Duties to Self: The Nurse as a Person of Dignity and Worth

Fowler, Marsha D

doi:10.1891/1946-6560.24.3.152

Cited by 11 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…While respect for the dignity of patients has been emphasized in nursing practice, too little focus on respect for nurses’ dignity may result in subservience and servility, compromising their own perceived dignity (Gallagher 2004). It can be argued that ‘if all persons are beings of worth and dignity that must be affirmed by the nurse, then the nurse, too, is a being of worth and dignity that must be affirmed’ (Fowler 2018, p.154). Some nursing codes of ethics do not explicitly affirm the worth and dignity of nurses as a self‐regarding professional value (SANC 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They sometimes uphold their patients’ needs to the detriment of their own, as revealed by a qualitative study of nurses in an academic healthcare centre in the United States of America (Steege & Rainbow 2017). Nurses often disregard their duty to themselves as being equally worthy of respect, dignity and worth (Fowler 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although Fowler (2018) refers to nurses as persons of dignity and worth, exposure to epistemic injustice in the healthcare environment proves the opposite (Reed 2016). Experiences of diminished credibility and ‘the lived experience of being unfairly disadvantaged in rendering one’s social experiences intelligible, to others and possibly even to oneself’ (Fricker 2008, p 70), poses a threat to nurses to practice as autonomous and respected professionals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Nurses’ professional dignity in private health care: a descriptive phenomenological study

Combrinck¹,

Wyk

Mogale

2020

International Nursing Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aim This study explored and described nurses’ experiences of factors that influenced their professional dignity in private hospitals in South Africa. Background Patients’ dignity is a nursing professional value in high regard. Nurses’ dignity, in particular nurses’ professional dignity, has not been valued equally. Disrespect for nurses' professional dignity impacts on nurses’ motivation to provide nursing care to their full potential. Methods Descriptive phenomenological research was conducted. Eleven professional nurses were interviewed at two private hospitals in the provinces of KwaZulu‐Natal and the Free State of South Africa. Findings The participants were conscious of their ‘professional standing due to own and others’ percipience’. Their professional dignity was influenced by experiences such as perceiving one’s own professional dignity; having contradictory experiences; being proud to be a professional nurse; receiving support, appreciation and respect; providing care in complex situations; performing as a professional nurse; valuing patient well‐being; and being humiliated by others. Conclusion Preserving nurses’ professional dignity is crucial and should be acknowledged and encouraged by managers, health team members and nurses. Implications for nursing/health policy The need for preserving nurses’ professional dignity necessitates the incorporation of professional dignity strategies in healthcare, nursing and education policies.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Nurses’ professional dignity in private health care: a descriptive phenomenological study

Combrinck¹,

Wyk

Mogale

2020

International Nursing Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While one cannot be forced to meet a duty to self, nurses still are answerable for not doing so. 12 Self-care supports nurses’ moral duty to themselves and their patients. Although nurses have a duty to preserve their health for their own sake, they also have a moral obligation to model health promotion for their patients.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-care as an ethical obligation for nurses

Linton

Koonmen

2020

Nurs Ethics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As members of the largest and most trusted healthcare profession, nurses are role models and critical partners in the ongoing quest for the health of their patients. Findings from the American Nurses Association Health Risk Appraisal suggested that nurses give the best patient care when they are operating at the peak of their own wellness. They also revealed that 68% of the surveyed nurses place their patients’ health, safety, and wellness before their own. Globally, several nursing codes of ethics include the requirement of self-care. Often, these codes embed the responsibility to protect and promote one’s own health within the clearly described obligation to provide safe patient care. The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses is unique in that it states explicitly that nurses must adopt self-care as a duty to self in addition to their duty to provide care to patients. One of the basic assumptions of Watson’s Philosophy and Science of Caring is that caring science is the essence of nursing and the foundational disciplinary core of the profession. Watson’s theory of human caring provides support for the engagement in self-care. Two important value assumptions of Watson’s Caritas are that “we have to learn how to offer caring, love, forgiveness, compassion, and mercy to ourselves before we can offer authentic caring and love to others” and we also must “treat ourselves with loving-kindness and equanimity, gentleness, and dignity before we can accept, respect, and care for others within a professional caring-healing model.” Embedded within several caritas processes is an outline for a holistic approach to caring for self and others that can guide nurses to improve their mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

show abstract

“…Other national codes set a good example here and (recently again) emphasise the nurses’ ‘duties to self’. 48…”

Section: Responsibility For Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concepts of health in long-term home care: An empirical-ethical exploration

Seidlein

Buchholz

et al. 2019

Nurs Ethics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Concepts of health have been widely discussed in the philosophy and ethics of medicine. Parallel to these theoretical debates, numerous empirical research projects have focused on subjective concepts of health and shown their significance for individuals and society at various levels. Only a few studies have so far investigated the concepts of health of non-professionals and professionals involved in long-term home care and discussed these empirical perspectives regarding moral responsibilities. Objectives: To identify the subjective concepts of the health of non-professionals (care recipients, informal caregivers) and professionals (registered nurses) involved in long-term home care and to discuss them against the background of existing normative guidelines addressing non-professionals and professionals’ responsibilities and rights concerning health. Research design: A qualitative design was chosen to explore subjective concepts of health. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews; content analysis was applied according to Mayring. Participants and research context: Twenty-eight interviews were conducted with non-professionals and professionals in long-term home care arrangements in Northern Germany. Ethical considerations: Ethics approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board at the University Medicine Greifswald (BB123/16). Findings: Non-professionals and professionals consider health as a capability that enables them to participate in social activities and live their own lives according to their preferences. The former regard health particularly as a feeling and an attitude, the latter as the absence of disease with a focus on mental and emotional well-being. Both groups highlight the unsurpassable value of health and the personal responsibility for it. Discussion: Normative guidelines applicable to practice in long-term home care discuss responsibilities and rights unevenly and raise several problems regarding non-professionals and professionals’ subjective concepts of health. Conclusion: Individuals’ concepts of health are relevant for the subsequent interpretation of rights and responsibilities and should, thus, be reflected upon to address health-related needs effectively.

show abstract

Duties to Self: The Nurse as a Person of Dignity and Worth

Cited by 11 publications

References 3 publications

Nurses’ professional dignity in private health care: a descriptive phenomenological study

Nurses’ professional dignity in private health care: a descriptive phenomenological study

Self-care as an ethical obligation for nurses

Concepts of health in long-term home care: An empirical-ethical exploration

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About