Political Action Led by Nurses
Nurses have shown themselves as political activists during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses have stood up for the safety of patients and healthcare workers, demanding a formal government response to address the issue. In protest, American nurses took to the streets, demanding the provision of protective equipment and the establishment of safe working conditions (Morin & Baptiste, 2020).
Medical workers marched to the White House, risking job loss (Morin & Baptiste, 2020). Some of the nurses were fired, but later, they were able to return to their duties (Morin & Baptiste, 2020). As a result of raising awareness about the issue of insufficient protection for medical personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has provided hospitals with personal protective equipment and established conditions for working under quarantine.
Ethical Principle
When nurses went to the streets at the risk of dismissal, they desired to protect not only doctors but also patients. If medical professionals are sufficiently protected, they can help more patients, thereby stopping the spread of the disease. The main ethical principle under which the nurses operated was fidelity. Nurses must be faithful to their patients and their work, fulfilling their obligations. The political action was aimed at obtaining conditions for safe and competent care.
Jesuit Value and ANA
The ethical principles of the ANA serve as the foundation for nurses’ work. In many ways, the ANA is based on general ethical principles that can be correlated with Jesuit Moral Values. Respect for every person as a creation of God is one of the core values of the Jesuit Community. According to the ANA (2015), a nurse must show respect for patients and colleagues, suggesting that these principles are similar. When the nurses went out to protest, they wanted to be able to protect every person in a time of crisis.
References
American Nurses Association. (2015). Code of Ethics with Interpretative Statements. Ethics.
Morin, K. H., & Baptiste, D. (2020). Nurses as heroes, warriors and political activists. Journal of clinical nursing, 29(15-16), 2733.