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Abstract
In this article, the authors discuss some empirical and conceptual basics of professional integrity of conduct in healthcare professions, such as nursing and medicine. They do so in three sections: the basics of professional conduct, including what they are, why they are, and how they work together, integrating original research as well as practical applications. We suggest professional integrity is integral to ethical caring practice, for the good for the patient is at stake, involving the trust of the patient in the professional, in her professional position, and in her profession as a whole. Professional integrity is the moral quality to keep together three dimensions of one’s person, one’s professional practice, and the patient’s interest. Several factors are identified either supporting or eroding professional integrity and the ability to manage integrity issues in practice. Those factors constitute five rules of thumb as well as reflective tools.
Keywords: professional ethics, professional integrity, moral wholeness, reliability, trustworthiness
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Cite as: Bart Cusveller, Joanne Lassche-Scheffer, and Hannan van Rooij, “Professional Integrity in Healthcare Professionals: What, Why, and How,” Ethics & Medicine 38, no. 3 (2022): Online first.
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Bart Cusveller, PhD
Bart Cusveller, PhD trained as a nurse and earned a PhD in philosophy. He worked as a research associate at the Prof.dr. G.A. Lindeboom Instituut, centre for medical ethics (1991–2006), as associate professor of nursing ethics at the Christian University for Applied Sciences (2003–2015) and Viaa University of Applied Sciences (2015–present), all in The Netherlands. He is a Fellow of the Academy of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity and Chair of the standing ethics committee of the national Dutch association of nurses. He has published books and articles, nationally and internationally, on nursing ethics, Christian philosophy, and film.
Joanne Lassche-Scheffer, RN, MSc
Joanne Lassche-Scheffer, PhD (cand.) trained as a nurse in a general hospital (1999) and transitioned to community care during her Master’s in Health Sciences (2003). Since 2013, she has been a lecturer in the Bachelor of Nursing program at Viaa University of Applied Sciences in Zwolle. In 2019, she joined the Spirituality in Health Care research group at Viaa as a research associate. Currently, as a PhD candidate at VID Specialized University in Norway, she explores how the EPICC Spiritual Care Competency Self-Assessment Tool supports nursing students in developing spiritual care competencies.
Hannan van Rooij, RN, MA
Hannan van Rooij, MA began her academic journey with a BSc in Nursing. In 2022, she won the national Anna Reynvaan Student Award for her essay on professional integrity. Next, she pursued an MA in Care Ethics and Policy at the University of Humanistic Studies, in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Hannan is currently working on a second MA in Religious Studies. Alongside her studies and research projects, she contributes to the medical ethics committee at the academic children’s hospital in Groningen, The Netherlands, and is actively involved in the creative fields of poetry, visual media, and performance art.
