The nursing profession unlike many other professions that follow basic rules is in addition to these rules also governed by personal values and beliefs

The nursing profession unlike many other professions that follow basic rules is in addition to these rules also governed by personal values and beliefs. In this paper I will express my understanding of the values ethics and beliefs concerning the profession.
Values consist of personal beliefs and attitudes towards others (Kozier etc p74 2008). In the nursing profession they are important as they influence the decision making of a nurse including the ethical aspect and action taking for clients (Kozier et al p73 2008). Values are learnt through observation and experience and are thus influenced by a persons cultural and ethnic backgrounds religious belief family and peers (Kozier et.al p74 2008). Altruism autonomy human dignity integrity and social justice are essential nursing values (Kozier et.al p75 2008). I value caring helping and listening to clients problems.
It is very important for a nurse to be helpful and caring when handling the patients. This entails listening to the clients needs thoughts and difficulties. Nurses not only need to give the treatment on clients physical health but also needs to comfort the psychology component of the clients. Numerous studies have shown that patients experience higher level of wellness if both physiological and psychological health components are healed. The professional nurse needs to have a positive attitude towards all patients and not be judgemental. Moreover a nurse has to be patient with the clients especially the elderly or the mentally ill. Nurses must explain all medical procedures to the clients carefully.
From the lectures and seminars I have learnt how to handle clients from various cultural backgrounds and how to relate with co-workers. For example a client from Hispanic culture may not need much personal space or does not usually make eye contact while having a conversation. In this case the nurse will have to adjust try to understand and not take this attitude personally. It is also important for nurses to respect colleagues. Bullying including gossiping has been a serious problem in the work place because some healthcare providers do not respect others and do not esteem individuals privacy. Furthermore honesty to the clients and being responsible are the most important values in the nursing profession. It is the nurses responsibility to tell a client the truth about their health condition because the clients have the legal rights to know. Also a nurse has to have the ability to admit the mistakes or errors made in the judgement especially the errors that would put the clients in a life-threatening situation. In conclusion I have learnt a lot of lessons not only from the lectures but also from the peers opinions. Through the program I have understood a nurses role in the healthcare system.
Belief is defined as interpretation that people accept as true(Kozier et.al p74 2008). Thus a belief can be anything that is related to a persons faith or idea and generally accepted by other people. I believe that knowledge time management care respect honesty and patient privacy are important components in nursing. Knowledge is vital in the nursing career. As a nurse one must know the diseases and how to treat them. One has to apply classroom knowledge and skills at the work place. History taking is an important part in examination of the patient and knowledge plays a major role in history taking (Kozier et.al p75 2008).
As a nurse one needs to think holistically and anticipate the patients needs and expectations. Time management and prioritizing are important skills in nursing. For instance when two patients come to the hospital at the same time one with fever and cough which is probably diagnosed as pneumonia and another with low blood pressure with multiple traumas caused by accident one has to know what case requires first priority. In such a situation the patient with low blood pressure receives attention first since there is a higher chance for his/her health to easily deteriorate. I chose to major in nursing since it gives me a platform to assist patients recover and achieve harmony in both physiological and psychological components of their lives. By treating the patients body while providing them with psychological support helps them achieve healing faster. As a nursing student I am continuously searching and learning my identity as a caregiver in order to become a professional nurse (Daly 2005).
In conclusion my belief about nursing is that it is one of the most satisfying professions since it is central to mankind existence on earth. Health is the single most valued asset by all mankind. When the health of man is at risk due to illness or injury the person faces not only physical torture but psychological trauma too. The profession is centrally placed at the heart of human welfare .The nurse handles patients with physical mental and social problems and strives to take them back to the position where the three human components of mind body and soul achieve harmony. I belief also that nursing is more of a calling as opposed to a career which one pursues to earn a living. Nursing tackles challenges affecting the community at large since it solves the challenges of individuals who in turn make families groups and then the society (Daly 2005).
To succeed in this profession I believe one only needs to observe professionalism. It is important that one observes all the ethics associated with the profession in order to succeed. The emergence of technology has to some extent reduced the contact between a nurse and the patient for example with the emergence of online treatment models and the use of electronic medical records. This I feel will water down the real concept of nursing which should entail direct exchange of feelings between the nurse and the patient. I belief the use of technology in nursing should only serve to make the medical procedures more effective rather than increasing the gap between the two or actually replacing the need to have contact(Daly 2005). The nursing profession for the longest time has been an entirely female dominated field but of late male practitioners have entered the profession in droves which shows that the society is opening to the profession which has for centuries been surrounded by mystery. The nursing profession requires optimum dedication by those in the field since its demands are intensive ranging from long working hours handling non- cooperative patients language and cultural barriers as well as taking blames in case things go wrong(Daly 2005).
With the right attitude and commitment any one can succeed in the nursing profession. By observing the basic values of respecting all individuals irrespective of their diverse backgrounds time management observing honesty and all codes and ethical guidelines governing the profession the nursing profession would achieve the core mandate of achieving harmony the human beings components of life that is the mind body and soul(Daly 2005).