Running Head: ESSENTIAL VIII 1

e-Portfolio Essential VIII: Professionalism and professional values

Morgan Brown

Frostburg State University

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e-Portfolio Essential VIII: Professionalism and professional values

Professionalism is an important quality in the profession of nursing. The professional

values that nurses should epitomize are: altruism, autonomy, human dignity, integrity, and social

justice. Nurses are respected and recognized for their compassionate nature. Through this

compassionate care there is a connection made between the nurse and the patient. Professional

nursing requires a balance between evidence-based knowledge, skills, and attitudes and

professional confidence, maturity, caring, and compassion (American Association of Colleges

of Nurses, 2008).

Exemplar

The Hot Topic assignment I worked on during this class was a paper examining a

contemporary issue in nursing ethics. The paper included a summary of the ethical issue we

were discussing, legal precedents and ethical viewpoints related to the hot topic and how theyve

changed over time, and a position statement from our own ethical viewpoint on the issue. The

position statement was supported by our Ethical Lens Inventory (ELI) results from a previous

activity in class, and any favored ethical theories or religious/spiritual beliefs. In this global

society, patient populations are increasingly diverse and sensitivity to variables such as age,

gender, culture, health disparities, socioeconomic status, race, and spirituality is important in

the professional nurse (American Association of Colleges of Nurses, 2008). Researching and

discussing ethical issues that we may have to deal with as a nurse helped us to master Essential

VIII.
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Reflection

The topic I chose for the hot topic paper was surrogacy. My interest as a nurse lies in

womens health so I wanted to choose something related to that. My position on this ethical

issue was for not against the issue. As a mother I know how special it is to have children, so I

can imagine a couple who cant get pregnant and would be willing to pay a surrogate to give

them that special child they grave. This exemplar ties in with the Essential VIII in many ways.

Firstly, we have human dignity which is a professional value of the nurse. We have, respect for

the inherent worth and uniqueness of individuals and populations (American Association of

Colleges of Nurses, 2008). Another professional value of the nurse is we provide social justice

and give fair treatment to all our patients. We may not agree with the way some of our patients

live and the decisions they make but we do not judge or treat them any differently. Another

example how this assignment ties into the Essential VIII is it helped us consider an ethical

dilemma and, Ethics is an integral part of nursing practice (American Association of Colleges

of Nurses, 2008). Lastly, Baccalaureate graduates are prepared for the numerous dilemmas that

will arise in practice and are able to make and assist others in making decisions within a

professional ethical framework (American Association of Colleges of Nurses, 2008). This class

and the hot topic writing assignment prepared us for that.

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References

The essentials of baccalaureate education for professional nursing practice. (2008).

Washington, D.C.: American Association of Colleges of Nursing.