Altruism And Nursing

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Altruism and Nursing


In the earlier days, nursing was not a profession, but rather an altruistic behavior of any man or woman caring for, or nurturing, another individual (Carruthers, 1997, 1). How can a nurse show more altruism in his or her daily life? Deborah Adelman, from Illinois, shows altruism by taking time from her job as a nursing professor to use her disaster nursing skills to help the victims of the September eleventh attacks (Trossman, S., 2002, 3). Another example that shows heart of an altruistic nurse is Melissa Sapp. She was interviewed at the LSU hospital in Shreveport and explained how many patients come to her because she goes the extra mile to help the needs that may not be required in a hospital. She will take her lunch break to sit and listen to their problems or take her break time to walk with them (Sapp, M. 2002). According to the Random House Webster’s College Dictionary, altruism is defined as the principle or practice of unselfish concern for the welfare of others at some cost for that first individual (Costello, 1991).
An altruistic nurse may take no further education as an egoistic, or selfish nurse would. As stated in the Nursing Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia, as of 1965 the American Nurses’ Association (ANA) proposed nursing as a higher learning level. Two levels of the practice of nurses should either be professional or technical (Carruthers, 1993, 2). Also, the Online Encyclopedia shows decreased altruism in the hospitals as these degrees were required. Modern day nursing requires for the technical practice of nurses to be a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). This requires an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) and passing the NCLEX-PN. The Registered Nurse (RN) requires having a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and passing the NCLEX-RN
(Carruthers, 1993, 2).
Marilyn McMahon from Mississippi believes that altruism in nursing comes with age. She says in nurseweek.com that “older...