Personal Beliefs and Values: Nursing Essay Example

Introduction

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Caring is a vital value in the nursing profession since it allows nurses to connect with patients in a personal and professional level to provide them with physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual needs. Firstly, I believe that treating others with dignity to permit them to develop a sense of self-worth and self-respect embodies my caring nature. Additionally, the value allows me to provide quality healthcare services to all patients using available resources. Secondly, I believe that integrity is a crucial value in my position. I always act by the hospital and nursing code of ethics, which ensures that I carry out my duties in line with my professional standards. Thirdly, I believe that every individual has the right to self-determination. In this case, I promote patients' autonomy in such a way that I respect their decisions even if they conflict with my nursing activities.

On the other hand, spirituality allows me to engage with my patients emotionally and spiritually. I am a Christian who believes that spreading love and care to others is a service to God and humanity. My faith allows me to accommodate others' religious doctrines without prejudice or discrimination. Additionally, In line with my Christian values, I am compassionate and empathetic towards the sick since I acknowledge that emotional and spiritual healing contributes to a patient's ultimate happiness.

Using the Elements of Cost, Quality, and Social Issues to Frame Your Description, Differentiate Your Beliefs and Opinions about Health Care Policy. Give Examples of Relevant Ethical Principles, Supported by Your Values.

Firstly, I believe that health policies should focus on enhancing the nursing profession to allow the provision of quality services. Nurses are obligated to attend to patients professionally with dignity to create a sense of self-worth and self-respect among the sick (Shahriari, Mohammadi, Abbaszadeh, & Bahrami, 2013). Therefore, the government should facilitate the quality of medical services in a country for the benefit of its citizens. Secondly, I believe that affordable health care is necessary to reduce mortality and morbidity rates in a nation. A state may reduce the cost of health care services through multiple methods such as reduced taxation of medical equipment, adequate funding, the introduction of public medical programs, and insurance plans. On a social perspective, I think that health policies should take into account human diversity. Today, people of different cultures, social status, and race live together due to the globalization effect. Plans such as health insurances should not discriminate or reveal cases of prejudice towards a specific group of people.

Some of the ethical principles in health care policy supported by my values include justice and elimination of discriminative practices. Health plans promote integrity and discipline among physicians to reduce bias that may lead to the provision of reduced services. Additionally, beneficence ensures that doctors and nurses do their best for the benefit of the patient regardless of their financial status. For instance, in an emergency case, the law prohibits the delay of treatment due to financial constraints.

Analyze How Factors Such as Your Upbringing, Spiritual or Religious Beliefs/Doctrine, Personal and Professional Experiences, and Political Ideology Affect Your Current Perspective on Health Care Policy

Through my experience as a nurse, I have been able to handle patients with various sicknesses. The condition has permitted me to develop compassion and empathy towards patients and their families. I have learned how to engage families concerning diagnosis, treatment, and the recovery process of their patients without causing panic or trauma. Moreover, my Christian values guide me throughout my professional practice, which allows me to treat others with dignity and encourage diversity. I also believe that physicians have a divine call to protect human life through disease management. Therefore, all formulated medical plans should be in the benefit of patients and society. On a political scale, I believe that it is the responsibility of every government to uphold the right to affordable and quality medical services to its citizens to reduce suffering and mortality rates.

Examine any Inconsistencies You Discovered Relative to the Alignment of Your Personal Values and Beliefs with Those Concerning Health Policy

Access to primary healthcare is a right of every Haitian citizen. It ensures that people can access treatment to various diseases and epidemics promptly to save a life. The government has initiated multiple health care policies in the past few decades to promote the provision of health care in the country such as the Health Master Plan 2012-2022 (The World Bank, 2014). However, hurricane Mathew destroyed Haiti's healthcare infrastructure in 2010 in such a way that its citizens continue to depend on foreign medical aid.

According to Lowrance et al. (2017), due to a decline in the country's economic strength, the government allocates less than five percent of its expenditure towards health care. I believe the situation contradicts my values on human dignity since it does not allow the provision of quality health care services to patients. Reductions on healthcare budget allocations mean that a large percentage of people will not be able to gain access to proper medication concerning prevailing diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDs. Additionally, hospitals will lack adequate funds to provide medicine and undertake other treatment procedures on patients.

References

Lowrance, D. W., Tappero, J. W., Poncelet, J. L., Etienne, C., Frieden, T. R., & Delsoins, D. (2017). Public health progress in Haiti. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 97(4), 1-3. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5676629/

Shahriari, M., Mohammadi, E., Abbaszadeh, A., & Bahrami, M. (2013). Nursing ethical values and definitions: A literature review. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 18(1), 1-8. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3748548/

The World Bank. (2014). Clean water, improved sanitation, better health: Haiti Conference. Washington D.C. Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/book_haiti_6oct_print.pdf