Strengthening Nurses ' Moral Agency

following reflection for March 17, 2000: Synergy is everywhere in nature. If you plant two plants close together, the roots commingle and improve the quality of the soil so that both plants will grow better than if they were separated. If you put two pieces of wood together, they will hold much more than the total of the weight held by each separately. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. One plus one equals three or more. Covey's sentiment of strength gained from uniting separate roots resonates with AACN Certification Corporation's conceptualization that when synergy exists between patients' characteristics and nurses ' competencies, the outcomes are mutually enhancing.(2) The synergy creates something greater than the sum of its parts. The strength is not merely the result of an additive process. It is more than just the combination of two. Specifically addressed here is the suggestion from the Synergy Model that the nurses' competency of advocacy and moral agency practiced within a synergistic relationship would strengthen not only patients ' outcomes but also nurses ' moral agency. Within the Synergy Model, the competency of advocacy and moral agency is defined as working on another's behalf and representing the concerns of the patient, the patient's family, and the community.(2) In th