NURS FPX 6080 Assessment 2 Reflection on Nursing Core Values and Ethical Standards

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 fundamentally grounded in ethical principles, professional values, and a strong sense of identity that collectively guide clinical reasoning and leadership decisions. Individual nursing behavior is shaped by core principles such as integrity, compassion, and accountability, which in turn influence team culture and the broader healthcare environment. Professional bodies and evidence-informed frameworks further enhance nurses’ ability to lead ethically and promote equity in care delivery (Grace et al., 2024). This discussion highlights how embedding ethical standards into everyday practice strengthens professional identity while improving patient-centered outcomes.

Reflection on My Professional Identity and Nursing Core Values

My understanding of professional nursing identity integrates scientific knowledge, ethical accountability, and meaningful interpersonal engagement. According to the American Nurses Association, professional identity in nursing is built on ethical practice, advocacy, and continuous lifelong learning (American Nurses Association, 2025). This includes respecting patient dignity, safeguarding rights, and acting as a bridge between bedside care and system-level improvement.

In advanced clinical practice, decision-making becomes increasingly complex and requires effective collaboration with patients and interdisciplinary teams. I aim to consistently demonstrate nursing values in practical ways:

• Integrity through truthful communication, informed consent processes, and accurate documentation

• Altruism by prioritizing patient needs, supporting colleagues, and ensuring continuity of care in complex cases

• Inclusivity by using preferred names and qualified interpreters instead of relying on family members

• Compassion through active listening, trauma-informed communication, and emotional support

• Courage by reporting unsafe practices, escalating clinical concerns, and requesting ethics consultations (Mohamed & Abdelrahman, 2025)

• Humility by acknowledging uncertainty, seeking feedback, and welcoming second opinions

• Advocacy by addressing social determinants such as transportation, housing, and financial barriers

• Autonomy by supporting informed decision-making and respecting patient refusal without coercion

• Social justice by promoting fairness in care delivery systems and reducing bias in workflows

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in My Practice

A key strength in my practice is maintaining ethical clarity, patient safety awareness, and cultural sensitivity. My DEI-focused actions include:

• Using trained interpreters to ensure accurate communication

• Matching health education materials to patient literacy levels

• Applying structured clinical tools to reduce unconscious bias

• Integrating cultural preferences into individualized care planning

• Coordinating smooth referrals to community resources (Morrison et al., 2021)

In team settings, I promote psychological safety through inclusive communication, equitable opportunity distribution, and awareness of workplace inequities. This includes supporting workplace accommodations such as disability access, lactation spaces, prayer areas, and flexible scheduling. These practices ensure that DEI principles are not theoretical but actively implemented in daily clinical work (Morrison et al., 2021).

Professional Organizations that Reflect Nursing Values

Professional nursing organizations provide structure and guidance that reinforce ethical identity and professional growth. Examples include the American Nurses Association (ANA), Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma), the International Council of Nurses (ICN), and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP).

NURS FPX 6080 Assessment 2 Reflection on Nursing Core Values and Ethical Standards

These organizations reflect and reinforce core nursing values as shown below:

These organizations provide continuing education, leadership training, research access, mentorship opportunities, and policy development tools. Such resources strengthen clinical competence while reinforcing ethical and evidence-based practice (Sigma Global Nursing Excellence, 2025).

Reflection on Ethical Behavior in Nursing Practice and Leadership

Nursing ethics are based on core principles such as beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, justice, fidelity, privacy, and accountability. These principles guide everyday clinical decisions and leadership responsibilities. Ethical nursing practice includes transparent communication, informed consent, accurate documentation, and maintaining patient confidentiality (Cheraghi et al., 2023).

As a leader, ethical behavior is demonstrated by setting clear expectations, addressing safety concerns promptly, and supporting team decision-making. Leadership also involves modeling humility by encouraging second opinions and recognizing team contributions. This fosters a culture of shared responsibility and ethical consistency across care teams.

Response to Unethical Practice

When unethical behavior is identified, immediate and structured action is required to protect patients and maintain professional integrity. My approach includes:

• Immediate intervention to stop unsafe practice and ensure patient safety

• Objective documentation of observed facts

• Use of SBAR communication for escalation

• Reporting concerns to appropriate supervisory channels (Noh & Park, 2021)

If concerns persist, I escalate through formal incident reporting, ethics consultation, or risk management review. I also ensure emotional support for patients and staff involved. Educational interventions such as feedback sessions and reflective discussions are used to prevent recurrence. At the system level, I advocate for policy improvements, staffing adjustments, and workflow redesigns. Follow-up evaluation ensures that corrective actions result in measurable improvements rather than temporary fixes.

Reflection on Mentoring for Professional Growth and Accountability

Mentorship is a structured process that supports professional development, accountability, and clinical competence. My mentoring approach includes:

• Developing individualized learning plans with SMART goals

• Demonstrating clinical procedures through simulation and bedside teaching

• Providing real-time feedback using an “observe–describe–coach” model

• Encouraging psychological safety and normalizing learning through mistakes

• Promoting accountability through documentation review and near-miss reporting

Leadership mentoring also includes guidance on SBAR communication, ethical decision-making, and participation in shared governance structures (Noh & Park, 2021).

Outcomes of Mentorship Activities

Mentorship activities have produced measurable improvements in clinical performance and confidence:

• Improved competency in medication administration among new nurses

• Successful completion of orientation-based skill assessments

• Leadership of a Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) quality improvement project (Kay et al., 2022)

• Increased confidence reported in peer learning groups

• Improved documentation and handoff accuracy following reflective debriefing sessions (Gates et al., 2021)

These outcomes were evaluated using competency checklists, supervisor evaluations, and self-reported confidence measures, demonstrating that structured mentorship improves professional growth and clinical performance.

Evaluation of Peer Review Strategies and Methods

Effective peer review requires structured and evidence-based approaches such as:

• Clinical observation tools and competency checklists

• Mini Clinical Evaluation Exercises (mini-CEX)

• Simulation-based debriefing

• Chart audits and documentation review

• Standardized feedback models such as Situation-Behavior-Impact

• Electronic peer-review systems for tracking performance trends (Bagheri et al., 2025)

These methods improve reliability, support objective evaluation, and facilitate continuous learning. However, limitations include time constraints, potential bias, and reduced psychological safety if used punitively. Checklists may also reduce evaluation quality if applied mechanically rather than reflectively.

To address these challenges, a blended strategy is recommended:

• Separation of formative feedback from punitive evaluation

• Reviewer training and calibration sessions

• Maintenance of confidentiality

• Promotion of a just culture approach (Grace et al., 2024)

Reflection on Evaluating Care Team Members and Impact

During a four-week clinical rotation, I evaluated interprofessional handoff processes using direct observation, SBAR-based rubrics, chart audits, and same-day debriefing sessions. Participants included nurses, a resident physician, and a pharmacist.

Key observations included:

Interventions included demonstration of standardized SBAR handoff techniques and targeted feedback sessions. These actions improved communication clarity, reduced clarification calls, and increased staff confidence in speaking up (Kay et al., 2022; Gates et al., 2021).

Conclusion

Professional nursing identity is shaped through ethical practice, reflective learning, mentorship, and collaboration within healthcare systems. Engagement with professional organizations strengthens ethical standards, supports continuous learning, and enhances leadership capacity. Ultimately, integrating ethics into daily nursing practice improves patient outcomes, strengthens team performance, and promotes sustainable improvements in healthcare delivery.

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. BioMed Central 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. BioMed Central Nursing, 22(89), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01246-4

NURS FPX 6080 Assessment 2 Reflection on Nursing Core Values and Ethical Standards

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

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. BioMed Central Nursing, 24, 2–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03197-4

NURS FPX 6080 Assessment 2 Reflection on Nursing Core Values and Ethical Standards

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

Noh, G. O., & Park, M. J. (2021). Effectiveness of incorporating 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/