Professional Values, Attitudes, and Behaviours of Nurses
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Introduction
Nursing practitioners, like other professionals, have their own set of core values, attitudes, and behaviors. This paper discusses these values and their importance to nurses in their daily practice. This project is based on two nursing theories. These theories are significant because, despite the changing nature of the nursing profession as a result of technological advancements, the underlying principle of caring remains the primary motivator for all nursing practitioners.
Furthermore, professional values serve as the foundation for acceptable behavior and attitude in the nursing profession. The development of these values is critical for every nurse making important healthcare decisions. Nursing practitioners must also exhibit certain attitudes and behaviors in order to fulfill their primary role of caring. Nursing is clearly dependent on one’s morals and sense of responsibility to the client. Nurses are members of organizations that support and regulate their activities. The nursing profession’s core values include altruism, accountability, commitment, and human dignity. These professional values emerge as a result of cultural, societal, and individual personality traits.
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This paper focuses on Madeleine Leininger’s trans-cultural nursing theory and Hildegard Peplau’s interpersonal nursing theory. The goal of nursing, according to Leininger, is to provide care that is consistent with cultural values, beliefs, and practices. According to Leininger, care is the essence of nursing and the dominant, distinguishing, and unifying feature. She claims that there can be no cure without caring, but there may be caring along with curing. As a result, health-care workers should work to understand different cultures’ values, health beliefs, and lifestyles, which will serve as the foundation for providing culture-specific care. Regardless of the gender of the nursing student, the concept of empathy is now part of the professional curriculum.
Nursing, according to Peplau, is a maturing force realized as the personality develops through educational, therapeutic, and interpersonal processes. When a person has a perceived need, nurses enter into a personal relationship with them. The nurse-patient relationship, according to her, evolves through various stages of the caring process. The nursing profession is founded on caring as an essential component of human relationships. Caring is more than benevolence, sympathy, or even compassion; it is informed concern with all-encompassing involvement.
According to Masters (2009), nursing as a profession necessitates extensive and specialized training in order to acquire the necessary knowledge. He goes on to say that it necessitates the individual’s complete dedication to public service. This profession, like others, has specific values that all nursing practitioners must adhere to. These professional values are defined by nursing practitioners and their professional bodies as standards of behavior for acceptable action. These professional values that nurses have adopted serve as the principles, ideals, and standards that nurses hold in order to give meaning and direction to their daily conduct. These values also serve as a framework for assessing nurses’ beliefs and attitudes.
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According to Fry, Veatch, and Taylor (2010), values are desirable rational conceptions and standards that guide behavior. Nurses have developed a caring attitude toward their patients and families by adhering to this set of values. These established values also serve as a guideline for critical thinking and decision making while practicing nursing. Furthermore, these values aid in conflict resolution and prioritizing actions related to patient welfare.
Nursing values become more pronounced as nurses advance in their careers and face new challenges. Because professional values influence behavior, people who do not develop their values may lack direction and critical thinking skills. The latter is a very important factor in the nursing field. Adherence to these principles in daily nursing practice, in this sense, can be a major issue for potential nurses who are not fully committed to the profession. Altruism, autonomy, human dignity, and social justice are the core values that underpin the nursing profession.
Altruism
Altruism is the ability to be selfless and instead devote oneself to the well-being of others. The nurse in the nursing profession provides love and kindness not only to her patients but also to herself. When working with a patient, a nurse must maintain her calmness in order to fully support and secure the patient. Furthermore, this is important for the nurse to avoid burnout and stress, which can prevent them from performing their duties effectively. To obtain and maintain these humanistic-altruistic values, the nurse must always demonstrate unending love, kindness, and mental awareness. Altruism is critical in releasing a nurse’s compassion and empathy, resulting in a more positive and healing environment for the patient.
Nurses are ethically obligated to care for patients, even if it means putting their lives in danger. For example, they may intervene to stop a violent patient in order to protect other patients from physical harm. Furthermore, they administer medicine to patients suffering from contagious diseases, putting their own lives in danger. In nursing, altruism is the most important characteristic in the nurse-patient relationship for ensuring the best possible care and a healing environment for their patient. If a nurse is not fully committed to their patient, the patient may be vulnerable to a regressive healing environment, resulting in a negative outcome.
Autonomy
In the nurse-patient relationship, autonomy is important. Nursing provides the patient with the right to informed consent. The nurse informs his patient about his condition and advises him on the available treatment options as well as any underlying consequences. The patient then has the option of undergoing the procedure or not. Only in cases where the patient is mentally incapacitated can a health care surrogate or an attorney make these decisions for them. As a result, competent adults have the capacity to consent to or refuse treatment, and nurses are obligated to respect the client’s wishes, even if they disagree.
When making responsible discretionary decisions, professional nurse autonomy is based on the premise of the client’s centrality. These decisions, whether made independently or on the advice of the nurse, should reflect the patient’s best interests.
Autonomy is also a form of advocacy for the patient, ensuring that they make informed decisions. Caring is one of the most important characteristics for a nurse who values autonomy. Patient discretion in decision-making is also enhanced by proactive advocacy and friendly relationships with patients.
Dignity of Human Beings
The nursing profession demands that all patients be treated with dignity. Everyone is equal and deserves the same treatment regardless of external factors. The principle of human dignity requires nurses to treat all patients as they would their own loved ones if they were caring for them. As a result, a nurse believes that all humans are worthy and deserving of unconditional respect, regardless of age, gender, health status, social or ethnic factors, political ideologies, religious affiliation, or criminal history.
Integrity
Nurses adhere to the principles of acting honestly, fairly, and ethically while performing their duties of caring for the sick. They must hold each other to the highest professional and ethical standards. Nurses must also be truthful to their colleagues and to those who rely on them. Nurses must also be accountable to their professional bodies, colleagues, and patients by providing safe, high-quality care (Mc Sherry, Mc Sherry & Watson, 2012)
Social Equity
Nurses are expected to respect their patients’ autonomy while also maintaining their dignity. Nurses strive to achieve the best results for their clients by promoting their best interests. Beneficence is defined as nurses promoting what is best for the patient. Nurses must also act in a non-maleficent manner to avoid causing harm to their patients. They avoid situations that could result in injury to those in their care by acting competently and practicing at a high level.
Nurses’ Attitudes and Behavior
According to Fry, Veatch, and Taylor (2010), personal values such as respect, responsibility, and obligation are dependent on the nurse’s moral attitude. In nursing, professional attitudes are inclinations, feelings, and emotions that conform to their principles and serve as the foundation for their behavior. Professional behavior, or behavioral professionalism, is defined as acting in a way that achieves the best results in professional tasks and interactions.
On a daily basis, nurses deal with complex ethical and human rights issues. The code of responsibilities and conduct expected of nurses in their practice is outlined by the American Nurses Association Board of Directors and the Congress on Nursing Practice. Nurses follow some ethical practice standards that guide their actions. The codes were revised in 2001 to include issues of advancing nursing science and were based on the opinions and experiences of a diverse group of nurses. The ANA approved nine provisions addressing ethical practice issues such as compassion and respect, the nurse’s primary commitment to the patient, patient advocacy, responsibility and accountability, duties, participation in the healthcare environment, professional advancement, and collaboration.
The confidentiality of information provided by patients is one of the policies enforced by the nurses association. In medical services, confidentiality entails keeping patient information private. Nurses are bound by confidentiality agreements not to disclose patient information to third parties without their signed consent.
Nurses rely on their professional bodies as a primary source of information when making major decisions about patient care. In their practice, their colleagues are the primary source of professional ideas and judgments.
Nurses have a strong personal belief in serving the public. As a result, they believe that their professional practice is essential to society and are motivated to do their best. They provide services wholeheartedly, with a focus on making society a better place to live rather than on financial gain.
Nurses are typically members of nursing bodies in their home countries, which serve as self-regulation authorities. In the event of misconduct, the nursing body, which is made up of peers in the profession, renders a decision on their colleagues based on their governing principles. Nursing bodies also conduct constructive peer assessments on their members in order to improve competitiveness and performance. Constructive criticism is widely accepted as a method of reducing recurring judgment errors.
To carry out their duties properly, nurses must have a sense of calling to the field. This profession necessitates complete dedication to patients regardless of extrinsic rewards. Their selfless actions during warfare, in which they commit to alleviating the suffering of innocent victims, are sufficient proof of this.
Nurses are autonomous in the sense that they make professional decisions independently of clients, non-professionals, or employers. They can make critical decisions about their patients’ welfare by adhering to basic nursing principles. However, if they are unsure, they may consult with their peers. In the event of competing interests from outside parties, the final decision must serve the best interests of the patient.
Nurses have been generally receptive to new ideas in healthcare as new technology has advanced. They have been at the forefront of the adoption of advanced medical equipment to aid in caregiving. Nurses value new experiences as well, so they have taken on more difficult tasks to work in the most hostile environments on the planet.
Ethical obligations that guide nurses’ behavior
A nursing practitioner must be compassionate and respectful of the individual’s dignity. As a result, he or she is not limited by economic status, personal characteristics, or the nature of the disease. A nurse, for example, may not feel comfortable caring for an alcoholic client. She is, however, ethically bound to provide the best and most compassionate care possible.
Nurses must always be committed to their clients. If the family and community are involved in decision-making, she must be accommodating to their ideas, even if she does not agree with them. After providing any necessary advice, nurses must respect the client’s wishes in the matter.
The nurse must always act as the client’s advocate. The nurse is also responsible for the client’s health, safety, and rights. The principle of nonmaleficence may necessitate the nurse moving a patient from a poorly ventilated room or a crowded hospital ward. In order to prevent further victimization of patients, the nurse should report any suspected abuse.
The nurse is accountable for delegating tasks that are consistent with optimal patient care. She must therefore collaborate with other healthcare workers to ensure that patients receive the best possible care even when she is not present. Any irregularities during the hospitalization are avoidable if she coordinates with the doctors and other nurses properly.
Nurses must maintain their integrity and act competently at all times. Continuing education and keeping up with new technology are essential for personal and professional development. Nurses must therefore take additional course units on a regular basis in order to maintain their practicing licenses and remain relevant. Continuous involvement in the advancement of the profession through research raises the profile of dedicated nurses.
The nurse is responsible for upholding the nursing profession’s reputation through her practice. As a result, she performs her duties with dignity and avoids scandals that damage the profession’s reputation.
High membership and active participation in their professional body raises nurses’ profile in society. By promoting activities that promote ethical values in nursing, the professional body can erect a formidable barrier to sway public opinion. Professional organizations can thus advocate for social policy reforms that improve their working conditions.
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Conclusion
Nurses must differentiate between their personal values and their professional ethics. Personal values are what nurses consider to be significant and true for themselves, whereas professional ethics entail universal principles and standards of conduct that apply in all situations. Nurses must remember and practice these core values to the best of their abilities. During both good and bad times, they must remember why they chose to become nurses and what they hope to achieve. They must always remember to prioritize the well-being of others and to treat everyone equally. A person who chooses nursing as a profession makes a decision that will affect them for the rest of their lives. As a result, nurses avoid allowing personal judgments to cloud their decisions about client care. They are truthful and fair with clients, acting in their best interests while maintaining the utmost respect for them. New graduates entering the workforce must also be prepared to engage in complex critical thinking skills as well as develop adequate socialization skills to deal with the tremendous growth in technology and responsibilities expected in the profession.
