients. On the other hand, when dignity is protected, patients experience emotional comfort which helps in speedy recovery (Matiti & Trorey,