Running head: MY PROFESSIONAL MORAL COMPASS My Professional Moral Compass

Marie Panao

NRS 437V-0103

December 1, 2012

My Professional Moral Compass
The code of ethics is an important part of the nursing foundation where nurses are directed to practice with compassion and respect for human dignity, responsibility, accountability, confidentiality and patient safety (ANA, 2012). Nurses are expected to follow this professional morals and values but also to practice their own personal standards as well. Values are one’s fundamental beliefs acquired from childhood through family and society. Morals are values that
When nurses are faced with this dilemma, the most ethical thing to do is to educate the patient on the risks, monitor the effect of the pain medication and offer pain management programs for their own safety.
Ethical dilemmas provide a great amount of stress and anxiety to nurses, which can affect how they are able to provide safest care to their patients. One of the biggest ethical dilemmas that this author face in everyday practice is how doctors do not give enough time for their patients because of the amounts of patients they are to see in a given day. This author has encountered doctors who are not completely assessing their patients when they round and do not have the best bedside manner since they are always in a hurry. Many of the complaints received from patients were that doctors leave their room so fast and were unable to ask any questions related to their care. It puts nurses in a very difficult situation since nurses are not able to respond to patients with all honesty when being asked about the doctor’s qualifications. How do you explain to the patient that a profitable company means protecting the people who bring in the profit and disregarding the fact that the patients are not getting what they deserve and the care that they need in the first place. Being that patients is this authors priority, this author continues to advocate for them by speaking with their doctors and other healthcare members connected with their care to find solution and