rr

A nurse has many responsibilities in their job. While performing those duties, it is vital that they maintain good professional character. What is good professional character and how does it incorporate into the workplace? This paper will delve into the different character traits that the professional nurse should possess. These traits include the ability to tell “right from wrong, think and act rationally, keep promises and honor obligations, be accountable for their behavior, recognize and honor interpersonal boundaries, and promptly and fully self-disclose facts, circumstances, events, errors/omissions” (Nursing, Texas Board of, 2013).

Proper Professional Character
What is having good professional character? In order to answer that question, one must first understand what professional character is. The Texas Board of Nursing, defines professional character as, “the integrated pattern of personal, academic and occupational behaviors which, in the judgment of the Board, indicates that an individual is able to consistently conform his or her conduct to the requirements of the Nursing Practice Act, the Board's rules and regulations, and generally accepted standards of nursing practice including, but not limited to, behaviors indicating honesty, accountability, trustworthiness, reliability, and integrity” (Nursing, Texas Board of, 2013). What does this mean? The Board of Nursing, is referring to the temperament of the nurse, their behavior. How does this integrate into the many facets of our lives? Whether one is referring to an academic, personal, or professional setting a person’s character should remain constant. There is no difference between these settings, some challenges may be different, but the person’s chara...

... middle of paper ...

...s of accountability all speak to what is expected of a nurse when it comes to their responsibility for actions taken. Not only must the nurse admit to wrong doing, but they must take responsibility for their wrong doing. This responsibility could involve many different forms from lawsuits to write-ups to terminations. What is important about this section, is that it specifies that the nurse must own up to their actions and take responsibility for what they have done, even if they did not mean to hurt anyone. Being accountable for their action, can be hard to do. Having a consequence put onto you when there could be a million reasons why the action happened to begin with, is difficult to swallow. This dilemma goes back to ethics. Realizing morally, that you must be accountable and take responsibility for the action, no matter the circumstance surrounding it.