Ethical decision making:
As a registered nurse I'm faced with ethical decisions on a daily basis, one of the main areas related to information technology is the collection and storing of patient information/data. As an RN I'm in an incredibly powerful position of being privy to very private information & for this reason there are very specific rules around accessing that information. As such, I access the information of only those patients with whom I'm working directly. I cannot access my own, my family's, my friends or others health information without breaching ethical codes of nursing practice.
Cultural/social influences:
I grew up in an Irish catholic, pakeha family. My existence from a young age was based around white, middle-class European Christian values. We went to church on Sundays, were asked to be grateful for what we had, to give to those less fortunate, be charitable, we ate fish 'n' chips on Fridays, believed that fish wasn't meat & as such different from eating other animals. But rather than a truly loving family environment, we had more a functional family culture. That didn't & doesn't mean we don't love one another, but we show it in very functional ways e.g. money.
At 15 I began attending a local christian youth group, rather than strictly catholic it was ecumenical & lead to involvement with an ecumenical christian community organisation. This involved living in community, becoming much more active in terms of social justice issues, particularly in relation to Maaori, challenging my pakeha background & the history of Aotearoa.
In my early 20s life centred around living in community, community work, youth work, supporting family & friends, which greatly influenced my decision to become a nurse. For the best part of the past 20 years I have identified as someone who works for the benefit of others and society in general. I have learned a great many skills, particularly social, which as a young, awkward introverted teenager & young adult took a significant amount of effort.
Strengths and learning journey:
What are my values?:
Truth, honesty, integrity, commitment, loyalty, consistency, reliable, determined, charitable
I'm the friend who gets in touch, stays in touch, organises catch-ups, keeps friendships going. I value time spent with family and friends the most. In saying that though, I tend to spend time with people one on one or in small groups. I have a disparate circle of influence from a fairly wide group of backgrounds and cultures. My friends seldom meet one another.
What several friends said about me:
Bruce: doggedly determined
Andrew & Jen: a very loyal friend
Monique: consistent, our friendship is always the same when we get together, it picks up where it left off
Amy: good in a crisis, calm, collected, reassuring without being pushy, patient, determined, you stay in your lane, not afraid to say you don't know something, it's not your area of expertise, you don't offer unsolicited advice ever unless asked, you really think about what you think, you have really thought bout it, you seek information, honest
Limitations effect on learning, development:
Currently I'm looking for a change from being heavily in the public eye to being a bit more in my own mind and behind the scenes. Nursing has forced me to become much more extroverted than I otherwise might have been, which as I've stated has resulted in social skills I might never have developed. However, after years of crazy busy nursing environments I'm ready for a change.
Productive work tension. Strategies used & how effective in situations. Reflection on strategies would use now:
In nursing environments one needs to learn to work with everybody in their team. There are some people with whom it's more difficult than others to work, some people with whom there is a clash of personalities and working with them can be uncomfortable. Strategies I've found helpful in such situations are to remain mindful of my thoughts and feelings, attempt to be considerate of others perspectives, try and empathise with their position on particular issues and realise that they may be feeling just as uncomfortable in a given situation as I am.