Personal Ethics
There are various factors that contribute and influence an individual’s worldview. Factors such as, personal values and experiences, cultural and spiritual backgrounds lend guidance on how each person behaves, leads lives and practices their profession. Personal ethics are our own codes of conduct and our sense of right and wrong. However, ethics do not solely define what is right or what is wrong. Ethics can be considered as a framework to decision making and addresses how we need to act and treat others, what we need to do and why (Epstein & Turner, 2015). This paper will explore my personal, cultural and spiritual values, how I define morals and ethics in the context of my nursing practice and explain how my own personal …show more content…
I was brought up as a Catholic and I’m grateful that my parents sent me to Catholic schools to learn the ways of God and believe in the power of prayer. We have a close-knit family and it is not unusual to witness to see generations of families living under one roof in our culture, as parents prefer and even encourage their children to raise their families with them. It is customary for children to assume primary care for the parents when they are no longer able to care for themselves. It is this tradition that resonates with me in my nursing practice. Loyalty, respect and accountability are some of the attributes that have been instilled in me and these I display and practice when caring for patients and in my interaction with colleagues. Purtilo & Doherty (2011) claim that primary loyalty needs to always be patient centered in nursing and I find it difficult to argue this. However, I realize that my sense of loyalty can also act as a barrier in certain situations with my tendencies to favor and consider only one side of the story and not equally consider family’s thoughts and feelings when treatment decisions need to be made, for …show more content…
We refer to codes of ethics in nursing to guide us in how we approach and examine moral situations and develop processes in resolving ethical dilemmas. As nurses become more involved in decision making with regard to patient treatments, conflicts are to be expected with differences in values, thoughts and experiences. A common ethical dilemma in patient care is that of family instructing the health care team to withhold new information regarding their sick family member’s condition or prognosis until they feel he/she is ready to learn of this new development. Personally, I believe in the patient’s right to know whether the news is bad or good. As a patient advocate, I will explain to the family the importance of the patient hearing this report confirmed by a doctor and not withholding any of the details. Family may argue that sharing this information may result in further emotional and physical stress. However, I believe that the sooner this information is shared with the patient, the sooner we can start the process of dealing with the added stress. I respect the rights of the patient knowing this information and I wish for my patients to not lose their trust in my caring abilities if he/she were to find out that I’ve kept important details about his/her condition. My integrity is certainly not one value I’d want to
There are various factors that contribute and influence an individual’s worldview. Factors such as, personal values and experiences, cultural and spiritual backgrounds lend guidance on how each person behaves, leads lives and practices their profession. Personal ethics are our own codes of conduct and our sense of right and wrong. However, ethics do not solely define what is right or what is wrong. Ethics can be considered as a framework to decision making and addresses how we need to act and treat others, what we need to do and why (Epstein & Turner, 2015). This paper will explore my personal, cultural and spiritual values, how I define morals and ethics in the context of my nursing practice and explain how my own personal …show more content…
I was brought up as a Catholic and I’m grateful that my parents sent me to Catholic schools to learn the ways of God and believe in the power of prayer. We have a close-knit family and it is not unusual to witness to see generations of families living under one roof in our culture, as parents prefer and even encourage their children to raise their families with them. It is customary for children to assume primary care for the parents when they are no longer able to care for themselves. It is this tradition that resonates with me in my nursing practice. Loyalty, respect and accountability are some of the attributes that have been instilled in me and these I display and practice when caring for patients and in my interaction with colleagues. Purtilo & Doherty (2011) claim that primary loyalty needs to always be patient centered in nursing and I find it difficult to argue this. However, I realize that my sense of loyalty can also act as a barrier in certain situations with my tendencies to favor and consider only one side of the story and not equally consider family’s thoughts and feelings when treatment decisions need to be made, for …show more content…
We refer to codes of ethics in nursing to guide us in how we approach and examine moral situations and develop processes in resolving ethical dilemmas. As nurses become more involved in decision making with regard to patient treatments, conflicts are to be expected with differences in values, thoughts and experiences. A common ethical dilemma in patient care is that of family instructing the health care team to withhold new information regarding their sick family member’s condition or prognosis until they feel he/she is ready to learn of this new development. Personally, I believe in the patient’s right to know whether the news is bad or good. As a patient advocate, I will explain to the family the importance of the patient hearing this report confirmed by a doctor and not withholding any of the details. Family may argue that sharing this information may result in further emotional and physical stress. However, I believe that the sooner this information is shared with the patient, the sooner we can start the process of dealing with the added stress. I respect the rights of the patient knowing this information and I wish for my patients to not lose their trust in my caring abilities if he/she were to find out that I’ve kept important details about his/her condition. My integrity is certainly not one value I’d want to