Professional Values Of Nursing Essay

Being a nurse is not always as easy and picture perfect as people paint it to be. A nurse is expected to act perfectly professional, even when tears, anger and all-around emotions are begging to come out. A nurse must always be the one that has their life together, especially when others do not. They are there to be the ones to hold and care for others in desperate times of need. Nurses are expected to be more than just a nurse, but rather an advocate, caregiver, support system and professional. There are 5 professional values that are associated with the description of a nurse. The first professional value of nursing is altruism. Altruism can describe someone who is unselfish, concerned, and devoted to helping others in need. The beauty of being a nurse is that nurses are caregivers to all. They never discriminate or neglect patients for wrongful reasons. Altruism is the true definition of a nurse.

Nurses are determined to accomplish one thing in their career; save and change lives. That being said, nurses must have the determination and drive to do what every it takes to assist their patient. Nurses are naturally determined to make sure that their patients are able to recover and return back to their normal lives. As described in Fundamentals of nursing: The art and science of nursing care, “Autonomy is the right to self-determination. Professional practice reflects autonomy when the nurse respects patient’s rights to make decisions about their health care” (Taylor, 1997). At the nursing home, I witnessed many of the nurses discuss with the residents what they wanted to do about certain situations. Autonomy honors the fact that it is the patient and the families right to make certain decisions about health care. Nurses also are constantly making sure that they can provide their patients with the best information to help them make a more successful choice about their health care (Taylor