10 Ways to Uphold Human Dignity in Nursing Practice
Written By:
Darby Faubion
Darby Faubion RN, BSN, MBA
Darby Faubion is a nurse and allied health instructor with over 20 years of clinical experience. Darby lives in Louisiana and loves exploring the state’s rich culture and history. Darby has a passion for caring for veterans and a special interest in those affected by post-traumatic stress disorder. In her quest to make a difference for veterans, she founded a non-profit called “Operation Battle Buddy.” Read Full Bio »» RN, BSN, MBA
In the world of healthcare, nurses play some of the most essential roles. Not only do nurses provide crucial patient care and rally interprofessional teams, but they also work to promote and protect patient rights. In my experience as a nurse and healthcare educator, I have learned that one of the most important things we can do for patients is to preserve the fundamental essence of humanity, human dignity.
New and experienced nurses alike can significantly impact patients by upholding human dignity. Perhaps you want to make a difference in your patients’ lives but wonder, “How can nurses uphold human dignity in their practice?” In this article, I will share 10 ways to uphold human dignity in nursing practice and share how I have seen these strategies make a difference in patient and organizational outcomes.
How Can Nurses Uphold Human Dignity In Their Practice?
(The following are the 10 Ways to Uphold Human Dignity in Nursing Practice.)
WAY #1: Provide Compassionate Nursing Care
Compassionate nursing care goes beyond addressing your patient’s physical illness or disease. While compassion, in a broad sense, refers to showing concern or sympathy for someone else’s suffering, it goes beyond that in nursing. Compassionate care in nursing helps establish trust in nurse-patient relationships, which increases the likelihood of compliance with care and improves patient outcomes. Therefore, providing compassionate nursing care is an excellent way to uphold human dignity in nursing practice.
Something I learned long ago was that, even when we want to say the right thing, we may not know what to say. As a nurse, you don’t have to have the perfect words to provide compassionate care. An act as simple as taking the time to sit with a patient who is anxious or listening to their concerns is compassion in action.
WAY #2: Respect Your Patient’s Privacy
All patients have a right to privacy and should expect nurses to respect that right in every situation. In my years of experience as a nurse, healthcare educator, and manager, I can honestly say that respecting patient privacy is one of the most important things you can do for them.
Respecting patient privacy is a crucial part of upholding human dignity in nursing. It is essential because it demonstrates respect for the patient's right to have private information and matters handled discreetly. It ensures your patient's right to establish personal boundaries and have those boundaries acknowledged by those providing care.
WAY #3: Maintain High Standards of Professionalism
Professionalism is the term used to describe a person’s conduct or the qualities they exhibit that characterize their profession. In nursing, we maintain high standards of professionalism by providing high-quality care to our patients while promoting and upholding the values of integrity, respect, and accountability in our practices. Professionalism is one way of
upholding human dignity, as it encompasses consistent, compassionate, and empathetic care, regardless of your patient’s background or medical condition.
I have been a nurse for many years and, although I have many memories, one really stands out in my mind as I write this article. One night, while I was working in the emergency room, a female patient was brought in. Her clothes were dirty, she looked disheveled, and she had a severe laceration on her leg that had become infected. During triage, I learned that she was homeless. Despite the chaotic emergency room environment and the patient’s appearance, our team rallied together to provide the best care for her possible. Once we got her wound cleaned up, we ordered a tray of food from the cafeteria and kept her as comfortable as possible while we waited for a social worker to arrive. The social worker found a safe place for her to stay and was able to locate the woman’s family, who were searching for her all along. The team’s willingness to maintain a high standard of professionalism and to treat the patient holistically is a great example of how we can work together to promote human dignity in nursing practice.
WAY #4: Educate Patients
Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge advocate for education. I believe education is the number one way to empower ourselves and others. As nurses, educating patients is one of the best ways to promote and uphold human dignity in nursing practice. Educating patients empowers them with knowledge about their health, treatment options, and expected outcomes. It also supports and affirms your patient’s right to actively participate in their own care by making informed decisions.
WAY #5: Use a Holistic Approach to Care
As a nurse educator, one of the things I always stressed to students is the importance of acknowledging and addressing the interconnectedness of every aspect of a patient’s being, an approach often referred to as
holistic nursing. To improve patient outcomes, it is vital for nurses to understand that a patient is more than the physical symptoms or illnesses they are experiencing. When you take the time to consider your patient’s emotional, social, and spiritual well-being and how those things affect their physical health, you can create individualized care plans that meet the patient at their point of need. I truly believe using a holistic approach to nursing care is one of the best ways to uphold human dignity in nursing practice.
WAY #6: Make Patient-Centered Care a Priority
Patient-centered care, as the name suggests, is all about putting the patient’s individual preferences and needs at the center of care decisions. Making patient-centered care a priority is one of the best ways to uphold human dignity in nursing practice because, in doing so, nurses acknowledge each patient's unique qualities and their right to make decisions based on their values and beliefs.
For example, several years ago, I had a patient who was a retired doctor. He was diagnosed with cancer and also had early dementia. Although the dementia had not progressed significantly, he was beginning to experience symptoms that were worsening. On the days that he was more oriented, he asked endless questions about his doctors and nurses and why he had to take certain medications. It would have been easy for me and any of the other nurses to give him short answers and dismiss him, knowing that he may not remember our conversation by the next day. Instead, we chose to demonstrate respect and empathy for him, actively listened to what he said, and we worked with him and his family to ensure we had a personalized approach to his treatment. You see, by making patient-centered care a priority, we not only gave our patient a sense of self-worth, but we became better nurses because of it!
WAY #7: Strive to Be Culturally Competent
Cultural competence in nursing is important because it focuses on reducing health disparities through patient-centered care. Nurses who embrace the concept of cultural competence and actively pursue ways to understand and respect their patients’ diverse cultural backgrounds are instrumental in bridging gaps in patient understanding, communication, and access to healthcare services. Making patients feel respected and accepted regardless of their cultural background is an excellent example of cultural competence in nursing and how we can promote and uphold human dignity in nursing practice.
WAY #8: Learn to Communicate Effectively and Therapeutically
Communication is at the heart of everything that impacts patient care. When you
learn to communicate respectfully and empathetically, you acknowledge your patient’s worth, making them feel heard and valued. Therapeutic communication helps build trusting nurse-patient relationships, alleviates patient anxiety, and reduces the risk of misunderstanding.
I believe it is crucial for nurses of all education levels and in all positions to learn to communicate effectively in order to promote human dignity. When I taught nursing, I loved implementing mock scenarios into lectures. One of my favorite exercises was to conduct scenarios that required quick-thinking and effective communication. Whether you are a nurse manager, an educator, or a bedside nurse, you can promote human dignity in nursing practice by actively listening, responding empathetically, and offering reassurance and support.
WAY #9: Commit to Lifelong Learning
If there is one thing you can obtain that others can never take from you, it is knowledge. In my experience, the most successful nurses are those who commit to lifelong learning. Your commitment to continually grow, learn, and update your knowledge and competencies is a commitment to ensuring your patients receive quality. Nurses who commit to lifelong learning are aware of the most current practices and trends in patient care, are more likely to demonstrate high ethical standards and professional behaviors, and can educate patients about their care, which empowers patients and promotes human dignity in nursing practice.
WAY #10: Be a Patient Advocate
As a nurse, you are uniquely positioned to significantly impact patient outcomes on many levels, and one of the most important ways to do that is by
advocating for patients. Patients have individual, specific needs, which means the way you advocate for each patient may vary. A few examples of ways to advocate include supporting your patient’s right to autonomy, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, and working to reduce health disparities. You can promote advocacy by offering emotional support and guidance, helping patients understand their treatment options, and ensuring your patients receive individualized care tailored to their needs.
My Final Thoughts
Nursing is a demanding career, but it is also filled with amazing opportunities to positively impact others. One of the most essential and effective ways to make a difference is by guarding and protecting human dignity. To make the most influential impact, it is important for our profession to ask, “How can nurses uphold dignity in their practice?”
In this article, I shared 10 ways to uphold human dignity in nursing practice and discussed why these strategies are important. As a nurse, you can implement these strategies to help promote human dignity and positively impact patient, professional, and organizational outcomes. Your role in upholding human dignity is, quite possibly, one of the most important of any among healthcare professionals!
List Of Sources Used For This Article
1.
“12 Ways to Show Compassion in Nursing (with Examples)” (nursingprocess.org)
2.
“Exploring the Perceptions of Dignity Among Patients and Nurses in Hospital and Community Settings: An Integrative Review” (
National Library of Medicine)
3.
“What Is Holistic Care in Nursing? (with Examples, Principles, & Challenges)” (
nursingprocess.org)
4.
“What Is Cultural Competence in Nursing (with Examples, Importance, & Barriers)” (
nursingprocess.org)
5.
“8 Effective Communication Strategies for Nurses” (
James Cook University)
6.
“10 Key Examples of Effective Patient Advocacy in Nursing” (
nursingprocess.org)
Darby Faubion, RN, BSN, MBA
Darby Faubion is a nurse and allied health instructor with over 20 years of clinical experience. Her work history includes clinical experience in pediatrics, mental health, addiction and behavioral disorders, geriatrics, wound management, and communicable disease. Darby has worked in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and home health and hospice agencies. Darby also has experience as a nursing and allied health educator at both community college and university levels. Her love for nursing and nursing education led to her becoming a test-taking strategist and NCLEX prep coach.