When considering the profession of a nurse, one might reflect on the following question: is it better to be skillful or caring? I have heard people mention this dilemma; in particular, my acquaintances were discussing the famous and notorious House, M.D. and paid special attention to this topic. I prefer to regard the TV series as a work of art or a means of entertainment, but I realize that people will inevitably project these images onto the actual healthcare services that they are likely to require one day. The dilemma of good quality and compassion is expressed in these series in a relatively negative light, with medical professionals either being skillful but uncaring or caring but less skillful.
If I have to assume that the synthesis of the two is impossible, I think that I will choose the insensitive but skillful kind of healthcare professional in most situations, with the exception of a patently lethal disease case. In palliative care, compassion is as significant as any other intervention, which has been reflected in the Nursing Interventions Classification that includes, for example, discussions about death and spirituality (Bulechek, Butcher, McCloskey-Dochterman, & Wagner, 2012, p. 153). These discussions are not the demonstrations of a nurse’s politeness; they are full-fledged interventions that promote the well-being of the patient and that are necessary to carry out palliative care, the aim of which is to reduce suffering and improve the patient’s quality of life. Therefore, a nurse practitioner’s compassion and caring can be regarded as another very important part of healthcare, which I would always strive to provide.
The lack of competence is unacceptable for a nurse practitioner (or any other healthcare professional) in any case. In effect, it is not just unethical; it is illegal. To practice, a nurse must become registered, which involves obtaining relevant certificates, the specific lists of which may vary for different states (American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 2016). If a nurse is not skillful enough, he or she cannot get a certificate and, therefore, is not supposed to work as a practitioner. At the same time, the first provision of the current Code of Ethics of the American Nurses Association (2015) states that a nurse must be compassionate and respectful. Therefore, the failure to provide caring, compassionate healthcare is not exactly a crime, but it is a breach of the ethical code of American nurses, which is unacceptable.
Which is worse, to break the conventional law or to break the law of ethics? I would say that neither is a possibility. Moreover, ethically caring conduct and skillful care are interrelated. Basically, a caring nurse is a skillful one; he or she tends to all the needs of the patient, which include the need for compassion, and regards the patient holistically as a human being and not just a body with a particular illness. Therefore, both caring and skillfully attending to the needs of the patient are interrelated requirements of the work of a nurse.
I realize, of course, that the caring, ethical conduct puts a nurse under strain, and the cases of nurses’ burnout are not unheard of (Chao, Shih, & Hsu, 2015). However, I believe that with appropriate diligence, it is possible to take proper care of oneself. After all, the fifth provision of the Code of Ethics of the American Nurses Association (2015) states that a nurse is supposed to maintain his or her personal health as well. Therefore, it is impossible to justify the failure to provide compassionate and high-quality healthcare, which is what a nurse practitioner is supposed to offer to his or her patients.
References
American Association of Nurse Practitioners. (2016). State Practice Environment. Web.
American Nurses Association. (2015). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. Web.
Bulechek, G., Butcher, H., McCloskey-Dochterman, J., & Wagner, C. (2012). Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
Chao, M., Shih, C., & Hsu, S. (2015). Nurse occupational burnout and patient-rated quality of care: The boundary conditions of emotional intelligence and demographic profiles. Japan Journal Of Nursing Science, 13(1), 156-165. Web.