Nursing

As you have indicated, the nursing practice goes beyond prescribed duties and calls for passion, unlike other professions. For instance, the doctor showed some concern about the old patient taking a car service home; she did not mind the older man’s effort to arrive at the hospital. The doctor was ethical but not compassionate as she tried to avoid problems arising from discharging such an older man to unknown people. She acted according to the ethical guidelines that physicians ensure patients who have undergone medical procedures have been discharged in safer environments (American Medical Association, 2012).

In contrast, the nursing profession allows both ethical and compassionate practices. Sitting with the older man and informing him about the doctor’s decision to cancel the procedure is ethical – health maximization (Schröder-Bäck, Duncan, Sherlaw, Brall & Czabanowska, 2014). In this case, it gave the patient a chance to open up about how they could have reached a representative. In the end, the compassion left a smile on the patient as he was grateful. Lynn (2019) says that patients who are shown compassion by nurses are more likely to have peace of mind and tolerate more pain as they feel confident.

Lastly, the quality of care is paramount in the nursing profession. The end goal of nursing practice is to have a salary and impact people’s lives by providing quality services. Therefore, other than professional duties, nurses should show compassion that promotes patients’ well-being and advocates for ethical practices.

References

American Medical Association. (2012, November 12). Physician responsibilities for safe patient discharge. Retrieved from https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/ethics/physician-responsibilities-safe-patient-discharge

Lynn, J. (2019, September 3). What are the benefits of compassion in nursing? Retrieved from https://careertrend.com/info-8672940-benefits-compassion-nursing.html

Schröder-Bäck, P., Duncan, P., Sherlaw, W., Brall, C., & Czabanowska, K. (2014). Teaching seven principles for public health ethics: towards a curriculum for a short course on ethics in public health programmes. BMC Medical Ethics, 15(1). doi: 10.1186/1472-6939-15-73