ETHICS AND VALUES IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 1

Ethics and Values in Health and Social Care

Student’s ID
Institution
Course
Date
ETHICS AND VALUES IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 2

Task 1
In long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, negligence is exemplified when staffs
fail to look after themselves as well as residents. Some of the negligence situations that may
occur in this setting include poor sanitation and hygiene, which are easily preventable. However,
if the issues are not put into consideration, they may lead to poor working environments,
illnesses, distress, as well as injuries. In the given scenario, a manager from the head office is
complaining about the untidiness that has been witnessed in the staff area, which indicates that
there is poor care. Here, caregivers in the nursing home do not observe social justice, human
dignity, altruism, autonomy, and integrity as core values in their field of practice (Costello,
2017). Nursing homes’ residents suffer from different medical conditions, which may worsen if
they are put in unhygienic environments, thus resulting in wreak havoc on their health.
Moreover, most of the residents here are elderly and, hence, their immune system is quite weak.
Therefore, placing them in an environment that is full of bacteria, viruses, and germs can risk
their health. In this case, it is right to say that if the staff area in a nursing home is untidy, it poses
a threat to both employees and residents.
As a profession, nursing embraces caring and connecting with people. This is well
revealed when nurses are able to exemplify the five professional values which are important in
this field. Human dignity, as a core value, provides that nurses should be responsible for the
well-being of patients through respecting their autonomy (Costello, 2017). Also, while caring for
patients, they should maintain their professional integrity and avoid conflict of interest. By
practicing such conducts, they will be able to establish a trustworthy relationship with patients. It
is also important for nurses to recognize that if they promote and preserve their own health,
caring for their patients will not be a problem. Even though they may face challenges in their line
of duty, which may threaten personal integrity, nurses should be able to understand the risk of
compromising their honor (Fahrenwald et al., 2005, p.48).
In this setting, altruism is another value that underpins care since it is concerned with the
welfare of others. Moreover, it is used when making ethical decisions that are concerned with
patients’ care. However, altruism is not always translated into practice since it requires one to put
other people’s needs first, which is sometimes difficult to achieve. Therefore, an altruistic nurse
who cares for the rights of patients would risk on behalf of coworkers to clean the staff area.
Human dignity is considered a core value which characterizes all aspects of the nursing
profession. Therefore, a nurse with human dignity sees the unique desires and needs of patients
(Fahrenwalds et al., 2005, p.49). Lastly, social justice tends to be concerned with principles of
humanity, legality, and morality. Therefore, it should collectively be practiced by all nurses to
ensure that patients receive adequate and quality care.
Task 2
Core values and ethics are behavioral standards that offer a background for evaluating
approaches as well as beliefs that influence character. The development of core ethics and values
has been influenced by a number of factors, including education, professional experience, as well
as culture (Van Schalkwyk, 2012). Educational and professional experiences play a major role in
the growth of these values. This is because it makes a difference in their formation as well as
influences their instillation and development. Role modeling and teaching are two aspects that
strengthen these values. During clinical placements, students learn professional values from their
ETHICS AND VALUES IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 3

observations or formal education. Therefore, they rely on the creativity of their educator to
stimulate elements such as beliefs, attitudes, and emotions. This is because these elements are
sometimes taught incidentally since they may not necessarily be in the curriculum. Therefore,
students acquire their professional values through clinical experience and educational processes
depending on the set standards and norms (Van Schalkwyk, 2012). Even though nursing values
can be taught, they can only be internalized through experience during the nursing practice. This
aspect differentiates the theoretical part of nursing from implementation. Human dignity
manifests in a nurse profession depending on the length of work experience. Thus, lower dignity
is mostly exemplified by nurses who have a maximum of two years of experience. Moreover,
younger or entry nurses are driven by economic returns as compared to the experienced
practitioners.
In the nursing home a scenario occurred where one of the members of the staff refused to
clean the room because it was it was inhabited by a gay man because it was against their religion.
Different religions have different beliefs and this staff member maybe his/her religion denies
them from contacting gay people because maybe they may become gay. Therefore, the
administration in this nursing home should not fire the employee or punish him in any of the
way. They should promote religious freedom at work. Also, the employer should take a step
further and find out whether the reason is genuine or not. If it is found out that it is not true then
the employer should take the appropriate action. Therefore, the employer should not make
conclusions by himself/herself. For intake the management in this nursing home should not
assume that the people from the same religion share the same beliefs. An incident also occurred
in the nursing home where an elderly client who has worked in different countries from 1950s-
1980s was abusing the black and the Asian staff. The research which was carried out most
recently shows that blacks and the Asians are mostly harassed in the place of work. This will
create tension at the workplace and therefore the nursing home will not be receiving any of the
clients and therefore they will incur very huge loses. The management in this nursing home
should investigate these claims and they should come with recommendations. Firstly, the
management of the nursing home should treat these racism case according to the policies which
have been established. This will greatly help the victims who have been harassed to know that
the company can handle such situations. The management should also encourage the employees
to be reporting any incident of racism to the relevant authorities.
The management from the head office of the nursing home also complained about
untidiness in the staff areas and this will lead to poor care. This can be very dangerous to the
patients because there might be the outbreak of diseases and this may lead to the nursing home
being shut down. Building which are poorly maintained will have a longer life than those which
are not properly maintained. This will become very economical and will help the nursing home
from incurring the unnecessary expenses. The management in this organization should encourage
the employees to maintain high levels of cleanliness and the employees who will fail to do that
will face very serious consequences. This will help to promote hygiene in the nursing home. Two
co-workers were overheard debating about beating the child when he/she has done a particular
mistake and also, they were heard discussing that old people who are suffering from dementia
should not be cared since they will eventually die and this will help to save money. Culture
defines that giving discipline to the child is one of the elements of the parenting. Giving
discipline to the child will make them to be responsible, honest and kind to all people therefore it
is very important to discipline so that he/she can be corrected. However, when giving discipline
ETHICS AND VALUES IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 4

to the child the parents should be very careful so that they may not harm the child. Caring for the
people with dementia is very challenging both physically and mentally. Therefore, it is very
important for the people who are taking care of them to be very understanding because it is not
their fault. If an elderly person who suffering from dementia is properly cared about then they
will be able to live for a very long period of time (Parandeh et al., 2015, p.286).
In regards to nursing perspective, it was noted that most students would lack sufficient
knowledge on core ethics and values of the profession depending on the approach used by their
educators (Parandeh et al., 2015, p.284). Hence, it was emphasized that in order to promote these
professional values, appropriate education methods should be applied. Moreover, students
become more attentive to caring aspects of professional values at the beginning of their nursing
profession. This is the time when instructors become attentive to values such as altruism, human
dignity, and integrity. Taking care of patients is not only a basic factor in nursing profession but
also a major axis of ethical codes of conduct. Also, both instructors and students should take note
of the importance of having human dignity since it is an important professional value. Currently,
nothing is more important in any healthcare facility than paying attention to a patient’s dignity
(Parandeh et al., 2015, p.284). Therefore, just like other values, nursing education should be
observed keenly in its programs.
Culture is an influential factor in core ethics and values as it emphasizes on their
differences and gives them shape. Different cultures define professional values while
emphasizing on their importance. It is quite evident that the values and knowledge in nursing
originated from the Western countries. However, this phenomenon raises questions on how the
non-Western countries acquired their professional values. In any given society, there are rules
that influence decision making so that conflict and uncertainty may be reduced. These rules
clarify behaviors that are acceptable as well as those that should be avoided. Therefore, the
variance in culture occurs due to differences in values. Every culture has a history of its ethical
system and values. The difference in influence only emerges in regards to beliefs, attitudes,
decision making, behavior, and caring practice of the nurse. In this case, cultures have been
divided into two groups worldwide, which include collectivism and individualism (Parandeh et
al., 2015, p.286). Collectivism is characterized by a person’s loyalty to family such that it can
outweigh individual rights. On the other hand, individualist culture refers to having central rights
that aim at achieving a common good. Most nurses originate from collectivist culture and, hence,
they play a major role in determining its influence.
Task 3
Organizations should promote religious freedom at work. Also, the employer should take a step
further and find out whether the reason is genuine or not. The management should not make
conclusions by himself/herself. For intake the management in this nursing home should not
assume that the people from the same religion share the same beliefs. This will allow the
employees to work more freely and this will eventually promote team work in the company. The
management in this nursing home should investigate the claims of racism and harassment. Then
they should come with recommendations (Basso-Musso, 2012, p.265). The management of the
nursing home should treat these racism case according to the policies which have been
established. This will greatly help the victims who have been harassed to know that the company
can handle such situations. The nursing home should be also encouraged their clients to report a
case of the harassment by the employees. The employees of the nursing home should maintain
ETHICS AND VALUES IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 5

cleanliness and this will help to prevent the incidence of the diseases. This is also economical
because building which are well kept will last for long and will need little repairs. In nursing
care, there is no sufficient training or reference that can judge the quality of one’s actions and
decisions in an ethical dilemma (Basso-Musso, 2012, p.265). Therefore, no matter the situation,
it is important to thoroughly analyze the data before making any judgment. Evaluating ethical
dilemmas has often been a process of discussing differences. The healthcare sector is a
multidisciplinary team and, hence, during such a scenario, the views of patients, nurses, as well
as families should be considered. Moreover, different models exist that can be used in making
informed decisions, and they utilize the medical, economic, human, and ethical analyses (Basso-
Musso, 2012, p.263). Each model has its pros and cons and, thus, nursing professionals choose
the one that can provide the best results, which facilitates the analysis in case the dilemma
warrants it. For instance, the Paulina Taboada Paradigm provides six steps that should be
followed in the analysis of a conflict or ethical dilemma. Firstly, the facts of the case should be
identified and described. In this case, it is important for the manager from the head office to do a
thorough investigation of the facts. This can be done by asking questions that are relevant to the
scenario, and answers are provided with reference to basic concepts (Basso-Musso, 2012, p.264).
Secondly, the values of all parties involved are evaluated. In the above scenario, the staff in the
nursing home should be asked reasons behind the untidiness as well as the effects on patients.
Thirdly, values that have been neglected or violated are identified and the possible measures to
protect them are determined (Basso-Musso, 2012, p.264).
Conclusion
Nursing homes’ residents suffer from different medical conditions, which may worsen if they are
put in unhygienic environments, thus resulting in wreak havoc on their health. As a profession,
nursing embraces caring and connecting with people. Social justice tends to be concerned with
principles of humanity, legality, and morality. Therefore, it should collectively be practiced by
all nurses to ensure that patients receive adequate and quality care. The development of core
ethics and values has been influenced by a number of factors, including education, professional
experience, as well as culture (Basso-Musso, 2012, p.264).
Recommendation
Organizations should promote religious freedom at work. Also, the employer should take a step
further and find out whether the reason is genuine or not. The management should not make
conclusions by himself/herself. The management of the nursing home should treat these racism
case according to the policies which have been established. The nursing home should be also
encouraged their clients to report a case of the harassment by the employees. The employees of
the nursing home should maintain cleanliness and this will help to prevent the incidence of the
diseases. Therefore, no matter the situation, it is important to thoroughly analyze the data before
making any judgment. Evaluating ethical dilemmas has often been a process of discussing
differences.
ETHICS AND VALUES IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 6

References
Basso-Musso, L., 2012. Nursing and the resolution of ethical dilemmas. Investigación y
Educación en Enfermería, 30(2), pp.260-268.
Costello, A.N., 2017. Professional Nursing Values: Accounts of the Witnessed.
Fahrenwald, N.L., Bassett, S.D., Tschetter, L., Carson, P.P., White, L. and Winterboer, V.J.,
2005. Teaching core nursing values. Journal of Professional Nursing, 21(1), pp.46-51.
Parandeh, A., Khaghanizade, M., Mohammadi, E. and Nouri, J.M., 2015. Factors influencing
development of professional values among nursing students and instructors: a systematic
review. Global journal of health science, 7(2), p.284.
Van Schalkwyk, T., 2012. Investigation into factors influencing nursing values in South
Africa (Doctoral dissertation, Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University).