RNs in all clinical groups required comprehensive ethics education topics to enhance their practice, although topics on professional issues appeared to be a priority for maternal health, mental health and community health Registered Nurses (Fry and Currier 2). This paper seeks to highlight the aspects of ethical practice that are essential for sustenance of moral good.
“Rule Ethics” in Nursing Practice
Respect for a person is an essential principle that underlies all nursing practice. It involves respect for the innate worth, dignity, and human rights of each person, including colleagues, subordinates, superiors, and patients alike. Therefore, derisions towards student nurses by practice nurses over credentials and competence tantamount to infringement of respect for the individual.
Similarly, nurse tutors and managers break the respect for person rule through their contention and debate amongst their class regarding the preparation of training and recruitment. The ethical resolution does not include involvement in verbal sparring but instead involves deriding the same when it is heard and participating in discourse about entry into practice with one another regarding mutual respect and esteem for the profession as the priority (Ludwick and Silva 2).
Collaboration is a value that describes the focus of groups and individuals to achieve a common goal through cooperation. An issue arises where collaboration and concentrated effort fail as far as entry into practice is concerned. Usually, all entry-levels have supporters, who often present an agenda regardless of the opinions of other groups. Every group appears to disregard the values of trust, respect, and recognition essential for collaboration.
The ethical answers at point level are attaining involvement and sustaining involvement with nurses’ professional organizations to press for collaboration on terminating the stalemate on entry into practice (Ludwick and Silva 2). Importantly, all key nursing organizations must coalesce to advance nursing practice with relevance to the nursing shortage and to drive the profession in resolving issues of entry into practice.
Accountability means taking responsibility for oneself and affiliates. Ludwick and Silva (3) argue that accountability practice context means the act of nurses taking full responsibility for decision-making in care delivery, education, and administration. However, ethical accountability about entry into practice is not explicit. Thus, there are proposed ways through which nurses can increase their ethical accountability relative to the level of entry, which I have implemented to sustain good morale in practice, as I have mentioned below.
Rules to Guide Behavior in Personal and Professional Life
I base my behavior at work on a few rules. First, every person has a right to be treated humanely. Second, I must always advocate for the right of the weak. Third, I must ask a fellow nurse or other practitioner performing a procedure about the basis of the procedure if it raises moral uncertainty.
Factors Influenced “Rules”
The factors that influence my rules are few. The major factor is the difference in positions of all individuals. Hence, while all people are equal, the difference in position should not be the reason for others to treat the weak as if they are less important.
Moral Good Within Work Environment
Every nurse has a responsibility of promoting moral good within their work environment. To achieve this objective, I pledged to request an explanation to the moral uprightness of an intervention applied to a patient and appeal politely against the procedure if it raises moral question(s).
When I am faced with a moral dilemma, wherein I am supposed to select from two alternatives, I will choose the one that promotes the right of the person or people involved (O’Neil 145). The other thing is to stand up for a weaker person by boldly pointing to the physician or nurse the problem with the procedure they wish to administer.
Further, I can achieve ethical accountability by seeking knowledge on entry into practice issues and by participating in a harmonized nursing movement purposed to decide entry into practice issues.
Second, as nurse manager, I will mobilize colleagues to increase their accountability subordinating their quest for power and shifting focus on adopting an education plan that will promote the prospective nurses and the wellbeing of the public. Also, I will lobby for investment in infrastructures that will promote decision-making and facilitate subsequent changes.
Works Cited
Fry, Sara T and Sarah Currier. Ethics education needs of practicing nurses: differences among areas of clinical practice. Boston : The Trustees of Boston College , 2000. Web.
Ludwick, Ruth and Cipriano Mary Silva. “Ethical grounding for entry into practice: respect, collaboration, and accountability.” Online Journal of Issues in Nursing (2002). Web.
O’Neil, Anne J. “What is a moral dilemma and what would you do if you were faced with one.” Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing 19.4 (2002): 145-147. Print.