NURS FPX 6080 Assessment 2 Reflection on Nursing Core Values and Ethical Standards
Student Name
Capella University
NURS-FPX6080 MSN Practicum: Professionalism in Person-Centered Care and the Workplace Environment
Prof. Name
Date
Reflection on Nursing Core Values and Ethical Standards
Nursing practice is grounded in ethical principles, professional standards, and evidence-based decision-making that guide safe and compassionate care. Core values such as integrity, accountability, compassion, and respect shape how nurses interact with patients, families, colleagues, and healthcare systems. These values also influence leadership behaviors and organizational culture. When ethical standards are consistently integrated into daily practice, nurses strengthen their professional identity while improving patient-centered outcomes (Grace et al., 2024).
Professional organizations and scholarly frameworks further reinforce these expectations by promoting advocacy, lifelong learning, equity, and clinical excellence. As healthcare systems become increasingly complex, nurses must balance technical competence with moral responsibility. Reflective practice enables nurses to evaluate their actions, refine judgment, and maintain alignment with professional ethics.
Reflection on My Professional Identity and Nursing Core Values
My professional identity as a nurse is shaped by three essential elements: scientific competence, ethical accountability, and therapeutic presence. According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), professional nursing identity is founded on ethics, advocacy, commitment to lifelong learning, and service to humanity (American Nurses Association, 2025). This identity requires nurses to preserve dignity, protect rights, and advocate for patients across both bedside and system-level settings.
As an advanced practice clinician, I will be expected to make complex clinical decisions, communicate clearly, and collaborate effectively with interdisciplinary teams. I aim to embody nursing values through practical behaviors that support trust and quality outcomes.
How Do I Demonstrate Core Nursing Values?
| Core Value | Application in Practice |
|---|---|
| Integrity | Honest informed-consent discussions, accurate documentation, transparency about errors |
| Altruism | Prioritizing patient needs, assisting colleagues, ensuring continuity of care |
| Inclusivity | Respecting chosen names, using qualified interpreters, culturally sensitive care |
| Compassion | Active listening, trauma-informed communication, emotional support |
| Courage | Reporting unsafe practices, escalating concerns, requesting ethics consultations |
| Humility | Seeking feedback, acknowledging uncertainty, inviting second opinions |
| Advocacy | Addressing barriers such as cost, housing, and transportation |
| Caring | Prompt pain relief, repositioning, patient teaching using teach-back |
| Autonomy | Presenting balanced choices and honoring informed refusal |
| Social Justice | Promoting equitable policies and unbiased workflows |
(Mohamed & Abdelrahman, 2025)
What Are My Professional Strengths?
My key strengths include:
- Ethical clarity in difficult situations
- Strong commitment to patient safety
- Cultural awareness and respectful communication
- Ability to collaborate across disciplines
- Willingness to learn continuously
How Do I Support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)?
I integrate DEI principles into practice by:
- Matching education to health literacy level and language needs
- Using interpreter services appropriately
- Reducing bias through structured decision-making tools
- Respecting cultural preferences in care plans
- Connecting patients with community resources
- Encouraging inclusive language in the workplace
These actions transform DEI from theory into meaningful patient care and team culture (Morrison et al., 2021).
Professional Organizations That Reflect Nursing Values
Professional organizations play a vital role in reinforcing nursing identity, ethics, and leadership development. Several organizations closely align with my values and professional goals.
Which Organizations Best Represent Nursing Values?
| Organization | Contribution to Nursing Practice |
|---|---|
| American Nurses Association (ANA) | Code of Ethics, advocacy, policy leadership |
| Sigma Theta Tau International (Sigma) | Research, leadership, service, scholarship |
| International Council of Nurses (ICN) | Global standards, workforce advocacy |
| American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) | Advanced practice support, education, policy |
(American Nurses Association, 2025; Sigma Global Nursing Excellence, 2025)
These organizations reflect values such as integrity, compassion, equity, accountability, and lifelong learning. Membership can strengthen nursing practice by providing:
- Continuing education opportunities
- Clinical guidelines and evidence resources
- Leadership development programs
- Policy advocacy tools
- Mentorship networks
- DEI resources and collaborative forums
Through active engagement, nurses can contribute to system-wide ethical and patient-centered improvements.
Reflection on Modeling Ethical Behavior in Nursing Practice and Leadership
Ethical nursing practice is based on beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, justice, fidelity, confidentiality, and accountability. These principles guide daily decision-making and leadership conduct. Nurses model ethics through truthful communication, accurate documentation, informed consent processes, and patient advocacy (Cheraghi et al., 2023).
Leaders further demonstrate ethics by creating clear expectations, responding promptly to safety concerns, and empowering staff participation in shared governance. Ethical leadership also includes humility, collaboration, and recognition of team contributions.
How Should a Nurse Respond to Unethical Behavior?
When unethical conduct is observed, I would respond systematically:
- Protect immediate patient safety.
- Pause unsafe actions when necessary.
- Document facts objectively.
- Use structured communication such as SBAR to escalate concerns.
- File incident reports if needed.
- Request ethics consultation or risk management review.
- Provide emotional support to affected staff and patients.
- Promote corrective education and process improvement.
(Noh & Park, 2021)
A restorative rather than punitive response often yields stronger long-term results by encouraging learning, transparency, and trust.
Reflection on Mentoring for Professional Growth and Accountability
Mentorship is a critical responsibility in nursing because it supports skill development, confidence, accountability, and leadership readiness. I have mentored new nurses and peers during orientation, bedside teaching, simulation activities, and quality-improvement initiatives.
What Mentoring Strategies Are Most Effective?
| Strategy | Purpose |
|---|---|
| SMART goals | Establish clear development targets |
| Competency checklists | Measure progress objectively |
| Bedside demonstration | Teach real-world clinical skills |
| Simulation practice | Prepare for high-risk scenarios |
| Immediate feedback | Reinforce strengths and correct gaps |
| Reflective discussion | Build judgment and accountability |
(Noh & Park, 2021)
I also promote psychological safety by encouraging questions, normalizing mistakes as learning opportunities, and modeling accountability through transparent reporting and just-culture debriefing.
NURS FPX 6080 Assessment 2 Reflection on Nursing Core Values and Ethical Standards
What Outcomes Result from Effective Mentorship?
Focused mentorship can lead to:
- Improved medication administration competency
- Increased confidence among new hires
- Better documentation practices
- Stronger leadership engagement
- Successful quality-improvement project participation
- Greater certification readiness
(Kay et al., 2022; Gates et al., 2021)
Evaluation of Strategies and Methods for Effective Peer Review
Peer review supports professional accountability, clinical excellence, and continuous improvement. Effective peer review methods combine objective assessment tools with constructive feedback.
Which Peer Review Methods Are Most Effective?
| Method | Strength |
|---|---|
| Structured rubrics | Improves consistency and fairness |
| Direct observation | Captures real-time behaviors |
| Chart audits | Identifies documentation or workflow issues |
| Simulation debriefing | Safe environment for learning |
| Team feedback | Reveals communication gaps |
| Electronic platforms | Tracks trends and outcomes |
(Bagheri et al., 2025)
What Challenges Exist in Peer Review?
Common limitations include:
- Time and staffing constraints
- Defensive reactions if punitive approaches are used
- Reviewer bias
- Loss of context in blinded reviews
- Checklist-focused rather than reflective evaluations
To improve peer review, organizations should train reviewers, separate coaching from discipline, preserve confidentiality, and align findings with quality-improvement initiatives (Grace et al., 2024).
Reflection on Evaluating Care Team Members and Their Impact
During a four-week medical-surgical unit initiative, I participated in evaluating interprofessional handoff practices. Assessment methods included direct observation, SBAR rubrics, chart mini-audits, and same-day debriefings. The evaluation identified issues such as missed allergy checks, incomplete read-backs, and fragmented communication.
I then provided focused coaching, demonstrated concise SBAR handoffs, and reinforced the “one patient, one message” approach to improve clarity and continuity (Kay et al., 2022).
What Improvements Resulted from the Evaluation?
| Outcome | Impact |
|---|---|
| More concise handoffs | Reduced delays and confusion |
| Better information accuracy | Fewer clarification calls |
| Greater speaking-up culture | Improved psychological safety |
| Standardized onboarding tools | Sustained communication quality |
(Gates et al., 2021)
This experience strengthened my ability to both deliver and receive feedback professionally while promoting team performance.
Conclusion
Reflection on nursing ethics, mentorship, peer review, and team evaluation demonstrates that professional identity is built through daily actions and shared accountability. Ethical conduct, inclusive leadership, and evidence-based improvement efforts strengthen trust, safety, and patient outcomes. Engagement with professional organizations further supports lifelong learning and advocacy. Ultimately, nurses who practice with integrity, compassion, and accountability contribute to resilient teams and high-quality healthcare systems.
References
American Nurses Association. (2025). Ethics and human rights. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/ethics/
Bagheri, S., Sedigh, A., Zarei, Z., Kazemzadeh, M., & Sharifi, N. (2025). Comparison of a mini-clinical evaluation exercise with the routine logbook in assessing clinical competence of operating room trainees: A parallel randomized controlled trial. BMC Medical Education, 25(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-07560-6
Cheraghi, R., Valizadeh, L., Zamanzadeh, V., Hassankhani, H., & Jafarzadeh, A. (2023). Clarification of ethical principle of beneficence in nursing care: An integrative review. BMC Nursing, 22(89), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01246-4
Gates, C., Goff, L., & Thomas, L. (2021). Reinventing the handoff process: Bringing standardized bedside report to perioperative services. Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, 36(4), e12–e13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jopan.2021.06.041
Grace, P. J., Peter, E., Lachman, V. D., Johnson, N. L., Kenny, D. J., & Wocial, L. D. (2024). Professional responsibility, nurses, and conscientious objection: A framework for ethical evaluation. Nursing Ethics, 31(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/09697330231180749
NURS FPX 6080 Assessment 2 Reflection on Nursing Core Values and Ethical Standards
Kay, S., Unroe, K. T., Lieb, K. M., Kaehr, E. W., Blackburn, J., Stump, T. E., Evans, R., Klepfer, S., & Carnahan, J. L. (2022). Improving communication in nursing homes using Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles of an SBAR training program. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 42(2), 194–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/07334648221131469
Mohamed, H., & Abdelrahman, M. (2025). Professional competency and moral courage among staff nurses. BMC Nursing, 24, 2–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03197-4
Morrison, V., Hauch, R. R., Perez, E., Bates, M., Sepe, P., & Dans, M. (2021). Diversity, equity, and inclusion in nursing: The pathway to excellence framework alignment. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 45(4), 311–323. https://doi.org/10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000494
NURS FPX 6080 Assessment 2 Reflection on Nursing Core Values and Ethical Standards
Noh, G. O., & Park, M. J. (2021). Effectiveness of incorporating Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) methods into simulation-based education for nursing students: A quasi-experimental study. Nurse Education Today, 109, 105252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2021.105252
Sigma Global Nursing Excellence. (2025). Home. https://www.sigmanursing.org/