Heroism is a moral concept with various dimensions. Heroes are determined
according to one’s individual taste and that’s why they are very subjective.
The title “hero” is the determination of the “High price” or value that is
given to a person by people as an attempt to show their thankfulness and
admiration for their great generosity. The thesis was designed as a two-part
study. The overall aim of the thesis was to illuminate the phenomenon of
heroism as moral dilemma in our-day nursing. Study I aim was to describe
aspects which are connected to heroism in literature. Results from study I
elucidate from main themes: altruism and sacrifice as primary values in nursing
practice; motivation to moral actions; moral character; acting up in the
patient’s bets interest. The main idea of the first identified theme is that
sacrifice like altruism is one of important elements in the patient-carer
relationship. Nurses want to be altruistic and they wish to receive positive
feedback from patients when giving help. The positive feedback is essential to
nurses in order for them to provide altruistic care. Following theme show that
that nurses demand very high standards of themselves in their interactions with
their patients, being in ethically difficult care situations. Once nurses are
aware of the values that motivate them, they are more capable of accepting
patient’s attitudes and behaviours, and their ability to solve problems and
make decisions will become enhanced. In the third theme we can find that a
spirit of compassion not only prevents people from doing harm, but may make us
sacrifice our lives to protect the other human being. Moral character consists
of a set of stable virtues that affect a person’s judgment and action. From the
last theme we can see that nurses act on instinct, quick thinking and desire to
help others. Caring as an ethical way of being is a rather more broadly
understood morale requirement. The research shows that nursing as caring
profession embodies many humanistic values as altruism, sacrifice, heroism.
Heroism is framed in many different ways: it means doing the ordinary under
extraordinary circumstances; it is the call of duty in everyday nursing. Heroes
are determined according to one’s individual taste and that’s why they are very
subjective. The title “hero” is the determination of the “High price” or value
that is given to a person by people as an attempt to show their thankfulness
and admiration for their great generosity. Heroism as moral dilemma appears in
everyday nursing practice. Acting up heroically depends on nurse’s moral values
and no moral reasons. Dilemma is an outcome of conflicting moral principles
and rules. Nurses devote their lives to helping others and don’t see themselves
as heroes. Aim of study II was out of a semi-structured interview to
investigate nurses’ opinion about heroism in our-day nursing. Data was
collected by semi-structured interviews with 15 nurses, working and living in
Lithuania. Data was analysed by qualitative content analysis method. Results
from study II are: overall seven themes were identified: nursing as a loving
care; devotion to duty; satisfaction doing the job; self-sacrifice; ready to be
hero; nurse-heroine ...
