Nursing Ethics and Leadership: A Reflective Analysis of Practice

This essay is a reflection on ethics and leadership in nursing, highlighting legal and ethical considerations within the field. It emphasizes the importance of respecting patient autonomy and the influence of personal moral values, particularly the value of showing respect to others. The author reflects on experiences from childhood that shaped their ethical perspective and discusses the application of ethical principles like autonomy and beneficence in professional practice. The essay includes a professional development plan, addressing both positive and negative character traits, and outlines strategies for maintaining ethical principles in future nursing roles. The author concludes that moral values are essential for building ethical principles in nursing, ensuring effective patient care. Desklib offers more resources for students seeking past papers and solved assignments.

Running head: ETHIC AND LEADERSHIP IN NURSING: REFLECTION
Ethic and Leadership in Nursing: Reflection
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author’s Note:

1ETHIC AND LEADERSHIP IN NURSING: REFLECTION
The main aim of the essay is to highlight the legal and ethical consideration in the field of
nursing and how to develop it in the life of the health care professional. The ethical principle and
leadership are essential in nursing field, which involves respect to the patient's choice for their
own healthcare. The essay reflects on the nature, source and implication of my values and beliefs
and ethical perspective that has guided my personal life and nursing practice. The moral value of
showing respect to the person and making them happy has helped me in maintaining effective
ethical practice in nursing field. The following essay highlights the various ethical principle in
health care, and I have mentioned the primary influence of moral values which I gained during
my childhood. Further, the essay has deals with various ethical practice of professional nursing
with focusing on my negative and decisive character that had emerged when I was in position of
authority. Thus, it helps to build a professional development plan to maintain an ethical
principle.
Ethic in the life of human being is the most critical learning that is developed with due
course of time from childhood. Nursing, as the profession has been the most active supporting
field of being an ethical profession (Peter, 2016). I, as a health care professional, have always
faced challenges to make the ethical decisions regarding the life and death cases in giving moral
support to the families and individual. I think to develop such moral value is not just the one day
leaning, it requires a comprehensive and in build learning which a person acquire from their
childhood. Our actions affect the patients and other people in concern with it. In my profession,
the most significant moral values we should have is to respect each of the patient’s decision and
make them understand the importance of treatment for their better recovery (Mauno et al., 2016).
I have the moral value of showing respect to other people and accepting their viewpoint.
Initially, during my childhood, I was such a person who does not pay attention to my parent's

2ETHIC AND LEADERSHIP IN NURSING: REFLECTION
perspective and showed great disrespect. One day, I visited a place near to my house, and while
walking, I met two old people sitting in the roadside and starving for water and food. This
incidence had changed my whole perspective in the care of the person and moral values. The
people around the beggar were passing by without noticing the person. My mother approached
him and asked about the food which he wants to eat. The beggar answered with great hope that
he wish to a regular meal as he was hungry from last two days. My mother bought food and gave
it to the beggar. The person was delighted and blessed both of us. The incidence has greatly
influenced me and taught the importance of the moral value of showing respect to the needy
person and accepting their consent.
The basic ethical principles of autonomy and benevolence have greatly influenced me
both professionally and personally. According to the principle of Autonomy, nurse is responsible
for giving respect to the patient's decision regarding their own health care. This principle is to
gives value and right to each person. I think that every person should be given equal right to take
their own decision and they should be informed about the type of treatment that is to be given to
the person. Me as a human being, it is important for me to gain all the relevant information about
my health, and it is my right to get respect from another person as well. The principle has
impacted my personal life. Once I was in the care of patient who was not in agreement to take
physiotherapy for his leg ulcer. The patient was old and was mentally distressed for his illness. I
dealt with the patient with full respect and humbleness and made him understand the benefits of
the physiotherapy for faster recovery. The patient then agrees with the treatment but wants it to
be done one time per day. I agreed with his decision and the patient become relax and calm. We
as a nurse are committed to doing good for the patients, and I knew the benefit the physiotherapy
for the patients hence, making him understand for his betterment will treat his leg ulcer faster

3ETHIC AND LEADERSHIP IN NURSING: REFLECTION
(Sanderson, 2018). It was my ethics and responsibility for the care of patients. Personally, the
principle of autonomy and benevolence has influenced me a lot as this focused on the betterment
and benefit for the patients. From professional point of view, such ethical principle is essential, a
nurse who is responsible for giving better care to the patient need to give respect to the patients,
and it is the duty of health care professional to seek out the best outcome for every patient in
their care (Butts & Rich, 2019).
Nursing professional has to focus on several ethical consideration in the care of patients. I
have always been into the situation where bioethics has still the priority for the effective care of
the patients. As nurse, I have learned from my nursing instructors how to maintain ethical
principle. We need to communicate with the patients asking about their medical history and build
a trust relationship with the patient so that they can get assured about the benefits of treatments.
It is the crucial aspect for us to give adequate care with their consent, and we need to keep it in
mind and integrate it with the responsibility. I was not good enough to maintain ethical principle
in my practice field. Though, with the course of time, I learned about different principle and
ways to apply it to my practice. The universal ethical principles in the field of nursing are
fidelity, justice, beneficence, autonomy, non-maleficence and veracity (Butts & Rich, 2019). It
was my duty to allow patient to make their decision for health care.
I used to show great respect for the patients and their choice. Additionally, I gave those
care, which is of best interest for the patients. The type of care the patient wants is our
responsibility to provide it with full efficiency. I met a person who wants a daily bath in the
hospital, so he was given a daily bath with his consent (Fry, Johnstone & Fletcher, 2016).
However, I was also held responsible for the not harming the patients; I knew that bathing would
not harm the patients, so it was agreed. Nurse must provide such care which is not harmful to

4ETHIC AND LEADERSHIP IN NURSING: REFLECTION
them. As ethical principle, a nurse has to give all truth to the patient about their health status and
improvement. All the above-stated principle of ethics, nurse are solely responsible to maintain it.
Professional development plan-
My Positive character Present implication My Future plan
Honesty My character helps me to
provide adequate care to the
patient with honesty without
showing any carelessly in
course of treatment.
In future, when I am at higher
authority, I will encourage
every nursing staff to work
with their full potential and
honesty (Weiss et al., 2016).
Impartiality and justice
treatment
I always gave the equal type
of care to rich and as well as
poor people without any
biasness
In future, I will support a
positive ethical atmosphere
by constructing ethical
policies for giving equal care
to the patients
Good communication skill I have good communication
skill which helps me to
convince the patients about
the benefit of the type of care
given to them.
I future I will offer training
and effective education the
nurse about the ethics and its
issues which might arise in
the health care sector.

5ETHIC AND LEADERSHIP IN NURSING: REFLECTION
Negative character Loopholes Future plan
I am not flexible with my
duty
Due to my negative character,
I was unable to work at night
and provide adequate care to
the patients. This had violated
the ethical principle as I fail
to give competent care to
them when they were in need.
For maintaining the ethical
principle, I will improvise my
weakness and will distribute
the work equally among the
nursing staffs.
Hiding truth to the patients My negative character of
hiding truth to the patients
about their health status has
violated the principle of
veracity.
As for the future, I will work
in giving all the relevant
information about the
patients' health and encourage
the same to the staff's
members (Airth-Kindree &
Kirkhorn, 2016).
Lastly, from the above discussion, I can conclude by saying that having moral value and
belief helps a lot to build an ethical principle in nursing for giving effective care to the patients.
As per my moral value of giving respect and equal importance to every person which I gained
during my childhood has helped to apply the ethical principles in my profession. For nurse, they
have to provide give care with the consent of the patients and offer respect and equality in the

6ETHIC AND LEADERSHIP IN NURSING: REFLECTION
care process to every individual irrespective of their caste and social status. Further, it can be
said that having positive and negative character in person will help them grow professionally.
Reference
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Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2019). Nursing ethics. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
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