The Fundamental Values of Nurses in Poland

Abstract

Polish society has found itself at a very important point in its history. The transformation from a traditional to a postmodern pluralistic society involves changes in many spheres of social life. These trends give rise to the question of which way the younger generation of Polish nurses will be going. The main objective of this research was to elucidate the opinions of nurses on life and health as basic values, and on their ethical and religious background regarding their nursing care. The study made use of a questionnaire for collection and interpretation of the data. Although this article shows some lack of consistency, and even contradictions, it is possible to conclude that life and health are cherished with affection by the great majority of nurses as positive factors of human existence.

The nursing discipline and self-realization

“…4,9,21 This means that such ideas are understood as good or valuable within nurses' horizon of identity and contribute to constituting nurses' self-understanding, which empirical research also has documented. 25,26,31,[33][34][35][36][37] Generally, self-oriented moral or moral-philosophical related ideas are rarely articulated and developed related to the nursing discipline. Rather, it is the problems related to self-oriented ideas which often are discussed.…”

Perceived ethical values by Iranian nurses

“…11 As a result, determining dominant nursing ethical values has been of utmost importance in many countries. 2,3,6,8,12 –16…”

“…11 As a result, determining dominant nursing ethical values has been of utmost importance in many countries. 2,3,6,8,[12][13][14][15][16] Iran is an ancient country with over 2500 years of rich history, culture and civilization and a population of over 70 million people. 17 The Ministry of Health and Medical Education in Iran, reports as many as 150,000 nurses work at various levels and specialties in active employment and are responsible for preserving and maintaining public health.…”

Perspectives on professional values among nurses in Taiwan

“…Nurses in Taiwan have struggled with the conflict between traditional values and the dominant professional values adopted by modern nursing. Nurses in other countries (Wrońska & Mariański 2002) have described how fundamental nursing values have changed due to the transformation from traditional to postmodern perspectives of pluralism in all spheres of daily life. Taiwanese and Chinese people share traditional cultural roots and beliefs about good health and the origins of illness are influenced strongly by these traditional philosophies (Shih 1996).…”