A Nurse’s Guide to Professional Boundaries

Nursing is one of the most intimate health care professions. They are connected to their patients as soon as they are admitted into their care right through until they are discharged into someone else’s care. With this, nurses have a strict professional identity and scope of practice to prevent a nurse from over stepping their professional boundaries. A nurses’ duty of care does go beyond the average healthcare professional but still does not impair the

Nursing is a career that is governed by a set of ethical principles. The duties of a nurse consist of care and support and its important that nurses are aware of their professional ethics. These principles are put into place to uphold and maintain moral values in healthcare. The American Nurses Association (ANA) code of ethics for nurses consists of nine provisions, outlined in the Code of Ethics for nurses with Interpretive Statements. These provisions are constructed to blueprint the role and responsibilities of a nurse. The chosen provisions being discussed will refer to the three main principles of patient autonomy, patient confidentiality, and patient rights.

A nurse owes a duty to her profession's own code of ethics. Patient autonomy, justice, and respect for patients' dignity are central to nursing practice. The Canadian Nurses' Association (CNA), through the publication of the codes of ethics for nurses, calls upon nurses to

Not all patients are capable of independently identifying and articulate their care needs, so the nurse also adapts the role as an advocate. Clarity and continuity in a trusting environment enables good communication. Progressive identification of needs takes place as nurse and patient communicate with one another in the interpersonal relationship (Peplau 1988, p. 84). Being considerate to the needs and vulnerability of patients is a moral attribute, as nurses are accountable for the care they deliver.

Fowler, M. D. (2010). Guide to the code of ethics for nurses: interpretation and application. Silver Spring, MD: American Nurses Association.

This assignment will explore and discuss the concept of person centred care in professional nursing practice. Person centred care is defined by Walton(2014) as offering care that is responsive to the patients’ preferences, needs and values and being respectful, in which patient values guide all clinical decisions. The personal relationships formed with the nurses, responsible for patients care will be extremely important. Nurses are well positioned to establishing partnerships with individuals and loved ones and they are central to the quality of care that is experienced. (Walton 2014). Professionalism in nurses describes the skills, behaviours and values common to those practicing medicine. The concepts include the maintenance of proficiency, for a unique body of knowledge and skill-set, cohesion to ethical code of conduct, accountability, personal integrity, a commitment to self-regulation, altruism and the use of discretionary judgement. (Young 2010)

I was eagerly waiting for my first placement to start because I knew very well that this is going to be a life changing experience for me both personally as well as a prominent stepping stone to my career as a nurse. I had many unforgettable experiences during this placement which provided me new knowledge and opportunities for self learning. But the experience described in this reflection was the most shocking and disappointing. This reflection is written on the basis of ethical values of maintaining commitments to clients and maintaining commitments to the nursing profession. The ethical value of maintaining commitments to clients is further explained by CNO (2009) as “,Nurses, as self-regulated professionals, implicitly promise to provide safe, effective and ethical care. Because of their commitment to clients, nurses try to act in the best interest of clients according to clients ’ wishes and the standards of practice. Nurses are obliged to refrain from abandoning, abusing or neglecting clients, and to provide empathic and knowledgeable care. The commitment to client also includes a commitment to respect family members and/or significant other(s), some of whose needs may conflict with those of clients.” CNO (2009) also suggest some behavioural directives to follow the value of maintaining commitments with client , such as putting needs and wishes of clients first ,advocating for maintaining quality client care and making all reasonable efforts to ensure that client safety and well-being is maintained during any job action.

Nursing is an occupation in which professionalism (or lack thereof) can have a significant effect on not only patients and their health, but the nurse’s relationships with colleagues, patients’ families and even their community. A nurse must exemplify professionalism, especially in an environment that creates increased risk for loss of life or further injury. There are many aspects that are involved with professionalism in nursing, and many expectations set up on the nurse.

The ANA Code of Ethics for nurses applies ethics and virtues to the nursing profession. Each provision of the Code of Ethics is discussed and clarified in order for the reader to accurately use the provisions in practice. Certain aspects of the protocol of the Ozaukee county

The image of nursing relies heavily on the aspect of professionalism. Nurses or midwifes know their profession is to “ensure that practice and the individual behavior or the person work in synchrony to ensure optimum person-focused care delivery” (NMC, 2015). The image of nursing is portrayed through the NMC code, consisting of guidelines for all of their nurses. Beginning with being accountable or practicing effectively, they must be problem solvers and accept a challenge when asked. Being an advocate and prioritizing people. Nurses should do this through emotional competence, resilience, impartially and compassion. Being a leader and promoting

This essay discusses public expectations of nurses, nurse-patient relationships and how to set their guidelines through professional behavior and professional boundaries, what they mean to nurses, and the connection between professional behaviour and professional boundaries.

As an individual’s ethics will play a large part in their practice, there are specific guidelines and legislation that exist to ensure that nurses, as well as other health professionals, practice in a way that is ethical (Avery, 2013). These laws further exists to attempt to simplify the ethical issues that sometimes present in nursing practice and to attempt to guide one’s actions. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) provides guidance to nurses by providing a number of professional codes and guidelines (Avery, 2013). The NMBA has developed a code of ethics for nurses comprising of eight codes (Avery, 2013). These are as follows; 1) Nurses value quality nursing care for all people; 2) Nurses value respect and kindness for self and others;

As an undergraduate nurse, I understand my obligations and duties, as well as knowing my limitations. I always work within my scope of practice, and I will not do things if I have not been trained to do it. I always follow the Principles of Safe Professional Practice, for instance, I am aware of the potential personal discomfort for my patients, involves personal contact or invasion of personal space, and I will avoid the sensitive and ethical topics when I communicate with my patients. Besides, I know nurses should establish and maintain the boundaries in their professional relationships with patients who are receiving care, as well as nurses should treat personal information obtained in a professional capacity as confidential and do not use

Even though demands on nurses grow greater and patient care becomes more complex it is important to value and dignity of each person. While taking care of N. I saw how unfair she was treated on the unit. Most of the time she was last to receive morning care and was deemed “difficult to work with”. The response to her call bell in the morning

As you can see professionalism and its responsibilities can affect a nurse, and his or her role in the