Nursing Ethical Values and Definitions

This essay will consider ethics in nursing, discuss values and morals and how dignity and respect in patient care is influenced; considering the importance of reflection and the implications it has on effective practice from the perspective of a student nurse. The scenario “Call Me Joe” provided by Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2010a) highlights concerning issues and bad practice that are happening in modern day nursing practice, and using the Driscoll and Teh (2001) reflective model: What, Now What and So What, to consider the care that Joe is receiving; considering how the nursing practice affects him directly and the implications of the nature of knowledge in nursing practice. Part of the way in which nursing practice is developed is through evidence based practice. Evidence based practice informs modern practice by using reliable, valid and relevant research and clinical experts to inform and improve nursing practice and patient care, enabling care that improves and makes a positive difference (Malloch & Porter-O’Grady 2010). It is through evidence based practice that pre-registration nurses are informed and trained and how professional development is maintained (Adams 2009). Nurses must use evidence to improve the standards of care to achieve higher standards in the nursing profession; evidence based practice improves the quality of nursing care guiding practice to ensure best practice is attained and is supported by literature and evidence (Brooker & Nicol 2003). It is evidence based practice that healthcare practitioners often draw upon to support clinically based reflections. Reflection is a process which enables healthcare professionals to improve practice through continuous monitoring (Daly et el 2010). Throughout the pre-registration nursing programme, the importance of reflection in practice is taught and is developed throughout, extending into post-registration to become a vital part of a nursing career and portfolio development. Reflection