The importance of a positive moral culture within healthcare organizations.

Organizations possess a moral agency that affects all aspects of the care they provide and reflects the perception of morality within the organization. In practice, the method in which moral agency is applied and maintained within an organization directly influences its moral culture. Organizations function through a series of systems that work dynamically to achieve success. In order to implement the systems effectively, all employees, at every level, are responsible for cooperating and working together to uphold the mission, vision, and values of an organization, thereby contributing to a positive moral culture. Considerations must be made at a high organizational level, as well as at each individual level within an institution. This ensures that at its core, a healthcare organization is considered ethical, and all staff, students, and volunteers within it are acting in accordance with the established moral belief system. By creating and maintaining a positive moral culture, everyone benefits: patients receive effective and compassionate care, employees experience a feeling of pride in their work, and the community being served develops a relationship of trust with their local healthcare institution.