臨床護理實務是對遭受災難、生病而致身心受苦的人，運用護理專業知能、同理心、道德判斷等，使其從苦痛中解脫，故護理工作具神聖的使命。依儒家的義理，道德的實踐乃表現於日常行動中，而護理人員於面對病人時，湧起不忍之心，傾盡專業知能去照護病人，正是道德心的展現。北宋學者張載提出著名的「天道性命相貫通」論點，正可適切地說明護理的神聖工作使命。張載認為道德心是人人本有的，是上天賦予的，只是人易受感官私欲所牽絆而不顯現，需靠「修養」以展現道德心。近期的國外文獻已廣泛地討論護理的價值與意義，以及如何促進道德能力，這些對張載的「天道」與「性命」之相關，提供了許多支持性的論點，期使護理人員提升自我的價值感，使病人得到合適的照護。

Clinical nursing practice uses professional nursing techniques, empathy, and moral judgment to help relieve the pain of patients who are suffering physically or mentally from trauma or illness. Thus, nursing involves sacred tasks. According to Confucian reasoning, morality is expressed through everyday actions. Providing care to patients arouses concern and sympathy in the caregiver, which induces him or her to fully apply professional knowledge to this task. This conduct demonstrates the moral conscience of nurses. The Chinese adage “Tian-tao hsing-ming hsiang kuan tung” (the way of heaven and life are correlated), attributed to Northern Song dynasty scholar Zhang Tsai, aptly explains the sacred mission of the nursing profession. Zhang held that all humans are born with a conscience that is given by heaven. However, human senses and desires may suppress this conscience. As Zhang Tsai suggested, the conscience must be cultivated in order to be manifested. The increase in recent years of international academic discussion / research related to the value and meaning of nursing and of exploration into how to promote the moral competence of nurses, not only provide support to Zhang’s argument that “tian-tao” and “hsing-ming” are correlated but also provide positive momentum toward enhancing the self-worth of nurses and enabling patients to receive better care.