Education Standards of Care and Malpracticen Assignment

Personal Reflection on Values, Morals, and Ethics

Dominica Thomas

Grand Canyon University

23 March 2025

1. How do you personally define values and morals?

For my personal perspective, I consider values as the particular principles that help me determine how I conduct myself, especially in my educational context. Values are those things which I value, honesty, perseverance, and respect for variety of opinions. On the contrary, morals are the standards to live by when it comes to right and wrong in a given situation (Beauchamp & Childress, 2019). This is an important distinction in education because values guide my overall stance on learning and working with others while morals facilitate the way in which to solve the dilemmas of morals that arise in the academic setting. Values may be personal and can differ decisively, but morals tend to be a represent of group expectations.

2. What events, experiences, and teachings have influenced the development of your values and morals?

I have been shaped by a combination of experiences, teachings and educational influences that define my values and morals. Even from the early years, my parents instilled in me the value of being diligent and having integrity in the academics, as they taught me that one should always succeed based on hard work and ethical behavior. Education is not only about having knowledge, they taught me from their guidance to have the character as well.

Ethical beliefs have also been formed by my formal education. During my studies I have come across a number of ethical frameworks that have informed my way of thought. For instance, public administration courses exposed me to ethical decision making models presented in structured ways for solving moral dilemma (Scholl et al., 2022). Through these theories, I have been able to make critical assessments of ethical problems in institutions of learning and places of work.

I have also learned through my experiences as an online student about the importance of self-discipline and accountability. It has required that I learn strong time management skills and that I stick to ethical academic practices. Everything I have been through with them have only made me more certain that integrity and responsibility are required for a good educational experience.

3. How do your personal beliefs regarding moral and ethical behavior influence your worldview (perspective) and behavior?

My moral and ethical behavior based on my beliefs greatly influence the way I see and interact with the world. In this way, I regard education as an instrument for personal development and society improvement and believe that one cannot succeed ethically speaking outside of the core value and ethical conduct for the academic community as a whole. I consider it because it makes my believing stronger that people should look for knowledge honestly and correct and be that with no defilement of the standards to get peaceful with the twist or remaining somewhere on the other hand.

Ethical behavior is something from a broader worldview perspective that is necessary to build trust and progress in society (Nicholson & Kurucz, 2019). The credibility of institutions and the worth of education could be brought to the question if those in education and professional field do not uphold the moral standard. The way that we look at things gives me a lot of value to transparency, fairness, and accountability both in my own academic work and as they relate to others in the way that I interact with them.

These beliefs directly influence my behavior as I strive to act with integrity in all academic situations as well as the way I deal with issues such as time management and workload pressure to ensure that I do not resort to any unethical shortcuts. Furthermore, I have a tendency to listen to other people’s ideas, enter into a discussion, and to treat people with kindness in academic arenas as I believe in fairness and respect.

4. How do your cultural values and personal traditions influence your worldview (perspective) and behavior?

My worldview, behavior and especially my approaches in education are very much based on my cultural values and personal traditions. I was taught to see education as a tool for evolution, personal and societal, which made me a great believer in and appreciator of learning and educators. My belief in this drives my effort to strive for academic integrity, perseverance, and being ethical at all time.

In my culture, hard work and perseverance are central values that are translated into my approach to education. I think success is about putting in the hard work and making sure you understood concepts rather than try to do shortcuts. Despite circumstantial difficulties, I am motivated, education to me being, a lifelong investment.

The way I understand collaboration is influenced by my culture’s communal and collective success. I discuss constantly, I appreciate the diverse opinions and I support my peers by acknowledging that collective knowledge enhances the learning of everybody. This is represented as participating meaningfully and constructively in online education and providing constructive feedback.

It is also important to me that I demonstrate integrity in all that I do. I grew up being taught that character has to do with honesty and so sought to uphold academic integrity by respecting intellectual property. Ethical conduct is essential in both academics as well as to life.

5. How do you distinguish between moral conflicts and ethical dilemmas within health care?

In health care, I make a distinction between moral conflicts and ethical dilemmas based on the nature of the decision-making process and of the factors involved. A moral conflict emerges when internal thought occurs about what is right or wrong as it relates to standards, beliefs, values, and cultural norms (Naamati-Schneider et al., 2024). Such conflicts are usually based on the perspective of the individual and this may differ from person to person.

On the other side, an ethical dilemma arises when people find themselves in a situation where two or more ethical principles are conflicting directly, leaving you unsure what is the right step to take (Naamati-Schneider et al., 2024). For example, if a patient refuses lifesaving treatment, that is a dilemma for the doctor. The balancing of competing interests, which may conflict, such as autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence and justice is what usually brings about ethical dilemmas.

6. Discuss integrity, accountability, and ethical behavior in health care. Why are these concepts important in the context of patient care?

Being honest and not doing wrong means integrity. In the healthcare, it means telling the truth to the patients, keeping the information about them private and after all admitting mistakes and other things that can happen. Accountability is responsibility for actions and decisions. Medical rules have to be followed by the health care workers, necessary patient care must be documented in the right manner and health care workers need to be honest about their abilities. Ethical behavior is fair and respectful care. It involves making decisions with the best interest of patients, respecting their choices and securing that they receive the care they need.

These concepts are necessary to practice as they provide for trust, high standards of practice, and patient rights protection. Ethical delivery of healthcare improves patients outcomes because it implies fairness, respect and evidence based decisions (Scholl et al., 2022). If these principles do not exist, the system would face a problem with regards to patient safety and the trust of the public. Integrity, accountability, and upholding ethical behavior serve to enhance professional credibility and guarantee equitable and compassionate care for all.

References

Beauchamp, T., & Childress, J. (2019).  Principles of biomedical Ethics: Marking its fortieth anniversary.  The American Journal of Bioethics,  19(11), 9-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2019.1665402

Naamati-Schneider, L., Arazi-Fadlon, M., & Daphna-Tekoah, S. (2024). Navigating moral and ethical dilemmas in digital transformation processes within healthcare organizations.  DIGITAL HEALTH,  10. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241260416

Nicholson, J., & Kurucz, E. (2019). Relational leadership for sustainability: Building an ethical framework from the moral theory of ‘Ethics of care’.  Journal of Business Ethics,  156(1), 25-43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3593-4

Scholl, J. A., Mederer, H. J., & Scholl, R. W. (2022). Leadership, ethics, and decision-making.  Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance, 7495-7504. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66252-3_2407