The code of ethics for nurses serves to provide consistent, clearly defined ethical and moral obligations and responsibilities throughout ANA. Establishing a clearly defined and uniform code of moral virtues and values to adhere to, the ANA can expect universally and uphold the highest expectations, no matter the facility that the nurses may work.
Ethical practice is another component of the social contract of nursing which is a reflection of the values, beliefs and moral principles of the nursing profession. The American Nurses Association (ANA) has established the “Code of Ethics for Nurses” which serves as a “guideline” for the nursing profession in which clinical judgements and
As the nursing profession progresses throughout the years, its nature becomes more complex in meeting the professional standards and codes of ethics that are required by all nurses. The American Nurses Association has a specific code of ethics that each nurse should follow and adopt as their own beliefs. The public and the patients should be the priority when providing care in the healthcare setting. The knowledge and education that nurses’ gain is valuable and allows them to encourage health, avoid illness, restore health, and aid in coping for those who are all ill. (LeMone, pp.192) Given that the code of ethics is put into place, there are many registered nurses who violate these codes in various situations. The following will discuss
Provision 8.1 of the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics denotes that health is a universal right. The provision states, “the nurse collaborates with other health professionals and the public to protect human rights, promote health diplomacy, and reduce health disparities” (Lachman, Swanson, & Windland-Brown, 2015, p. 365). From chapter 1, the ethical theory that best fits provision 8.1 is utilitarianism. The ethical theory of utilitarianism theorizes “one should act so as to do the greatest good for the greatest number” (Baillie, McGeehan, Garrett, & Garrett, 2013, p. 4). This theory promotes a universal method because it signifies that even if a decision is made and does not benefit every single person; however, benefits most
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.
There are nine provisions included in the ANA code of ethics. The provisions can be broken into three categories. The first category is the nurse’s ethical responsibilities to her patient which is provisions one through three. Second is the nurse’s obligation to herself, provisions four through six. The third ethical requirement for nurses is related to their relationship to the nursing profession, community, nation, and world overall. This focus is summarized in provisions seven through nine [ (American Nurses Association, 2013) ].
The ANA is a professional organization that represents all the nation’s registered nurses. It helps the advancement of the nursing profession by issuing high standards of practice, and promoting the rights of nurses in the profession. The Code of Ethics is developed as a guide for carrying out nursing responsibilities, along with an appropriate quality in caring with the ethical obligations of the profession. Ethic has always been an essential part of nursing as nursing has a history of concern for the sick, injured. The Code of Ethics for Nurses serves these purposes: it serves
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).
According to Provision 8 of the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics, “The nurse collaborates with other health professionals and the public to protect human rights, promote health diplomacy, and reduce health disparities.” (American Nurses Association, n.d.). Therefore, nurses and other healthcare workers must set aside any preconceived notions about a populace in order to provide equal care amongst all populations. This includes patients who are HIV positive. Nurses and healthcare workers must ignore the stigma surrounding the disease and communicate effectively with these patients in order to assure prompt, compassionate treatment.
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
There are many different careers which entail much more than just a particular degree from a post-secondary education program. Typically, all careers have a specific code and level of ethics which are incorporated into the daily responsibilities one is expected to perform in their chosen field. For the basis of this paper, I have chosen to write about the nursing code of ethics. Nursing has a professional code of ethics along with the level/employee behavior usually being currently attainable, meaning that the behavior expected is normally exhibited by individuals. (Manias 508). However, although nursing seems to require behavior that is “normally” exhibited and tends to be one of the most popular medical fields, there are numerous amounts of ethical issues which have emerged in this field of work since the few being noted in Florence Nightingale’s Notes on Nursing. (Ulrich et al. 2).
Therefore, it is up to healthcare providers to be supportive of patient’s decisions and help them cope with whatever the outcome may be. According to the ANA Code of Ethics, “nurses establish relationships of trust and provide nursing services according to need setting aside any bias or prejudice” (http://nursingworld.org/DocumentVault/Ethics_1/Code-of-Ethics-for-Nurses.html). This means my role as a nurse is not to influence the individual’s decision, but to allow them to decide for themselves and respect their wishes. This quote from the Code of Ethics also supports the concepts of fidelity, autonomy, and beneficence. Fidelity is being loyal and supportive of our patients, while autonomy allows the patient to make their own decisions without fear of judgement from their nurse (http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/EthicsStandards/Resources/Ethics-Definitions.pdf). Beneficence is what I believe to be of the utmost importance in ethical situations, because if my patients cannot believe that I will be their advocate and treat them with compassion, then they cannot trust me and no relationship can be
I chose to analyze provision three contained in the American Association Code of Ethics. Provision three explores a nurses daily duty as it relates to patient rights as well as safety and patient privacy. In addition to other healthcare related responsibilities a nurse is effectively, a valuable patient advocate who must work to ensure that patients are treated fairly and competently, not only from the nursing staff, but all caregivers. (American Nurses Association). If a situation concerning incompetent care from other healthcare providers should arise, the nurse must assess issue on behalf of the patient and initiate action to have the issue corrected.
As nurses we are often expected to abide by a certain set of professional rules and obligations, as well as performing duties that we must follow. The field of ethics influences how we should treat each other, how we should act, what we should do, and why. The ANA code of ethics is a useful tool that helps guide nurses in everyday life and practice. When we are faced with an ethical dilemma the nursing code of ethics will aide us in making an appropriate ethical decision as well as caring for our patients effectively. The code of ethics for nurses consists of nine provisions and the accompanying interpretive statements. “It emphasizes the important qualities and responsibilities of a nurse (Provisions 1-3), distinguishes the limits of obligation
The Code of Ethics for Nurses was created to be a guide for nurses to perform their duties in a way that is abiding with the ethical responsibilities of the nursing profession and quality in nursing care. The Code of Ethics has excellent guidelines for how nurses should behave, however; these parameters are not specific. They do not identify what is right and wrong, leaving nurses having to ultimately make that decision. Ethics in nursing involves individual interpretation based on personal morals and values. Nursing professionals have the ethical accountability to be altruistic, meaning a nurse who cares for patients without self-interest. This results in a nurse functioning as a patient advocate, making decisions that are in the best