Should The Nurse Follow Their Code Of Ethics

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.

Healthcare organizations are committed to providing clients with quality service and experience while promoting safety, health, and healing. Nurses have the biggest impact in providing safe client care and are known for their commitment in improving or increasing client health. However, this ethical commitment may not always be met due to breakdowns in healthcare delivery. Deviations such as adoption of unsafe practices or behaviors can lead to sentinel events. Any disconnects or disruptions can be a detriment to client care. This paper will present recent cases of witnessed breakdowns of facility protocols that have led to adoptions of unsafe nursing practices, discuss its impact to healthcare, and how it has affected my personal perspective on the issue.

#1. According to Nursing Leadership and management ATI ethics is defined as an expected behavior of a certain group in relation to what is considered right or wrong. (Henery, McMichael, Johnson, DiStasi, Ball, & Holman, 2016) There are six ethical principles they are autonomy which is the ability of the client to make personal decisions, even when those decisions might not be in the client’s own best interest. The second principle is beneficence which is care in the best interest of the client. Third is fidelity which is keeping ones promise to the client about care that was offered. The next principle is justice which is fair treatment in matters related to physical and psychological care and use of resources. Then there is non-maleficence which is the nurse’s obligation to avoid causing harm to the client. The last principle is veracity which is the nurse’s duty to tell the truth. (Henery, McMichael, Johnson, DiStasi, Ball, & Holman, 2016)

The nursing code to ethics sets forth the rules that carry out the responsibility for nurses and also the ethical obligation nurses have for themselves and for the patients in their care. Within the code of ethics for nursing, there are four other ethical theories used including the Social Contract theory, Cultural Relativism, Categorical Imperative, and Virtue ethics; the first one I will discuss is the Social Contract theory.

Nurses should be enable to work with families their relatives and friends to promote highest level of health and well-being.

Ethics is an essential aspect of health care practice and those working in the nursing profession are often subject to frequent ethical dilemmas. It is essential for all nurses to be aware of the importance of ethics in health care and to practice within the ethico-legal parameters that govern the profession. However, while this is relatively easy in theory, ethics is not a black and white subject and often one’s culture, upbringing, attitudes and beliefs can influence what one views as ethical and this can therefore influence practice. This report will discuss the importance of ethics in nursing practice. The definition of ethics will firstly be presented followed

According to this case, a patient, who has not told his family that he has been living with HIV and AIDS for 14 years, has been admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. Before he fell into a coma, he disclosed to doctors that he did not want his family to know that he has HIV or AIDS. However, he does have a durable power of attorney, his brother, who has arrived at the hospital. Unfortunately, whether the doctor decides to uphold the patient’s request to keep the patient’s information quiet or decides to divulge information about the patient’s HIV and AIDS to his durable power of attorney, the doctor will have to break an ethical responsibility.

Ethics is an important aspect in nursing practice as it is used every day by the nurses to make decisions. It is the nurse’s responsibility to act as an advocates when confronted with an ethical situation involving the patient and their family members. A nurse’s values and morals can play a huge role when making an ethical decision. According to Mathews & Mathews (2015), Values are defined as “basic principles an individual uses to determine what he or she believes to be right”. Values help a person differentiate between good and bad.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) established the code of ethics for nurses to serve as a foundation for practice and nursing standards. Nurses that enter the field are educated on the code of ethics and its provisions that make up the balanced foundation that is used to this day. The code of ethics is to be honored by every nurse, and every nurse should know their ethical obligation to their patients (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2015). This approach encompasses how to deliver safe patient care and sets a guideline for the nurse to carry out duties in a professional, responsible, and ethical manner (ANA, 2015). Nurses have a trusting relationship with patients, family members, and even the community. Accompanying this relationship comes other responsibilities and ethical issues that can arise at any time. Nurses are required to make rapid decisions and think quickly, but when faced with a dilemma nurses should still refer back to the code of ethics in their practice to provide optimal care and prevent any malpractice errors (ANA, 2015). The purpose of this paper is to identify ethical concepts from the weekly readings that are discussed in the code of ethics; and analyze a personal experience to identify ethical concepts that support or challenge ethical principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence, honesty, justice, and respect for autonomy.

In today’s nursing practice and very diverse population there are many times when ethical dilemmas are encountered. The American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics is the moral and professional compass that guides nurses practice throughout the country. It consists of nine provisions with interpretations grouped into three general areas. The Code of Ethics is written by nurses for nurses to give directions in situations when ambiguous situations arise and difficult moral decision must be made. The nursing Code of Ethics is constantly revised and this paper will explore the changes that appeared in provision one published in 2015 compared to the 2001 edition.

The code of ethics for nurses provides a framework on ethical principles that nurses are supposed to follow while providing patient care. Under this code, nurses are not allowed to pry into information on patients not directly under their care, and they could not share any patient information to individuals who are not privileged to know such information. (American Nurses Association, 2015). Ethical issues related to electronic health records (EHRs) are extremely beneficial to clinicians, patients and an organization. This is because it not only increases access to health care, but it does reduce costs, improves the quality of health and care provided. The EHR is accurate to an extent, however its positive effects on productivity, should not underestimate the negative effects that ensues from using EMR. There are some Electronic health records that create conflict among several ethical principles. (American Nurses Association, 2015).

Nursing Ethics can be broadly described as the evaluation of all types of ethical issues within the nursing context (Johnstone, 2013, p. 141) or defined as a set of ethical principles and standards of conduct formed and adapted by professional nursing organisations (Clement, 2013). These ethical principles are to serve as guides to all nurses in evaluating ethical issues in practice and to aid the public in assessing the behaviour and conduct of nurses in their professional responsibilities (Nursing Council of New Zealand [NCNZ], 2012, p. 2). It is essential for nurses to uphold and maintain these exemplary standards of conduct along with a good understanding of ethics in order to prevent ethical mistakes and not to rush to judgment (Johnstone, 2013, pp. 138-139).

One of the most important responsibilities of a Nurse is to understand the ethical principles to promote patient safety, quality of care and avoid errors. In the profession of nursing, we as nurses must maintain the integrity, and respect the rights of human subjects. One of the protecting human subject rights includes the right to self determination. According to Burns and Grove (2011) “The right to self- determination is based on the ethical principle of respect for persons, and it indicates that human are capable of controlling their own destiny.” In addition, according to Burns and Grove(2011), researchers treat subjects as autonomous agents in a study if the researcher has (1) informed them about the study, (2) allowed them to chose whether to participate, and (3) allowed them to withdraw from the study at any time without penalty”.(Page 110). However, there had been several historical studies that conducted unethical practices and violated human right to self- determination.

Health professionals hold the commitment of providing quality health care to the society in order to fulfil the health concerns of the general population presented daily. Hence, health care practices are established on ethical principles concerning the life and health of human being accordingly. Its values place all obligation in which patients are protected from harm and hold individual rights which must be respected. Nonetheless, circumstances present, as expected, preventing health professionals to act according to ethical values and standards. The code of ethics for nurses highlights the many different principles, putting into perspective the philosophy of patient care.

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) Code of Ethics for Nurses has four principal elements that shape the standards of ethical conduct within the nursing profession. These elements include the people nurses take care of and come into contact with, the practice they take part in, the profession they belong to, and the co-workers they work with (International Council of Nurses, 2012). Within these elements there are three standards nurses should follow during practice: