Description

Ethics in nursing is grounded in relationships and
in the day-to-day practices of nurses confronting
the suffering and enhancing the well-being of people
across the life span. In spite of a continuing long,
rich history of nurses caring for people in both a
physical and emotional sense, many people claim that
the nursing profession today is in a state of
unsatisfactoriness. By using the method of
philosophical inquiry and analysis, Dr. Rich
explored whether or not Zen Buddhism, specifically
engaged Buddhism based on the tradition of Zen monk
Thich Nhat Hanh, has a value for nursing ethics. Dr.
Rich argues that the Zen tools of interbeing,
nonself, the Four Noble Truths, the Four
Immeasurable Minds, and a model of the Buddhist
Sangha can be used by nurses to guide them in
deciding what type of nurses they want to be and to
advance the ethical nature of nurses'' relationships
with their patients and with other nurses. She
proposes that nurses can experience joy in knowing
that nursing, when viewed in terms of its
enlightened nature, already has the characteristics
that nurses aspire to develop.