Leaders in general, and leaders in the healthcare and nursing fields in particular, are frequently cited as having to possess integrity. Since 2005, at least 80% of Americans responding in the annual Gallup poll on perceived honesty of professions and occupations have ranked nurses at the top of the list for honesty and ethics The American Nurses Association (ANA) is launching its “Year of Ethics” this year to coincide with the revision of the Code of Ethics for Nurses, which serves as further evidence of the nursing profession’s pride in this consistent finding. 2.
But how do we define integrity? It’s not always obvious how our morality and sense of what constitutes ethical behavior are related to one another. For nurses at all levels and in all specialties, integrity is seen as a crucial element of professional nursing and a core value. In order to better prepare you to evaluate your own integrity and the integrity within your organizations, we provide a framework for defining and understanding integrity in nursing practice.
Why is integrity in nursing important?
Integrity in nursing is crucial because it can help ensure that these professionals carry out all of their professional responsibilities and uphold their obligations to their patients and employers. Nursing professionals may encounter a variety of professional challenges and complex situations. Being honest and fair, as well as consistently upholding your core values, are qualities of integrity.
Given that nurses support patients and their families as they recover from illnesses, injuries, or other health conditions, and that their professional responsibilities may be emotionally and physically taxing, this can be a useful aspect of their work. You can reassure your patients that you have their best interests in mind and are dedicated to their progress and healing by having integrity.
What is integrity in nursing?
Integrity in nursing is upholding the standards and expectations of the hospital or institution you work for and acting in accordance with their regulatory beliefs regarding patient care. For instance, this could specifically entail being open and truthful with patients regarding their prognosis and available treatments as well as providing all those you work with and treat with the same caliber of support and assistance.
Although important in many workplaces, this value can be helpful in this one because, as a nurse, you may work closely with many people who may all have different socioeconomic, ethnic, or religious backgrounds. Integrity in nursing is consistent with the demands placed on nurses by the public for them to be reliable and supportive. By having this quality and making it one of your professional values, you can guarantee that you provide all patients with fair and consistent care while staying true to your own morals and professional objectives.
Benefits of having integrity in nursing
You may concentrate on incorporating this value into your work as a nurse for a variety of reasons. Some benefits of having integrity as a nurse include:
Creating a positive work environment
A positive work environment and deep professional relationships can be facilitated by knowing that you can trust yourself and your coworkers. Nurses frequently collaborate or work closely with physicians and other medical specialists to evaluate a patient’s condition and develop a customized treatment plan.
Being confident in your colleagues’ commitment to the same objective and their honesty regarding their actions and intentions can help them rely on one another and collaborate to find the best solution. This can help develop feelings of respect, professionalism and certainty.
Being dependable and trustworthy
When you act with integrity, people may regard you as more reliable and trustworthy. If they ask about a patient’s status, the effectiveness of a treatment, or the health of a loved one, your actions may demonstrate that you are someone they can trust, and this will result in an honest and appropriate response.
Many people may turn to you as a nurse for guidance because they trust you to provide them with a realistic overview of the situation rather than just what they hope to hear. If you are dependable, doctors will have faith that you are giving the right medications to the right patients and maintaining accurate records of their progress and health.
Warranting forgiveness from others
Others may be more willing to overlook errors when you conduct yourself in a professional-like manner because they believe you have good intentions and wouldn’t intentionally cause problems or make an error.
Others may be more inclined to pardon you if something unusual happens if you consistently demonstrate that you always try to do the right thing and perform as well as you can. When difficulties arise, knowing that others appreciate your consistently good intentions and behavior may make it easier for you to handle the pressure.
Improving your ability to perform your professional duties
In the end, having integrity can improve your abilities as a nurse and may benefit you in other areas of your professional obligations. Think about your motivations for choosing to become a nurse and what drove you to want to assist people when incorporating this value into your practices.
You frequently act in the best interests of others when you work as a nurse, which is probably one of the many reasons you were inspired to choose this line of work. Being honest in your professional life can help you live your purpose and motivations, which will help you feel motivated and engaged when you get to work.
How to practice integrity in nursing
Here are some actions you can take as a nurse to demonstrate integrity at work:
1. Focus on honest communication
Being trustworthy and sincere in your interactions with patients and coworkers is one way to demonstrate integrity at work, as this quality is essential. You can demonstrate integrity at work by being thorough and transparent and taking other people’s thoughts and feelings into account by having strong communication skills.
Being trustworthy and dependable can help you comfort and care for the people with whom you work because as a nurse, you may need to comfort patients as they deal with difficult diagnoses or circumstances.
2. Treat others with respect
Treating everyone with respect at work, regardless of their particular circumstances or physical capabilities, is another way to live out this value. By treating your superiors, fellow medical professionals, and patients with the same level of consideration, you can demonstrate your integrity.
You might come across a variety of people who depend on you for direction, supervision, and treatment whether you work in a medical clinic, doctor’s office, or hospital. Treating others with respect can help you earn respect in addition to demonstrating your own personal morals and ethics, which could make your time at work more pleasurable.
3. Uphold ethical standards
Integrity in nursing includes focusing on your communication and how you treat others, but it can also entail adhering to the moral guidelines and rules at work. This may have an impact on a number of aspects of your work, such as how you record and store patient data, how you administer medications, and how you maintain standards of care.
It is imperative that all staff members act with honesty and integrity when providing care to their patients because principles and ethics can play a significant role in a medical center’s ability to function effectively. You can feel good about the services you offer and know they meet your employer’s expectations and requirements if you operate with integrity.
4. Hold yourself and others accountable
One way to demonstrate that you are sincere about your work and take pride in what you do is to hold yourself accountable for your actions. By doing so, you can show your coworkers and those you care about that you are trustworthy and dependable and that you can be relied upon to carry out your intentions. This may occasionally entail acknowledging your mistakes and taking responsibility for them. Although it may not be simple, this is crucial for building trust with others and developing meaningful professional relationships.
5. Follow through with your commitments
In addition to holding yourself responsible for your actions, keeping your commitments and promises can demonstrate your integrity. When you agree to do something for a patient or a colleague, following through on this commitment demonstrates your dependability and commitment to your field.
This can help people recognize you as someone they can rely on to keep their word, which may open up more opportunities for you to take on challenging or crucial tasks and assist a wider range of patients. It might entail going above and beyond what others expect or request, but the extra work can help you advance personally and professionally.
NURSING TALK: HAVING INTEGRITY
FAQ
What does integrity mean in healthcare?
Integrity can be characterized in healthcare settings as including honesty, keeping one’s word, and consistently upholding standards of professionalism, even when doing so is difficult.
What is the importance of integrity in nursing?
The core of a nurse’s responsibility as a moral agent is to be morally accountable and responsible for one’s decisions and deeds. Those who practice nursing morally have a strong sense of self and behave in ways that are consistent with what they believe to be the right thing to do.
What is integrity and why is it important in healthcare?
In the medical profession, integrity is fundamental. Patients cannot receive adequate care without their doctor’s trust, which is fostered by integrity. Patients look for doctors who they perceive to be trustworthy and honest professionals.
Do nurses have integrity?
Keep that truth to yourself, and a nurse will demonstrate integrity in everything they do. In nursing, integrity should come organically. When a nurse acts in a sincere and authentic way, integrity and other nursing core values define this professional’s identity as both a nurse and a person.
