The Importance of Integrity and Professionalism in Nursing - Essay Example

 The idea of integrity and professionalism has remained important in all fields of human endeavor. However, when it comes to services that save lives, improve the living situations for people and connect directly with the wellbeing of society, the importance of integrity and professionalism is only doubled. Nursing is one such profession in which integrity and professionalism have obtained increased importance since they make the nursing profession as well the process of receiving health services a more positive experience for all concerned parties. This is because having integrity and being professional allows a nurse to bring a notion of dignity to the profession. The idea of dignity is also present in the nursing code of ethics given by the ANA (2003) which demands a respect for human dignity that can only come through being professional when a nurse approaches his/her profession. This concept of an inherent dignity of a human being who deserves to be treated with integrity is certainly not a new one since the time of ancient philosophers, it was accepted that human beings are endowed with special qualities that have set them apart and make them different from other living things (Beyleveld & Brownsword, 2002). Thus human beings and the individuals under the care of the nurse have to be treated in a professional manner and when it comes to recent development in nursing, one of the key elements of professionalism and integrity appears to be confidentiality. This is because the assurance of confidentiality promotes and strengthens the integrity of the relationship between nurses and patients and this in turn promotes patient care and recovery. The principle of respect concerning the autonomy of the patient is an acknowledgement of the right of the patient to have control over his/her information. This includes the right to decide who has access to his or her personal information and it is the responsibility of caregivers to make sure that this right is not violated (Horan, 2006). As described by Stuttle (2006), the professionalism demanded of nurses today extends to a point where the relationship between the health care giver and the patient could be seen a legal contract since there are several implied promises within this relationship. One of those promises is that the information provided by the patient would only be used to offer health care services and not shared with anyone who does not have a right to the information. In the age of computers and easily transferrable records, patient confidentiality is certainly an important practice which comes with the integrity and professionalism expected of nurses today (Norwell, 2006). Professionalism and integrity also teach nurses the idea of their duty and the ethical guidelines given by the ANA show us that the first duty of the nurse is towards the patient. This means that the nurse should do whatever is possible to ensure that the patients are receiving the best care that can be given to them in the circumstances they are in and the limitations which have been placed on them. Without putting the rights and needs of the patient as a top priority, no nurse can consider him/herself as being professional or displaying the level of integrity required by the profession (ANA, 2003). Further, integrity and professionalism within the field of nursing brings nurses to a greater understanding of being cooperative with other professionals in the field. Undoubtedly, as individuals, nurses are responsible for their own actions but as a collective, a nurse could be responsible for the actions of those who work under his/her supervision. Being professional about these relationships bring a greater understanding of the idea of accountability which means to justify personal actions and the idea of responsibility which means to satisfy the duties that have been assigned to the individual working as a nurse (ANA, 2003). An essential part of being a professional is to maintain and develop the individual competencies that a person has. Personal competence has a lot to do with the abilities of a nurse when it comes to performing duties while understanding how medicine is a rapidly changing field. While there are legal continuing education requirements for nurses, it is important for all nurses to continue to upgrade their skills on their own through the study of journals and relevant publications which help them be more professional and improve their skills. These improvements in professional competence would certainly have real life benefits for the nurse as well as the patients under the care of the nurse (ANA, 2003). It must be understood that improving or having integrity and professionalism in the field of nursing yields benefits which are not only for the patients but also for the nurse. These benefits can become obvious when it is made clear that by being professional and showing a high level of integrity, a nurse can improve his/her self-esteem, peer recognition, satisfaction derived from work, chances of career enhancement and even create positive effects in terms of income through getting to positions of greater responsibility (ANA, 2003). It seems that with integrity and professionalism in nursing, everyone turns out to be a winner. In conclusion, being professional and having integrity today in the field of nursing is not only an ethical requirement, it is an idea which has real world benefits both for the patients as well as the nurses. The very spirit of nursing ethics themselves can be said to be directly connected to being professional and having integrity since both of them lead to the nurse behaving in a manner which is quite necessary for the positive provision of health related services. Even though the economic realities we live with today may be forcing hospitals to cut costs, the nursing profession places an obligation on the nurse to not cut back when it comes to being professional and showing that s/he has integrity. Despite whatever pressures are put on the nurse due to the changing work environment, integrity and professionalism should remain the highest concern of the nurse especially where the lives and well being of others is concerned. Works Cited American Nurses Association (ANA). (2003). Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements. Retrieved September 26, 2008 from ANA website: http://www.nursingworld.org/mods/mod580/cecdetoc.htm Beyleveld, D. and Brownsword, R. (2002). Human Dignity in Bioethics and Biolaw. Oxford University Press. Horan, S. (2006). Confidentiality must come first, Occupational Health, vol. 58, no. 4, pp. 10-11. Norwell, N. (2006). Confidentiality risks for electronic patient data, General Practitioner, 21 Apr, p. 60-61. Stuttle, B. (2006). Independent Nurse: The wider issues around confidentiality, General Practitioner, 10 Feb, p. 94. Read More