The National Journal article, "In Nothing We Trust," discusses how many Americans have lost faith in society's institutions. In contrast, in an annual Gallup poll on the honesty and ethics of professionals, nurses have topped the list 12 times out of the last 13 years.
“We hold that trust as a sacred bond with our patients and our communities,” said Karen Higgins, RN, co-president of National Nurses United, the nation’s largest union and professional association of registered nurses...“For nurses, that obligation also goes beyond the bedside,” said Higgins citing the year long NNU campaign for “sweeping changes to heal our communities and nation, with a program for a Main Street Contract for America premised on jobs with dignity, healthcare for all, a safe environment, and support for public education....” (National Nurses United press release 12/12/2011)
I have no doubt that the Nursing profession strives to deserve our patients' trust as we pursue professional accountability and patient advocacy. Furthermore, this leaves me as an RN -- and in particular as a certified Public Health Nurse -- with a personal feeling of obligation. With faith in so many institutions falling by the wayside, we may be in a particularly vital position to advocate for our community.
And yet how many nurses read magazines or surf the Internet for shoes and never read their patient's h&p. Going the "extra mile" in caring for a patient is becoming the unusual. Hence ethics in nursing education is a must have to instill in the minds of students what they will do
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