This research addresses several professional issues related to medical-surgical nursing. These issues are addressed separately in the form of answers to specific questions.
Two values of nursing of special importance to me are (1) the obligation of the professional nurse to provide care to all persons requiring care regardless of the characteristics of the patient and irrespective of any personal preferences or predilections of the professional nurse, and (2) the extension by the nurse to patients of true compassion through the act of care. The significance of these values to me is addressed in the following discussion.
The growing diversity in the structure of the American population, an increase in the incidence of both incurable and highly communicable diseases among this population, and an evolving social milieu that to some people causes the unthinkable to be considered creates moral, ethical, and practical dilemmas for many in the nursing profession. Some nurses question the requirement that they provide treatment for all persons within a social environment wherein the incidence of both incurable and highly contagious diseases are present, and wherein the delivery of care in some instances would create personal values conflicts for the nurse.
As a recent arrival to the United States, the issue of providing care to immigrants who are infected with contagious diseases such as tuberculosis, and life-threatening diseases such as AIDS (acquired immunity deficiency syndrome) is very important to me. While I recognize the risk to the nurse in such health care delivery environments, I also recognize the duty of the nurse to deliver care to those persons requiring care.
The incidence of tuberculosis in the United States over the past 15 years has increased dramatically (Eubanks, 1992, p. 60). During this period, tuberculosis has become increasingly drug resistant causing treatment to be less effective and control to becom...