Personal Values for the Bsn Student Essay

Discuss how you demonstrate this value. Altruism: â€Å"Devotion to the welfare of others, regard for others, as a principle of action; opposed to egoism or selfishness† (Britannica Online, 2008). Altruism is taking care of others regardless of your personal feelings. Nurses demonstrate altruism in many ways. They are devoted to their patients while working in any healthcare setting, they take action when a patient needs them to, they work with patients regardless of personal feelings in situations of race, culture, or ethnicity. Personally, I demonstrate the value of altruism in many ways. Currently I work in education and not on the floor. I believe that in my position I am providing hospital staff very important information so that they are able to give the best possible care to patients on the floor. Autonomy: Autonomy is a person’s ability to decide to act on or control their own actions when faced with different situations. Oxford dictionary defines it as: â€Å"Liberty to follow one’s will, personal freedom† (Oxford English Dictionary Online, 2008). Nurses demonstrate autonomy by making sure that their actions are appropriate to their ability. Effective nurses recognize their personal limits and strengths. The nursing process is an important aspect of this recognition. Autonomy is demonstrated in the ability I have to control my actions. Situations have arisen where I do not agree with a choice my patient has made. My first instinct would be to react one way but I have been able to realize that this is not the best way to handle the situation. Human Dignity: The term â€Å"dignity† is defined as â€Å"the state of being worthy of honor or respect† (The Oxford English Dictionary Online, 2008). Human dignity is a concept that â€Å"all human being possess inherent worth and deserve unconditional respect, regardless of age, sex, health status, social or political ideas, religion, or criminal history. † (Wikipedia, 2008). Nurses demonstrate human dignity in many ways. On a daily basis, nurses are caring for patients who have health problems requiring care that may intrude on their personal space and comfort levels. A nurse will respect a patient’s dignity by trying to cover or drape the patient during invasive procedures, they realize that certain things happen with age, and nurses respect a patient’s religious or political ideas. Human dignity is something that I believe I achieve as a nurse. Because I do not work on the floor I achieve this in different ways. I try to educate the nurses in my classes about the different tools available in the software program and how this can help to improve patient safety. I show them the tools they can use to document religious preferences so that other staff members are able to respect the patient. I try to understand â€Å"how they practice with respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and uniqueness of all individuals† (Kalb ; O’Connor-Von, 2007 p. 196), and how this correlates with an EMR. Integrity: â€Å"Soundness of moral principle; the character of uncorrupted virtue, esp. in relation to truth and fair dealing; uprightness, honesty, sincerity† (Wikipedia, 2008). Integrity is a principle that drives a person to do what they feel to be â€Å"right†. Nurses are able to work with a high level of integrity. As nurses, exposure to medical records happens on a daily basis. Nurses show their morals by only using these records to perform their job effectively. Laws like HIPPA exist to help prevent behavior like this from happening. My belief is the vast majority of nurse’s would not â€Å"snoop† without HIPPA. Integrity is something that I take very seriously. In my position I have access to medical records all across a hospital facility. I could very easily access someone’s chart just to see what is happening, or I could look something up with a malicious intent. I believe that my integrity stops me from doing any of these inappropriate behaviors. Social Justice: â€Å"Social Justice is generally thought of as a world which affords individuals and groups fair treatment and an impartial share of the benefits of society† (Wikipedia, 2008). Social justice is a principal that people govern themselves by both politically and personally. Social justice is very similar to many of the other values that have been discussed. Nurses are socially just in their ability to provide the same level of care to patient’s regardless of personal beliefs. Nurses also are socially just with co-workers everyday in the ability to work as a collaborative team. Social justice is a very easy value to live by. I believe that I train my classes fairly every day. I am training all staff at the hospital and I understand that not everyone has the same knowledge that another person has. Being mindful of these differences allows me to teach the appropriate topics to the appropriate people. I would not teach a CNA how to document on a MAR since this is a duty that is not in their scope of practice.