Nursing Position Statement Analysis

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.

To begin the understanding of confidentiality, the author first provided readers with a formal concept analysis on confidentiality. He explained how confidentiality did not truly become a concept of interested until 1961, when the general nursing guides made a small mention related to the concept in regards to privileged

On that same day, the patient’s wife stated that her neighbor phoned the hospital to get information on her husband and information was given out. It is clear that the nurse who gave out information regarding the patient was in violation of 3.1, privacy and 3.2, confidentiality of provision 3 of the ANA Code of Ethics. It is the nurse’s duty to maintain all confidentiality and privacy of all patient information. (Nursing World, 2012) Information regarding a patient should only be given out to those who are dealing with the direct care of the patient. It is important for nurses to be aware of those who are not involved with the care of the patient.

I have taken into account; The code of professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses and midwives, I have gained and maintained individuals’ right to privacy and confidentially regarding the patients name and trust details (Nursing and Midwifery Council 2015 p. 6).

While advancements in technology have positively impacted the nursing field, it has also created huge concerns with patient privacy and sharing of protected health information leading to detrimental effects to patients and their families. Indeed, technology is changing the face of healthcare with positive innovations to reduce medication errors and documentation errors. However, technology at our fingertips has created immense concerns with sharing of protected health information of patients via social media, email and other means of communication via technology. This paper addresses why I feel the advancement of technology has numerous deficits that need more research and implementation of new laws and policies to safeguard the

Butts and Rich (1-26) point out that effective nursing requires both broad knowledge and a set of well developed abilities and skills. The required tasks, are many and varied and in order to do them properly, care must be taken to respect each patient's rights and sensitivities. This is why, according to the authors, nursing care must be guided by a code of ethics. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview and discussion of the "Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements" developed by the American Association of Nurses (ANA 1-2).

This Code of Ethics outlines specific principles that guide nursing practices as related to their patients, their communities, and to the health care profession. Provision 8 of the ANA Code of Ethics specifically states that nurses, along with other health care professionals and their communities, must work together to advocate for the protection of human rights and promote public health while reducing disparities within the health care system. The ANA also takes the stance that health is a universal right and must be recognized in order to promote and improve health and safety for all (“ANA,” 2015). Provision 9 states that it is the nurse’s duty to promote and communicate these values to the general public and to be vigilant of unjust practices within and outside of the health care system. In essence, nurses must organize and advocate to change laws or policies that promote public health and social justice (“ANA,”

Trust establishes a balanced relationship and increases its longevity. In nursing, trust is crucial in forming a therapeutic nurse-client relationship. Belcher & Jones (2009) states that with trust in a nurse-client relationship, the client can focus on restoring optimal health without doubting the care or information given by the healthcare provider (p. 143). The nurse-client relationship thrives off of trust because the nurse understands their top priority is to assist the client. If the client does not trust their nurse, it may lead to the client providing inaccurate or misleading information that may delay performing a successful diagnosis.

As a professional health care worker, the implication confidentiality breach regarding ethical dilemmas are significant to nurse and patient. The information disclosed can cause problems on a personal and professional level. Breach of confidentiality occurs when the heath care work discloses the patient 's medical or personal information without the patient 's informed written or verbal consent. Confidentiality is needed between the nurse and the patient to maintain a good open and honest relationship between both parties. There are several ethical implications regarding breach of confidentiality, for example,

I believe that trust plays an important role in nursing as it is closely linked with positive outcomes such that it aids in educating clients and lessening anxiety. This is achieved by enabling a safe and open environment between two individuals, particularly between nurse and client as well as nurse and their colleagues. In a nurse-client relationship, the establishment of trust allows free interaction where the client feels safe to express oneself thereby providing accurate information which ultimately enables the nurse to foster care appropriately to the client’s needs. In order to gain a client’s trust, the nurse would take risks and expose their inner self and show other attributes such as confidence, empathy, and loyalty. Also, trust

As healthcare providers, maintaining a patient’s confidentiality, human dignity and privacy is expected at all times. Nurses are faced with maintaining patient confidentiality on a daily basis. The Coded of Ethics for Nurses is the framework of nonnegotiable ethical standards and obligations that all nurses are to uphold. Nurses are to be accountable for their actions and are expected to advocate and strive to protect the rights, health and safety of patients (American Nurses Association, 2011).

Privacy is one of the fundamental policies and principles that should be adhered to by each professional nurse (Cileska, 2001). In addition, confidentiality is another equally important principle that should be observed by each of the nurses in the nursing profession. The reason for emphasising on confidentiality and privacy is meant to preserve the nursing ethics and to protect the privacy of the patients (Dickenson, 2004). Since most of the diseases are not meant to be exposed to the public, it should be the responsibility of each nurse to ensure that all patient information remains private and confidential this gives hope and trust to the

Nurses are subject to a plethora of legal, ethical, and professional duties which can be very challenging on a day to day basis. Some of these duties include respecting a patient 's confidentiality and autonomy, and to recognize the duty of care that is owed to all patients. As nurses our duties are always professional; however there are legal implications if these duties are breached. We also must consider when it is okay as nurses to breach these duties and therefore ethical issues arise. As nurses one of our main priorities is to advocate for our patients, without our own personal feelings on the matter taking over.

This essay will discuss why confidentiality is important within nursing practice and the reasons why a registered nurse and student nurse are accountable and to whom they are accountable to in relation to patient care. It will further discuss patient’s rights in relation to law.

At a practice level, the importance and guidance of the Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics and NPA are demonstrated on a daily basis with regard to the issues of documentation, informed consent and open disclosure, and confidentiality. With respect to documentation, nurses must be able to document patient assessments and responses in an accurate, comprehensive and confidential manner and record all observations objectively. Informed consent and open disclosure are also major legal issues nurses face daily. It refers to the communication between the patient and health professional that results in the patient's agreement to undergo a specific procedure and requires that the patient has thoroughly understood the procedure, implications and risks prior to giving written consent.