Professional Moral Compass
William Douglas DeRosa
Grand Canyon University
NRS – 437V
February 15, 2014

When entering the field of healthcare, one must accept the fact that ethical situations and dilemmas often arise and have distinct impact on the care provided. As the frontline care givers, the nursing staff must face ethical situations in their practice on a daily basis. The American Nurses Association (ANA) developed a code of ethics for nurses as a framework to provide quality nursing care while upholding the ethical standards of the nursing profession (American Nurses Association, 2014). This paper will discuss the author’s professional moral compass with regards to personal, cultural and spiritual values. This author, like many nurses, went into the nursing field with the purpose of contributing to society and giving back to the community. A personal desire to truly make a difference in someone’s life was a driving force in pursuing a career in nursing. This nursing aspiration had been cultivated through a lifetime of experiences, beginning with cultural values at a young age. Having been born and raised in a large, poor, Italian family, the author learned firsthand the importance of caring for and looking after those in need. A Catholic upbringing served as the foundation of the author’s spiritual values, particularly living by the well-known verse which reads, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Bible verses: Matthew 7:12, n.d. ). In short, treat people the way you would like to be treated. Even after ten years, these values continue to mold the author’s nursing career by caring for patients as if they were family members and giving them the quality of care that he would want to receive. The values, morals, and ethics that serve as the foundation for this author’s nursing