The Ethical Obligation Of Witness

In every American war combined, about 1.2 million soldiers have died fighting in battle. Many look past the effects and consequences that going to war can lead to and every soldier is assumed to be a hero. Others believe that killing anybody, whether they are innocent or on a battlefield, is in no way honorable. Writers who protest war use imagery, irony, and structure to explain the negative effects of battle.

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).

Nursing is more than a profession taught by science. It is an art that the nurse refines through the creative use of oneself based on the skills and expertise, to transmit emotions and meaning to the patient. Nursing is a process that is subjective and requires interpretation, sensitivity, imagination and active participation. A core skill utilized by a nurse is advocacy, both for our patients and our profession. Our profession requires participation of advocacy at all levels of nursing, starting at the bedside and continuing all the way to nurses in legislation. To be a proficient patient advocate, the nurse must be able to assess the patient’s constant change in physical, psychological, spiritual, and social needs. I apply my knowledge

People from all walks of life face many ethical dilemmas. These dilemmas have consequences. Our worldview determines how we deal with these dilemmas, and guides us to the right decisions. In this essay, I will examine an ethical issues through my Christian worldview. I will also present other viewpoints, and compare them to mine.

The article depicted the human side of nurses; it tells how nurses formulate that that bond with their patients and their families, nurturing them through life challenges to the end, while showing the emotional impact that is produced from that formed relationship. Through the entire article, it was very easy to see the

Nursing is as much science as it is a study in the human condition. Combining caring and the notion of human flourishing allows the nurse sharpen her understanding of patients’ needs by observing and understanding herself (Husted & Husted, 2008). A nurse is able to better anticipate the needs of her patients by noting similarities and differences between the two of them. With caring in the nursing corner, even under less-than-ideal conditions, one can still create havens of hope, nourishment, and the possibility for flourishing (MacCulloh, 2011).

Human caring is what sets nursing apart from other professions. As Watson (1998) stated, “care and love are the most universal, the most tremendous and the most mysterious of cosmic forces: they comprise the primal universal psychic energy. Caring is the essence of nursing and the most central and unifying focus for nursing practice” (p. 32-33). It is important to establish a good nurse-patient relationship in order to create a healing environment that would meet patient’s needs on all levels including physical, mental/emotional and spiritual, promote recovery, maintain health, and create positive outcomes. Jean Watson emphasized the importance of human

World War II had a lasting impression on not only the countries but on the soldiers and people as well. POWs and internees had to experience things that would make a grown man cringe in fear. In the stories ”Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand, and “Manzanar” by Jenne Houston Wakatsuki, tells the tragic story of how these men are stripped away of their human rights. As they try to struggle their way out of insanity, their stories will forever echo in history to show the outcome of war.

In Susan Farrell, the author of “Just Listen”: Witnessing Trauma in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, mentioned “...all theorists agree that the process of recovery from trauma must involve a narrativization of traumatic event--putting a sensory images into words in order to integrate trauma into a person 's life story” (186). However, without reading Cathy Caruth’s Trauma, readers will not understand that not only integrating trauma into a narrative will help them recover but it also allows the witness apprehend their flashbacks into meaning. Flashbacks, although are taunting, has the most vivid images compared to narrated memories. For one to remember a highlight or a significant moment, one must preserve it as a flashback. In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien convert his flashbacks into narrative memories allowing himself and readers to comprehend his experiences, but O’Brien also added flashbacks into his memories create the most graphic images for the readers.

Moral distress is experienced by nurses every day in today’s health care system. Moral distress has been found to be manifested as anger, frustration, guilt, loss of self-worth, depression, powerlessness and helplessness (Zuzelo, 2007, p. 346). Failure to recognize and manage moral distress is causing nurses to be “burned out” have high turnover rate, and even leaving nursing profession all together.

Nursing is generally viewed as a simple profession where you learn to take blood pressure, temperature, and smile. However, in reality, nurses are the most reliable people the vulnerable population trust during the time of need. The vulnerable population includes the mentally challenged, the unborn, those with few financial or social resources and those with cases as the incarcerated and the immigrants. The nurses also play an important role in promoting social justices. The nurses apply the ethical principles of justice to care for this venerable population with very limited funds. To provide nursing care to this population, nurses avoid to be judgmental

Moral distress is describe as the phenomenon in which a nurse understands and has clarity about a right action to take, but is constrained from taking it. It differs from an ethical dilemma in which there is recognition of a problem; in which at least two ethically justifiable but opposing solutions can be applied (American Nurses Association, 2014). Moral distress was first recognized among the nursing field; because of this, many of the studies have focused on the nursing population. However moral distress has also expanded to many other fields, making it now a multidisciplinary concern

One of the complexities of 21st century medicine is the evolution of nursing care theories in combination with a changing need and expectation of the stakeholder population. Nurses must be advocates and communicators, but must balance these along with an overall philosophy of ethics while still remaining mindful of budgets and the need for the medical institution to be profitable. It seems as if these issues comprise a three-part template for nursing: respect for patient value & individuality, education of patients, and cognition and respect for the realities of contemporary medicine. In many ways, too, modern technology has advanced further than societal wisdom, especially when confronting the issue of death. The modern nurse's role is to create a nurse-patient culture that encourages the individual to take responsibility for their healthcare and, in partnership with the nurse, to be involved in their recovery. The modern complexities of healthcare, then, when combined, focus us towards a multidimensional template (combining at least psychology, biology and philosophy) (Beckstead and Beckstead, 2004).

Emanuel Levinas survived the Second World War under difficult and humiliating circumstances, while his family, with the exception of his wife and daughter, perished. These experiences may well have shaped Levinas’s sense that what is demanded of us is an “infinite” willingness to be available to and for the other’s suffering. The Other’s hunger – be it of the flesh, or of bread – is sacred. Levinas is famous for the claim that ethics is first – by which he means not only that ethics must not be derived from any fundamental nature of being and the world that encompasses it, not even a physical, real or factual experience, but also that all thinking about what it is to be a human being must begin with such an “ungrounded” ethics. In different

Nurses that listen to their patients, not only notice that they are physically hurt, but they can also notice their emotional wounds. The empathy of knowing that the patient is emotionally hurt is part of the spirituality connection. Therefore, they might need comfort. O’Brien (2001) states that, “ No other profession provides the opportunity to touch and be touched by the human spirit as does the practice of nursing. It is this intimacy that calls us to reverence: reverence for God as our creator and Lord…” (pg.110). Nurses have the privilege to connect with people in ways that no other profession may be able to provide. Since nurses are patients advocate, our duty is to connect them with their spiritual beliefs and