Nursing is an essential component of the integrated delivery system within Lancaster General Hospital.  We recognize the integral importance of caring, quality, service, and cost as evaluative factors for healthcare delivery.  We believe that patient care should assist individuals in those activities that contribute to an optimal quality of life, recovery from illness, or to a peaceful death.

We believe that patients have the right to be active participants in their own health care decision-making.  We understand and respect cultural differences and make every effort to overcome those barriers, which may impact communication, care delivery and the continuity of care.  We recognize the important role that family members play in the patient’s achievement toward an optimal quality of life.  We strive to meet the needs of both the patient and family.

Our philosophy also supports a process that recognizes the accountability and responsibility for decision-making and clinical judgment, which are central to our care delivery and the continuity of care.  We recognize and value clinical expertise and encourage and support career development.  The nurse is supported in assuming his or her full professional role, which includes clinical practice, leadership, education, research, performance improvement, and collaboration with other members of the healthcare team.  Each member of the nursing care team shares the responsibility for remaining current with healthcare advances and nursing practice.

The nursing department is not limited to the acute care setting and we recognize the paradigm shift from a focus of illness to one of prevention and wellness.  Nursing does not support any one moral philosophic position; each nurse must have a critical understanding of the moral and ethical values that governs clinical practice.