SELF AWARENESS
The concepts of self and person are central to educational and therapeutic relationships. Self-awareness is an explicit concern when nursing. One needs to be aware of and able to examine any distortions between feelings, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. When dealing with child abuse, the nurse needs to be aware of his/her personal feelings towards the situation and remain congruent. This can be an invitation to expand their self-awareness and deal with the situation professionally. In being self-aware the nurse needs to remain unbiased and neutral to the emotions that she/he might have towards the situation. This can be extremely difficult and it is important to do this in a caring way that shows concern for both your feelings and theirs. (Balzer Riley, 2000) (Cook, 1999)
