Loss Of Dignity In Nursing

The guiding principles of Catholic Social Teaching have the overarching, dominating theme of human dignity (Condit, 2016, p. 371). The focus is, that human beings were formed in God’s image and in return, humanities purpose is to follow in God’s footsteps and portray the same love and grace (Coleman, 2008) (Condit, 2016, p. 371). Consequently, this affects how human beings interact with each other, requiring commitment, to look after, encourage, maintain and promote each other (Coleman, 2008) (Herbert, 2016, p. 7). One way to apply, this Catholic Social Teaching of human dignity, is to understand the nurse’s relationship with the patient. Nurses need to approach the patient with respect and maintain the person’s privacy, acknowledging that they are a fellow human being, with their own personal characteristics and beliefs (Condit, 2016, p. 371) (Walsh & Kowanko, 2002, p. 143-144, 149).

Nurses actively preserve the dignity of people through practiced kindness and respect for the vulnerability and powerlessness of people in their care… This vulnerability creates a power differential in the relationship between nurses and persons in their care that must be recognised and managed.7 A diagram representing a continuum of professional behaviour provides a picture of therapeutic versus non-therapeutic behaviour in the relationship between the nurse and the persons in their care.8

Royal College of Nursing (RCN, 2008) goes on to say respect is treating someone with courtesy and recognises that someone’s view is of value and worth. Therefore a patient has the right to be treated with respect and dignity regardless of his/her age, race or culture. (quote) Respect and dignity’ is a broad topic; therefore, this assignment will focus on the importance of maintaining privacy and dignity of elderly patient on the surgical ward in the hospital. I have chosen this topic as it will increase my knowledge and I will be able deliver dignified care to patients.

This essay will discuss and reflect on one of the Principles of Nursing Practice and I will relate this to my practice experience. It will focus on Principle of Nursing Practice A: Dignity, humanity and equality and I will demonstrate knowledge of the Principle of Nursing Practice in my essay and investigate the professional, legal and ethical frameworks that guide nursing practice and discuss and link what I have experienced in practice to my chosen Principle.

There are, however, barriers to maintaining a patient’s dignity. In a survey of over two thousand nurses’, carried out by the RCN (2008), it was found that nurses’ come across several boundaries in relation to maintaining a patient’s dignity. These boundaries were identified as pressures on bed spaces, shortages of staff and a purpose or target centred culture (RCN, 2008). The caring environment can have a huge impact on dignity, it has the ability to maintain a person’s dignity or degrade and devalue them (Gallagher, 2004). Torjuul and Sorlie (2006) acknowledge that overcrowding and mixed-sex accommodation are barriers to maintaining patients’ dignity and privacy. A caring environment that is spacious, clean, with good facilities promotes dignified care (Baillie et al., 2009).

According to the ANA Code for Nurses Provision 1, nurses must treat and respect every patient with dignity, regardless of

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

An underlining principle that forms all nursing practice is respect for the inherent dignity, worth, unique attributes, and human rights of all individuals. (Jimenez-Lopez, Roales-Nieto, Seco, Preciado, 2016) Nurses are to always treat all patients with dignity. For example, closing doors before you start providing patient care. It’s also essential as a nurse to respect patients regardless of their background, race, culture, value system, or spiritual belief. (Jimenez-Lopez, et al., 2016)

dignity of the patient are essential components of caring. Caring in nursing is there to meet the

A basic part of modern age humanity is dignity. It is self-imposed pride that is susceptible to damage through the verbal and physical actions of others. Hospital and clinical settings can leave a client’s dignity vulnerable. It is where people, now clients, are weak and in some cases unable to function like they once did. This can wound their dignity, but it is the duty of nurses to preserve it. Through respect, support, and by relieving pain and suffering, nurses work to preserve the dignity of their clients. Likewise, nurses are able to easily damage the dignity and integrity of their clients through inappropriate behaviour, a lack of respect, and being irresponsible while on the job. A passage published by a hearing tribunal from the College

The RCN’s (2008) definition of dignity is seen to be the ‘foundation of excellence in nursing practice’. The definition is concerned with how nurses care about individuals by how they support patient autonomy and choice (Barker 2000).

“How is respect and dignity maintained when caring for elderly patients on a palliative care unit in a hospital setting?”

Human dignity is respect for an individual regardless of sex, race, or gender. This ethical principle promotes respect for life, freedom and privacy. A nurse can promote dignity by providing patient privacy during nursing care procedures, allowing independence, and upholding the cleanliness of the patient. For the nurse, human dignity does not only apply to patients but also to our peer and colleagues. The nursing student can promote human dignity by being respectful to his or her fellow classmates, faculty, and staff. They can also promote dignity by decreasing prejudice, judgment and competition among students (Shaw & Degazon, 2008).

Dignity is a core element of nursing care. In nurses' clinical practice, maintaining the dignity of patients is an important issue because a lack of dignity in care can affect the health and recovery of patients. To treat a patient with dignity is to treat them in a way that shows they are valued and important, in a way that is appropriate and respectful to the individual. A patient needs to feel safe and secure in the nurses care and should be made feel comfortable, in control and valued at all times.

Human dignity states that the patient’s privacy will be protected, and the confidentiality of the patient and healthcare providers will be preserved (Taylor et al., 2011). I see this as extremely important with nurses as they are providing care first handedly. Because they see some gruesome and embarrassing things that should not get reported around the hospital, they should respect the privacy and desire for these patients to not get spoken about to other healthcare providers except on a need-to-know basis. Providing the privacy to these patients shows them that you respect them as an individual and that they feel they are being cared for uniquely (Taylor et al.