Culture in Nursing Practice

Philotimo is a very important part of an individual within a specific culture, which influences person’s actions and choices. However, just as it leads to positive acts, it can also create problems, which need to be solved with the help of the professional.

The belief of the importance of philotimo, love of honor, influenced Mr. Stavrakis greatly because it was the reason why he took his partner’s crimes so close to his heart (Giousmpasoglou, 2014). For him, honor and moral values are the most important virtues, which should guide a person in his or her life, and it is essential to follow them in family and business spheres. However, whenever the virtues are ignored, it is a very negative act, which affects those around the individual greatly. Mr. Stavrakis followed philotimo himself; he wanted to be an honorable and honest man and acted like one. He also expected the same actions from his best friend and partner, whom he cherished and respected. Therefore, when Mr. Stavrakis learned about horrible actions of his friend, it showed him that the latter had not followed the same moral principles and was not as honorable as he was. Thus, it disgusted and repulsed Mr. Stavrakis, but at the same time, he could not report the partner to the police because of the very same philotimo and the values one had. It shows the moral struggle the person experienced, and the role of philotimo in making Mr. Stavrakis feel this way.

Mr. Stavrakis did not want to report his friend to the police because of his cultural values, which emphasized the importance of the family and friends over business. It is more significant to have good relations with the former, who are valued above all else. Therefore, if Mr. Stavrakis had reported his friend, it could have been perceived badly in his community and from the perspective of his values. It was the reason, which prevented Mr. Stavrakis from acting. He felt that if he had reported his friend, he would also have violated his own values and beliefs because he did not want to hurt his family and friends. The values of Mr. Stavrakis prevented him from telling the truth and sharing sad information with others and the police, but it affected his well-being because he was suffering greatly and felt angry for his friend’s actions. Those reasons made the overall situation much worse because they led to a closed circle, where Mr. Stavrakis could no longer communicate or forgive his partner, but at the same time, he could not report him to the police or reveal the truth to everybody. In other words, his values left him with no choice.

Mr. Stavrakis did not seek medical help because of the complicated situation in which he was. He decided it was something he could cope with on his own without revealing the issue to anybody, but it quickly proved to be wrong. The person ended up in a very difficult position; from one perspective, if he had avoided work, he could have thought and seen a deceitful partner less. On the other hand, this would have prevented Mr. Stavrakis from working and doing the job he loved so much simply out of fear and disgust of meeting the partner. He still decided to carry out his plan and spend less time working believing it would be a solution to his problem. Mr. Stavrakis did not want to seek medical help and take his meds because otherwise he would have had to admit the problem and the fact that he could not solve it on his own. More importantly, it would have proven to him the existing dilemma and the necessity to come up with an effective solution for dealing with it. As a result, Mr. Stavrakis tried to avoid seeing a doctor and was reluctant to speak about the issue, which affected his health and behavior so much. The wife convinced Mr. Stavrakis to see a doctor by showing the importance of his problem to him and the fact that ignoring negative changes would put a stop to all hard work the man had accomplished, and it could affect him and his family in a horrible way.

Therefore, Mr. Stavrakis’ actions were strongly dictated by philotimo and personal struggles since the man had to fight different beliefs and values. Fortunately, he managed to make the right choice regarding his partner and the problem.

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