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Ethical Dilemmas

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Ethical Dilemmas
My Nursing Ethics
Kelly Martinez
Grand Canyon University: Introduction to the Study of Ethics
10/14/2012

My Nursing Ethic
PASSION: Why am I here? As a child I was always attracted to the smaller, weakened animal I found in my yard, i.e. dying birds, kittens, bugs, etc. The animals we owned were never neutered which resulted in a numerous amount of puppies and kittens. I was intrigued by the cycle of life. Originally I wanted to become a veterinarian. The financial strain on my family made it apparent that it would not be possible. As fate would have it, there was a two year waiting list for nursing school, but I was readily accepted into a two year respiratory program. At the end of the respiratory program, I stayed for one more year to specialize in NICU.

As time passed, I became very passionate about the patient care aspect; however the nurse always pulled rank on my practice. It was at this point in my career that I knew I wanted to be the nurse. I felt I knew everything there was to know about nursing; luckily I was mentored by a group of seasoned nurses who molded me to be the nurse I am today. They taught me who I was and what I was made of. I learned that I had very strong traditions of the Contemporary medical care culture. I was raised a strict Catholic and believe that the Physician held the same status as that of the Priest. Both were held in the highest regard and you never questioned their word. You were religious about visitation, immunizations and treatment. I never questioned the physician in regards to treatment plan or care. I was a stickler for following the rules no matter what my own personal morals or beliefs were.

MOTIVATION: What moves me to act? For the most part, I worked in a predominately white middle class community hospital which had roughly the same ethical morals, values and beliefs as I did. Rarely did we care for a minority. As I matured and began to recognize what my nursing ethics were all about, I began to question



References: Characteristics of Ethical Dilemmas, (2012). Retrieved on October 14, 2012, from www.nln.org/ce/mcgovern/tslg015.htm Doherty, R., Purtilo, R. (2011). Ethical dimensions in the health professions. (5th ed.) (57-58). St. Louis:Mosby. http://www11.georgetown.edu/research/nrcbl/pcbe/bookshelf/reader/chapter3.html

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