Dignity In Nursing Essay

The establishment of dignity is foundational within all professional and interpersonal relationships, and it is vital to the development and maintenance of the therapeutic relationship within the practice of nursing. The exact meaning for dignity remains complex and unclear due to the fact that it is a multidimensional concept, however the Collins English Dictionary states that the word dignity comes from two Latin words: ‘dignus’, meaning worth, and ‘dignitas’ meaning merit (Colling English Dignitionary, 2015.). They continue by defining dignity as “(i) the state or quality of being worthy of honour and a (ii) sense of self-importance” The four defining concepts of dignity consist of: respect, autonomy, empowerment and communication. These
concepts work together to shape the notion of dignity and The Royal College of Nursing (2008) continues to expand on the concept by stating, “to treat someone with dignity is to treat them as being of worth, in a way that is respectful of them as valued individuals”. Understanding the concept of dignity along with it’s relevance is integral to the nursing practice as it allows nurses to develop the knowledge and skills to provide individualized care, which essentially promotes a positive outcome within patient care.
The purpose of this paper is to specifically explore and expand the concept of dignity as it relates to the pursuit of person-centered care within the nursing profession. This paper will further explore the meaning of dignity in relation to a patient encounter, define and analyze the concept of dignity, expand on dignity as it relates to professional caring in nursing and lastly, with the aid of the Tanner Model (2006) this paper will expand on the concept of dignity as it guides clinical
judgement.
Professional Practice Experience
A clinical experience that helped expand my understanding of dignity would be an interaction with a patient that has been admitted and was suffering with left-sided weakness and extreme aphasia after suffering from a stroke. Due to a language barrier, the patient was unable to fully express her needs in relation to her care and heavily relied on the support of her family members, when they were present. If family members were unavailable to serve as a liaison between healthcare workers and the patient, it became the responsibility of the nurse to identify, assess and meet the patient’s needs. Overall due to the patients progressive condition and the language barrier, it resulted in her being extremely vulnerable. Whilst taking care of this patient it’s important for one to understand the importance of preserving her dignity by maintaining her self-respect, ensuring the use of therapeutic communication and … autonomy.
The Basics of Dignity
The concept of dignity is explained and defined by various disciplines including: social work, nursing, sociology, psychology and lastly philosophy.
The notion of dignity entails a variety of meanings, which work simultaneously to define the phenomena. Human dignity has become a central concept in today’s society, specifically due to the role it plays in human interaction. From revising various literatures, there is no one definition of dignity, but rather, various definition that are gnerally based on the framework that the author or researcher studies. Dignity is a difficult term to define and is generally easier understood when applied in practice. Dignity is experienced as a continuum throughout life, initially beginning from contraception and continuing until death. Dignity is an inherent characteristic that humans compose, it can be both subjectively and objectively felt. Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher who is considered a central figure of modern philosophy is often considered to be the source of the idea of human dignity, or in his words the idea of “intrinsic worth”. He motioned the concept that dignity must be learned, as an individual’s dignity is affected by the treatment received from others. Birnbacher (1983) states that “even in it’s everyday use, then, and most noticeably in its, legal use, there is no unitary and homogenous concept of human dignity, nut rather a family of meaning, the members of which behave differently no only systematically but also
syntactically” (p.115). Although there are various definitions for concept of dignity, they all embody the ideas of respect, autonomy, empowerment and communication.
Defining Attributes of Dignity
Dignity related to respect
Harry R. Moody (1998), who is also a philosopher, continues to contribute to Kant’s idea of dignity by stating that “dignity as a moral category encompasses both self-regarding and other-regarding behaviour” (p.20). Essentially both the self-regarding and other-regarding behaviours revolve around the idea of respect, and as a result if an individual lacks self-regarding dignity it results in them being unable to show respect, whether it be self-respect or the ability to treat others with the respect they deserve. Randy Hodson, a sociology professor stated in his book ‘Dignity at Work’ that human dignity is “the ability to establish a sense of self-worth and self-respect and to enjoy the respect of others”. Hodson continues to expand on this definition of dignity by sating that an individual’s ability to live a dignified life is “a fundamental part of achieving a life well lived” (2001). Hodson’s concept of dignity
Dignity related to autonomy
Kant () states that “Autonomy is the ground of the dignity of human nature” (). Autonomy is crucial when defining dignity, but should not be confused with the overall concept of dignity. Autonomy in relation to dignity is the notion of the ‘moral law’ that is self-given. An individual’s ‘moral law’ ….
Dignity related to empowerment
Moody (1998) continues to expand on the notion of dignity by stating that “when people are powerless they loose their dignity in profound and far-reaching ways” (p.25)
Communication & dignity
Communication is an vital characteristic of dignity, and can be achieved with effective therapeutic communication. Poor communication can detract from the maintenance of dignity.
Dignity & Sociology “The notion of dignity can simply be defined as the inherent and inalienable worth of all human beings irrespective of social status such as race, gender, physical or mental state” (p.14).
Dignity In relation to professional caring in nursing in relation to the encounter
The World Health Organization identified enhancing patient’s rights and maintaining their dignity as a goal in regards to patient interation. Dignity is essentially as abstract and vague concept that is difficult to gage within the context of nursing. Nevertheless, it has become a central value within the practice of nursing and as a result it is crucial that health care members understand and have a clear depiction of dignity. Nurses are expected to treat patient with dignity as … Preserving dignity is one of the seven primary values that the Canadian Nurses Associated recognizes within their “Code of Ethics”. Although the concept of dignity is embedded in many journal articles, documents and papers, it is rarely defined, most definitions provided are not insightful in relations to patient care. However, Haddocks’ operational definition of dignity . … Galler (2004) proposed the notion that dignity within the nursing practice, should be considered both objectively and subjectively. Dignity as an objective concept consist of the .. of basic human rights, where dignity is seen as a “value” which a person has … Dignity is an inherent characteristic and human right, as a result, healthcare professionals have a responsibility to promote the .. of dignity to all individuals under their care. Providing dignified care essentially promotes emotional comfort, which can have a positive correlation with patient recovery.