Addressing the Challenge Facing the Nursing Community

 

Introduction

            The principle of common good is something that every aspect of social life must be related to for it to attain its full meaning. This principle stems from dignity, unity, and equality of all people.  Common good is total sum of social conditions which allow people whether they are in groups or individually to reach their complete fulfillment more fully and easily. In the nursing community, some factors hinder realization of the common good in the profession both locally and globally. One of these factors happens to be the fact that society has refused to accept the idea of  healthcare offered by the nursing community as an idea of common good and has made nursing an evidence-based practice, thus making any nursing practice require concrete proof in order to make sense and if the evidence lacks the nursing profession is treated as one with dubious value. This challenge has hindered the nursing community from realization of the common good on a local and global scale, and for the nursing profession to realize its aspirations for the common good, then this challenge has to be dealt with in the long run.

            Human dignity is as a result of human beings made free by God. He created human being free so that they can do his bidding.  The only way they can do his bidding is by choosing to live and act within the framework of his law and because of this society is supposed to respect  the freedom given to human beings by enabling men and women to carry out their responsibility to better their own lives and encourage others to co-operate with each other in their pursuit for common good (Byron, William, 2004). In this context, society should accept the healthcare offered by the nursing community since those in that profession are doing so to benefit themselves and ¸are also working towards the realization of their aspirations for the common good.

 It is advisable to take into account that when the research that acts as proof or a concrete base for a nursing practice or intervention was carried out and verified it and termed ethical according to that specific period. Each of these studies was responsible for advancing societal good but not common good in accordance to the Catholic thoughts.  Almost all the studies were deemed unethical by the church, and common good serves as a good tool in determining what is ethical as time evolves (Donley, Grandjean, Jairath, McMullen and Shelton, 2006), Nursing is an ever-changing field and the research carried in the past should not be used to judge actions that are being carried out today.

As discussed earlier, the principle of common good stems from human dignity.  According to John Paul II, the right to religious freedom is very fundamental after the right to life. In many ways, the pope has called for a legitimate exercise to one’s rights of freedom and in this case to the ruling authorities that oppress Catholics and deny them their right to religion of worship. The pope was on a mission to promote the basic human rights of people he was able to improve the dignity and centrality of each human good.  He was able to attain common good by calling for equality and dignity of all human beings, and he received an honorary doctorate as a recognition of his work in promoting human rights (John Paul II, n.d). In this context, the nursing community has extended a helping hand to those who need it. The nursing profession is defined by elements such as care and concern that are extended to the people they serve, and these elements are deeply rooted in the profession. Just like John Paul II, the nursing profession is working towards the common good and society should realize that and honor the work and contribution of the nursing community.

Any action or intervention taken by a nurse needs concrete proof to back it up. This has been a constant challenge to the nursing community as it seeks to realize its aspirations of attaining common good. For the longest time ever, the catholic church has championed rights talk as a legitimate way of promoting universal participation in what the church holds as authentic. The church has also endorsed that what is right is no more than the description of the justice that was given at a certain time and was required at the given circumstance. In regards to this, society should not judge the actions of the nursing profession on proof but on the rightfulness of the action that was taken at the desired time (Wagner, William, n.d). According to Mele (2009), for common good to exist, there must be a cooperation that enable the promotion of conditions that are responsible for enhancing the opportunity for the flourishing of all people within a certain given community. Concerning this, the society should promote the conditions that will allow the nursing community to work effectively and do away with notions such as the practice should be based on proof instead of the action that was right at that particular time.

As mentioned earlier the nursing profession is defined by elements such as care and concern these two are the virtues that supply nurses with reasons why a certain action or intervention is needed, they are also the virtues that motivate and define the kind of people they are and will be (Audi, 2012). In this context, society should not let the nursing profession be based on proof, but on the better decisions they make concerning the profession and what is ethical, and this will help towards the realization of common good.  Unity, human dignity, and equality for all are part of what contributed to attainment of the common good. The world is changing, and the education is changing with it, societies in every corner of the globe are undergoing transformation this transformation means going beyond what society knows and focus on learning and embracing new approaches for the greater good, equality and human dignity (UNESCO, 2015). In this context, society should leave its belief in the past, views such as nursing is an evidence-based practice and that healthcare offered by the nursing community is not part of common good, and embrace new beliefs that will help the nursing community realize its aspirations of the common good. That is one of the ways people can change and transform the world they live in.

Conclusion

The principle of common good stems from human dignity, equality, and unity among all people of a society.  The efforts of the nursing community towards realization of its aspirations towards a common good have been hindered by the fact that society has refused to embrace the idea that the healthcare offered by nurses is for the common good. Society should accept the healthcare provided by the nursing community since it is part of their pursuit for common good. Society should also do away with basing nursing profession on evidence and proof since some of the research were carried out at a time, they were deemed ethical and consistent, but times have changed. As societies all over the globe embrace change and form new ideas on the nursing community.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 Audi, R. (2012). Virtue ethics as a resource in business. Business Ethics Quarterly, 22(2), 273-    291.

Byron, William, (2004). Framing Principles of Catholic Social Thought, 2004, pp.10-15.

Donley, Grandjean, Jairath, McMullen and Shelton. (November-December 2006). Nursing and    the Common Good.

John Paul II, Respect for Human Rights

Melé, D. (2009). Integrating personalism into virtue-based business ethics: The personalist and    the common good principles. Journal of Business Ethics, 88(1), 227-244.

UNESCO 2015, Rethinking Education. Towards a global common good?

Wagner, William J., (n.d). Universal Human Rights, The United Nations, And the Telos of            Human Dignity