The term “values” is defined as collective ideas about what is desirable and undesirable in society and as a health professional student the focus is on the “desirable.” For example, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing strives to facilitate the development of five core professional nursing values.

• Human dignity: respect for the inherent worth and uniqueness of individuals and populations.
• Integrity: acting in accordance with an appropriate code of ethics and accepted standards of practice.
• Autonomy: the right to self-determination.
• Altruism: a concern for the welfare and well being of others.
• Social justice : upholding moral, legal, and humanistic principles.

The National League for Nursing focuses on four values to build a strong and diverse workforce to advance the health of our nation and the global community.

• Caring: promoting health, healing, and hope in response to the human condition.
• Integrity: respecting the dignity and moral wholeness of every person without conditions or limitation.
• Diversity: affirming the uniqueness of and differences among persons, ideas, values, and ethnicities.
• Excellence: co-creating and implementing transformative strategies with daring ingenuity.

The American Medical Association’s core values consist of the following:

• Leadership and Service: the stewards of medicine, caring advocates for patients and the profession.
• Excellence in all we do: the highest quality service, products, and information.
• Integrity and Ethical Behavior: the basis for trust in all our relationships and actions.

Comparing the dozen core values of the three organizations results in finding that “integrity” resides in all three lists. “Excellence” is within two lists and many of the definitions of the remaining terms overlap, thus reinforcing the “collective ideas about what is desirable” among health professionals.