Assignment Description
Professional Platform for Ethics and Leadership
The role of the health care professional includes being a moral agent or a person whose actions affect themselves and others at a moral level. It is important to have a personal ethic or moral framework in which you ground your practice and professional relationships. The purpose of this assignment is to explore and create a foundation for leadership and ethics in your professional practice.
Write a reflection on the nature, sources, and implications of your values, beliefs, and ethical perspectives that guide your personal life and nursing practice. Please note, grading is based on the clarity and depth of your writing and the apparent effort given the assignment, not on the rightness or wrongness of your position. You are encouraged to be honest in your self-assessments and conclusions.
Each of the following points must be addressed in your essay:
- Primary influences (childhood and adult)
- Ethical principles that influence you personally and professionally
- Ethical practice of professional nursing
- Ethical leadership and professional development plan. Include both positive and negative aspects of your character that emerge when you are in a position of authority
Assignment Expectations:
Length: 1500 to 2000 words total.
Structure: Include a title page and reference page in APA format. These do not count towards the minimum word count for this assignment. Your essay must include an introduction and a conclusion.
References: Use appropriate APA style in-text citations and references for all resources utilized to answer the questions. Your assignment should include at least two (2) scholarly sources PLUS the textbook.
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
As health care professionals, it is important to have a strong understanding of ethics and responsibility in our practice. This reflection assignment aims to explore the values, beliefs, and ethical perspectives that guide your personal and professional life, as well as to develop a plan for ethical leadership and professional development.
Answer:
1. Primary influences (childhood and adult)
Influences from childhood and adulthood can both shape a person’s values and beliefs. Growing up in a family that valued hard work and honesty, I learned the importance of earning success through effort and doing what is right. As an adult, my experiences in the medical field, particularly in witnessing the suffering of others, have emphasized the importance of empathy and compassion. These experiences have reinforced the value of treating others with kindness and respect, as well as the need to constantly strive to improve the lives of those around us.
2. Ethical principles that influence you personally and professionally
As a health care professional, the ethical principles that I value most are autonomy, beneficence, and non-maleficence. Autonomy is the principle that patients should have control over their own medical decisions, and that these decisions should be respected by health care providers. Beneficence emphasizes the importance of doing good for others, while non-maleficence stresses the need to avoid causing harm. These principles have helped to guide me in making difficult ethical decisions, both in my personal and professional life.
3. Ethical practice of professional nursing
As a professional nurse, ethical practice involves ensuring that patient care is always the top priority. This includes adhering to the highest standards of care, including keeping patient information confidential and respecting patients’ autonomy. It also involves being aware of the potential for ethical dilemmas and working to resolve them in a timely and effective manner. In addition, ethical practice means ensuring that our own personal beliefs and biases do not interfere with our ability to provide effective and compassionate care.
4. Ethical leadership and professional development plan
As a leader in the medical field, it is important to lead by example and to uphold the highest ethical standards. This involves regularly engaging in self-reflection and seeking feedback from colleagues and team members. It also means actively seeking out opportunities for personal and professional growth, including attending conferences and continuing education courses. In addition, ethical leadership involves creating a culture of respect and openness, where team members feel comfortable voicing their concerns and opinions. To achieve these goals, I plan to actively seek out mentorship opportunities and to take on new challenges that will help me to grow both personally and professionally.
