Ethics and values in health care practice: philosophical, educational, and political considerations

Abstract

This paper presents philosophical, pedagogical and political considerations on Ethics and Values in Professional Health Care Practice. The current changes and crises in the world, intensified by economic turmoil, have affected social justice issues affecting health and education. Objectives: to clarify nurses' role in the context of the art to take care of clients both as individuals and community; to urge nurses for attention to laws and codes/norms as established in the profession; and to suggest the application of basic laws of the Philosophy of Art to nursing care. The study presents critical analysis on ethics and values involved in nursing actions and may affect the art of learning-to-be and becoming an expert professional in nursing care. The author's epistemological position is presented to build competencies in the nursing as a health science.