The Lived Experience of Doing the Right Thing

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to discover the structure of the experience of doing the right thing and to contribute to nursing knowledge. The Parse research method was used in this study to answer the research question: What is the structure of the lived experience of doing the right thing? Participants were 10 individuals living in the community. The central finding of this study was the following structure: The lived experience of doing the right thing is steadfast uprightness amid adversity, as honorableness with significant affiliations emerges with contentment. New knowledge extended the theory of humanbecoming and enhanced understanding of the experience of doing the right thing.

Review of 2007-2020 Humanbecoming Guided Studies and Investigations

“…Since Doucet and Bournes’ (2007) review, 33 Parse method studies have been published in Nursing Science Quarterly . Some examples of phenomena that researchers explored included feeling unsure (Bunkers, 2007), having faith (Doucet, 2008), waiting (Naef & Bournes, 2009), doing the right thing (Smith, 2012), feeling grateful (Hart, 2013), feeling overwhelmed (Condon, 2014), and others. It is interesting to note that four of the Parse method studies reviewed were about the phenomenon of suffering (Baumann, 2016; Duarte-Quilao & Maillard Strüby, 2018; Hart, 2018; Pilkington & Kilpatrick, 2008).…”

What kind of donor are you? Uncovering complexity in donor identity

“…As Darrell indicates, “doing the right thing” is not to be marveled and thus is not associated with any strong emotion. S. M. Smith (2012) finds that the accompanied feeling is best described as contentment, or a calm feeling of satisfaction, as Mike (age 56) describes: “It's a self‐satisfaction thing.” Given this, Pragmatists appreciate a simple thank you, as it reinforces the task‐related worth.…”

“…People can behave altruistically on a regular basis purely for philosophical reasons (Friedland & Cole, 2013), as “doing the right thing” communicates the courage and desire to be true to one's ideals, contributing to wellbeing (S. M. Smith, 2012). Pragmatists appear to be similar to what Friedland and Cole (2013, p. 1203) describe as utilitarian morally mature people who “behave altruistically as a matter of course, simply because they know it to be right, not because they get a rush of emotive satisfaction.” Bryan (20) affirms this notion when describing what a “decent person” should do: “I suppose as a decent person you should feel that it's something you can do, and if society in general does that, there would be a lot less of a problem with shortages.”…”

“…Smith (2012) finds that the accompanied feeling is best described as contentment, or a calm feeling of satisfaction, as Mike (age 56) describes: "It's a selfsatisfaction thing." Given this, Pragmatists appreciate a simple thank you, as it reinforces the task-related worth.…”

Doing the Right Thing in Healthcare

“…Do insurance companies and politicians act on the patients' best interests? Doing the right thing was defined by Smith (2012) as: steadfast uprightness amid adversity, as honorableness with significant affiliations emerges with contentment (p. 88). Standing up for what one believes is the right thing and it may be uncomfortable and difficult however, it comes with great reward.…”