Moral, Ethical, and Legal Factors, GCSE Coursework Example

Introduction

Professional nurses at all levels must embody the characteristics of compassion and trust at all times. It is necessary that nurses demonstrate these principles in each action that they take. Furthermore, their moral and ethical approaches to nursing practice must convey their commitment to high quality patient care and treatment under all circumstances. Nurses are required to continuously demonstrate their willingness to be effective communicators and facilitators of growth and change within the workplace setting. Nurses must learn to establish trust and mutual respect with their employees and to be compassionate in their efforts and contributions to patient care. Therefore, morally and ethically responsible behaviors must be exhibited in the workplace setting to ensure that patient care outcomes are favorable and represent nurses in a positive light.

Analysis

Trust is often difficult to achieve within the workplace setting, even if individual employees appear to be working towards a set of common goals and objectives. Furthermore, patients are less likely to trust their nurses because they are experiencing anxiety and stress regarding their health (Dinc and Gastmans, 2012). Under these circumstances, it is important to consider how to establish trust between nurses and their patients with time and the willingness to depend on others for support and assistance (Dinc and Gastmans, 2012). These efforts must be mutual and provide patients with a greater sense of ease and comfort with their nurse caregivers in order to achieve trust at this level (Dinc and Gastmans, 2012). Patients are in a fragile and challenged state; therefore, it is important to develop trust by using specific strategies to encourage patients to develop trust in the service and attention that their nurses provide (Dinc and Gastmans, 2012).

Nursing practice objectives must include the ability to establish trust in the workplace setting, but also demonstrate compassion in the care and treatment of all patients. Under these conditions, it is particularly important for nurses to be recognized for their altruistic tendencies and to focus less on other factors and more on patients and their specific needs (Straughair, 2012). Compassionate nurses will provide their patients with much-needed support and guidance that also aligns with ethically appropriate and responsible frameworks that govern nursing practice objectives (Straughair, 2012). However, some nurses find it difficult to provide compassionate care to their patients and may face considerable challenges in this area (Straughair, 2012). Nonetheless, compassionate nursing care is the cornerstone of a successful nursing practice because it explores the dimensions of nursing practice as related to specific outcomes-based objectives to provide high quality patient care and treatment (Straughair, 2012).

Compassionate nursing care also supports the ability of nurses to set science and technology aside and to go back to the basics of providing compassionate and attentive care to all patients (Maben et.al, 2009). This includes the development of relationships between nurses and their patients in order to improve recovery rates (Maben et.al, 2009). These efforts also support the continued growth and understanding of patient needs as they impact nurse roles and responsibilities in the workplace setting (Maben et.al, 2009). The problems with modern nursing care are associated with its technology-driven focus and the necessity to see as many patients as possible in a relatively short period of time, which in turn, leads to poor outcomes for many patients and potential readmissions to the hospital (Maben et.al, 2009). With these examples, achieving compassion and trust in the nursing unit is critical to the success of a patient’s course of treatment (Maben et.al, 2009). However, in spite of the demands of modern nursing units, there remains a specific emphasis on patient care and treatment and the coordination of care to enhance quality and compassion (Maben et.al, 2009). These contributions made by nurses also support ethically and morally responsible care and treatment for patients who must adhere to specific core values and objectives as part of their roles in the nursing work environment (Maben et.al, 2009). Patients must be treated with the utmost respect and compassion at all stages by nurses who are assigned to their cases, and this represents an opportunity to convey the importance of coordinated nursing care and treatment to promote greater quality and favorable outcomes (Maben et.al, 2009).

Conclusion

The efforts made by nurses to exercise compassion and to develop trust with their patients requires their full commitment and support of these objectives. Nurses have a significant responsibility to provide coordinated care and treatment to all patients in a manner that is ethically appropriate and morally responsible. Therefore, they must consider the impact of their care on patients and in supporting the objectives sought throughout the nursing profession in order to improve upon existing frameworks to support nursing practice objectives in all areas of the profession. Compassionate care and treatment requires a greater understanding of patient needs and the potential to develop mutual trust and respect during these interactions. When patients are provided with an environment to enhance quality of care, they must take advantage of these opportunities and set aside other concerns to focus on the wellbeing of their patients, in spite of other challenges. These efforts will enhance the delivery of care and will provide patients with much-needed compassion in an environment where patients are often treated merely as numbers. The attention paid by nurses will facilitate greater outcomes and support high quality nursing care and treatment under a variety of conditions.

References

Dinc, L., and Gastmans, C. (2012). Trust and trustworthiness in nursing: an argument-based literature review. Nursing Inquiry, 19(3), 223-237.

Maben, J., Cornwell, J., and Sweeney, K. (2009). In praise of compassion. Journal of Research in Nursing, 15(1), 9-13.

Straughair, C. (2012). Exploring compassion: implications for contemporary nursing. British Journal of Nursing, 21(3), 160-164.