INTRODUCTION:

Nursing is one of the most trusted profession because it is rooted in professional ethics and values. Values are the social principles, ideals, or standards held by an individual, class, or group that give meaning and direction to life.

A “value’’ is an abstract representation of what is right, worthwhile, or desirable. Values reflect what people consider desirable and consist of the subjective assignment of worth to behavior.

Values are socially approved desire and goals that are internalised through the process of conditioning, learning, or socialisation and that become subjective preferences, standards, and aspirations. Values and morals can not only guide but also inspire and motivate a person, giving them energy and a zest for living and doing something meaningful.

Professional values are essential because of the following:

· Better work ethics

· Professional look

· Accountability

· Responsibility

· Quality work standard

Characteristics of Values

· Values vary from person to person.

· Values are personal as well as professional.

· Our behaviors reflect our true values.

· Our values determine how we perceive the world.

· Our values give us identity.

· Personal values are subject to change.

· Value is the foundation for understanding the level of motivation.

· Values give competency and morality standards.

· Values are worthy and important element of one’s personality.

· Values can give competence and ethical morality.

· Professional values are relatively persistent.

· These are more central to the core of a person.

· Most of our core values are learned early in life from family, friends, our neighborhood school, the mass print and visual media, and other sources within our society.

· Values are loaded with effective thoughts about ideas, objects, behavior, etc.

Types Of Values:

1. Personal values are values that one internalises from the society or culture in which they live.

2. Professional values are values acquired during socialisation into nursing from codes of ethics, nursing experiences, teachers, and peers.

Professional nursing values are important nursing principles like respect for the person, honesty, helping others, and doing what’s right. They serve as a framework for standards, professional practice, and evaluation.

Integration of Professional Values with Personal Values:

Professional socialisation is a nonlinear, continuous, interactive, transformative, developmental, personal, psychosocial, and self-reinforcing process that is formed in newcomers through internalising the specific culture of a professional community, including expectations, values, beliefs, customs, traditions, and unwritten rules of the profession, as well as understanding the hierarchy and power structure and the responsibilities.

The initial and main outcomes of this process are the formation of professional identity and professional development.

Various factors can affect this process, which is grouped three categories, individual factors (gender, age, race, religion, nationality, culture, personality traits, socioeconomic status, marital status, personal experiences, and motivation), organizational factors (explicit and tacit curriculum, formal and informal learning environments, role models and the system structure); and interpersonal relationships.

Internalizing the professional culture includes understanding and accepting the hierarchy and power structure, responsibilities, expectations, values, beliefs, customs, traditions, and unwritten rules of the profession and occurs through formal and informal processes. The major part of formal socialisation happens in basic educational programs, and the remaining part, which is often informal, occurs incidentally and subconsciously in educational and practical environments through unplanned observations and interactions with important others.the formal aspect of the process can transfer certain dimensions of professional culture, such as beliefs about the characteristics of a responsible professional who is committed to adherence to the ethical codes.

However, transmitting the professional culture through informal situations of socialization and the implicit effects at the organisational and structural level known as “hidden curriculum” also have a significant impact on the formation of trainees’ professional values and behaviours. Therefore, the adoption of a new approach to this important process by facilitating the path that leads to the appropriate formation of the professional identity of future professionals can help enhance and facilitate its formation.

Professional socialization involves guiding learners to make personal commitments to their chosen profession. This commitment leads to actions and attitudes that are described by Black (2013) as “thinking like a nurse” or other health professional.

Professional values, one essential element of rofessional socialization, are key to success as a practitioner as they provide a foundation for behaviour. Reflection through the integration of personal beliefs, attitudes, and values into professional values helps develop professional identity. It seems that there is a close relationship among the three aforementioned essential elements of role modelling, personal experience, and reflection.

Significance of Professional Values in Health Care And Nursing:

In nursing profession, nursing care is the most essential nursing professional values on the other hand, a number of professional values relating to the nurse’s non- clinical obligations, such as awareness of the significance of professional nursing associations and participation in nursing research, are deemed to be of lesser importance.

Thus, it is highlighted that it is the responsibility of health care administrators to promote these professional values and provide the organizational infrastructure necessary to raise nurse’s awareness and comprehension of the significance of these professional values. Such programmes can be a start in the right direction towards bringing professional ideals to nursing practise. As a result, the nursing profession would benefit from these initiatives.

Values are acquired by either direct or indirect observation of the behavior of others. Following academic education, experts in the profession, colleagues, patient care settings, and organizational values have the greatest impact on the development of professional values in nurse. the following are the implications of nursing’s professional values:

One of the greatest advantages of professional values in nursing is that nurses are able to act independently in determining patient care as a result of knowledge and skill growth throughout their careers. Similarly, when nurses teach others, they have the chance to strengthen their own understanding of a topic as well as disseminate information within the team for the greater good of patient care. Both research and teaching are academic activities in which not all nurses may be interested; nonetheless, all nurses are expected to participate in informal teaching on the ward as part of ongoing staff training and development.

All nurses who aspire to be successful in their careers should, however, share a familiarity with research, an interest in teaching methods, and an appreciation for the significance of evidence-based nursing practice.

The ethical values of a nurse are meant to protect the most vulnerable people in society and help nurse make hard decisions. For example, patients with learning difficulties or mental health issues may be incapable of making even the most fundamental clinical care is enhanced if nurses do not serve as professional and ethical advocates for these patients.

Factors Influencing Development Of Professional Values In Nursing:

Development of professional values is an extensive, gradual and evolutionary process that may be influenced by the following factors:

· Personal interest in and awareness of the profession

· Inspiration and role modelling by the teaching faculty. Instructors can inspire students and help them internalize professional values. A cordial and respectful relationship with nurse educators also has a positive impact.

· Intrinsic factors such as age and gender influence professional values. Younger students have higher scores for professional values, which implies that they have cognizance about professional values. Substantial gender differences exist pertinent to professional nursing values.

· Personality traits of the learner.

· Well planned curriculum and learning experiences influence professional values. Learning about professional values starts with theoretical knowledge of the values and increases with application during realistic clinical experiences. The entire nursing curriculum, as well as patient experiences, provides numerous opportunities to strengthen values

· Integrated value-based education.

· Culture and personal values play a vital role in developing strong professional values.

· Individuals choosing the nursing profession by preference had stronger professional values.

· The work ethics of the organization and the work climate.

· Members of the health care team and the general public are beginning to recognize nursing as a profession.

· Education strengthens professional values even more.

Importance of professional values in nursing and health care system:

The significance of professional values to nursing can be broadly discussed under three headings:

· The nursing profession

· The patient

· The organization

The nur Sing Profession:

· Provides a foundation for the nursing profession.

· Helps to be aware of professional responsibilities and to hold oneself accountable for one’s actions.

· Ensures better work ethics.

· Influences professional performance.

· Helps adhere to the professional image, discipline and expected level of professional etiquette.

· Facilitates conflict resolution.

· Increases job satisfaction among professionals.

· Helps to achieve sense of compassion gratification.

· Enhances professional quality of life.

The Patient:

· Facilitates the achievement and maintenance of standards in work outcomes.

· Robust professional values enhance the quality of patient care

· Provides a milieu for commitment towards the patients.

· Ensures and improves the safety and quality of work services and patient care.

The Organization:

· Improving the work climate

· Quality of care and performance can be forecasted.

· Provides a stronger organizational identity.

· Ethical work climate and professional values are interlinked. A positive ethical environment promotes professional values to nurture. It averts emotional turbulence, and exhaustion

· Reduces attrition rate among nurses

VALUES EXPLICIT TO NURSING PROFESSION:

· Caring

· Compassion

· Conscientiousness

· Confidentiality and privacy

· Devotion towards work

· Dignity and respect

· Honesty and integrity

· Trust and credibility

· Advocacy

· Professional autonomy

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Received on 12.08.2024 Revised on 16.11.2024

Accepted on 29.01.2025 Published on 24.02.2025

Available online from March 17, 2025

Asian J. Nursing Education and Research. 2025;15(1):63-66.

DOI: 10.52711/2349-2996.2025.00014

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