The principal ethical attribute of a nurse is to respect the human through demonstrating human dignity. Nurses are supposed to demonstrate respect and compassion to the inherent dignity and uniqueness of a person irrespective personal attribute, social and economic orientations, and nature of the illness. Respect requires nurses to value each individual in accordance with their unique character and each aspect of a patients’ life should be valued. Although these is a hard attribute especially when those parts of an individual differ from the one of the nurse in question (Black, 2014).
Nurses are required to respect the autonomous actions and decisions of a person such as refusing medication, failing to provide consent for clinical procedures or treatments, and also failing to offer information concerning treatment options and diagnosis. Therefore, nurses are required to respect the decisions of patients and are not required to decide for them without consent.
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Nurses are supposed to observe beneficence attributes during their practices. In deciding the “good” thing or action, nurses are required to always draw inference from one’s doings in the patient’s context relating to situation and life aspects. This is conflicting because sometimes what is good for an individual may turn to be harmful to the same person.
Nurses are also required not to do any harm to the patient that is non-malfeasance. Therefore, nurses are not supposed act in a way that will intentionally cause harm to the patient. Besides, nurses need to be just in their practices. The principle requires nurses to treat equals in an equal way while unequal to be treated in a different manner. Moreover, nurses need to demonstrate fidelity through honoring and being faithful to their promises and commitments. Accordingly, nurses need to tell truth and not lie because truthful creates trust with the patients.
Reference
Black, B. P. (2014). Professional Nursing: Concepts & Challenges (7th ed.). Saunders: Elsevier.
