NR-500 Week 3 Discussion Topic, Knowing Self (Three Versions)

NR-500 Week 3 Discussion Topic, Knowing Self (Three Versions) Nursing is a profession that entails a series of occupational and altruistic values (Jimenez-Lopez, Roales-Nieto, Vallejo Seco, & Preciado, 2016). As a master’s prepared nurse, it is imperative that I explore my own set of values that guide my decision making not only in my nursing career but in the personal realm as well. It has been emphasized that values epitomize basic beliefs of what is right, good, or wanted and influences both social and professional behaviors (Jimenez-Lopez, Roales-Nieto, Vallejo Seco, & Preciado, 2016). Selecting only four core values that influence my nursing practice was quite challenging. Values that I place high in my moral compass are to always maintain human dignity, preserve a person’s right to make autonomous decisions, treat others with compassion, and assure that I maintain nursing competency. Our values change with time and our human experience. Quite often you might find your values being tested. It is during these difficult situations that the nurse should self-reflect. It is important that when we are doing self-retrospection and reflection of our values, that we lay the basis of personal qualities that are needed to excel as a master’s prepared nurse and leader. Last March, a very close friend lost her mother. Silvia, my friend who is also from Puerto Rico, is a registered nurse as well. Silvia and I have many things in common culturally, ethnically, and professionally. Last couple of years I got to know Silvia’s family and grew especially fond of her mother Marta, a young 69-year-old who reminded me of my mom. November of 2016, Silvia and her mother Marta took a road trip to Connecticut to visit family. On the trip, Marta started to feel sick, had difficulty in breathing, and felt weak but insisted she did not want to see a doctor. Once back in Florida, it was determined that Marta was in heart failure. The next weeks and months were incredible hard for Silvia; and the family, they were spent in and out of the hospital. I tried to visit Marta a couple of times per week and would stay for a while so the family could get some rest. There were many hours spent discussing treatment options, caregiving alternatives, medication; however, I observed that Marta did not participate in any of those discussions. Marta had already made her decision; she was refusing lifesaving blood transfusions and dialysis treatments suggested by her doctors. Marta was a Jehovah Witness, and it was against her religion to receive blood products. During difficult times, there were many hours in which I served as my friend’s shoulder to cry on. It was painful to see how everything unfolded. I spent countless hours listening to Silvia and her family discuss how they planned to save Marta. Silvia and her family were in denial. I witnessed how Marta was being harassed by family members for refusing treatment. This felt different; this was not just a random patient that I happened to be taking care of, and this was a good friend’s mother. I struggled to understand her decision. I struggled to understand why she didn’t want to fight, at 69 she still had many more years to live. As difficult as it was, I was one of the few that talked to Silvia and her daughter about Marta’s autonomy and right to refused treatment even if it leads to her death. This was extremely hard to do because Marta had opened her doors to me, she had feed, and offer me motherly advice. Marta was considered the matriarch of the family, a single mother who at a young age left her country to better the life for her family, a strong woman who raised three kids on her own and was held in high respect by her family. What was more difficult was that when it came to her decision of her right to die, her believes where being questioned, unfortunately, not just by me, but by the people she loved. I realized how different and how hard it can be to accept our loved one’s wishes when dealing with their right to die. We all want to save our loved ones and have them forever. I meditated and soul searched because this time it felt different, this time it involved someone that I deeply cared about. It took several weeks for family and friends to accept Marta’s decision, but after acceptance, the time she had left was spend at home in her comfortable environment, surrounded by the ones she loved. On March 26, 2016 Marta took her last breath. I wasn’t there when it happened; I could have been. I got to see her at the funeral, she looked so calm and peaceful. I immediately accepted and understood why she wanted to go. Little did I know that the lesson that Marta taught me, would be instrumental in dealing with my parent’s death four months later. Six months have gone by since Marta passed away, and I think of her often, and can’t help but to smile. She thought me a hard lesson, forcing me to grow and mature, to re-evaluate my values and morals and to speak up louder for those who need to be heard. Witnessing Marta’s values being questioned and compromised reinforced that, as a nurse, it is imperative that I educate and serve as my patient’s voice when they are being silenced. This experience has made more perceptive to my patients’ needs, and it is helping me make sure that I always provide patient center care. References Jimenez-Lopez, F. R., Roales-Nieto, J. G., Vallejo Seco, G., & Preciado, J. (2016). Values in Nursing Students and Professionals: An Exploratory Comparative Study. Nursing Ethics, 21(1), 79-91.