Professional Code of Ethics in Relation to Nursing
Each passing day, decisions are made that require the guidance and support that ethics provides in order to address situations with fairness. All professional arenas are expected and required to uphold standards that are centered on ethical principles. Ethics, according to Baillie, H., McGeehan, J., Garrett, T., & Garrett, R. (2013), “seeks to determine how human actions may be judged right or wrong” (p. 1). As nursing students, we are taught to regard every human being we care for in an ethical manner that does not threaten their dignity. With that in mind, the American Nurse Association (ANA) has developed a standard nursing code of ethics. The nursing profession stands on nine provisions …show more content…
I was caring for a patient who was suffering from a debilitating illness that eventually caused her to be bedridden and have the mind of a one year old child. Her brother, who was her legal surrogate, requested a swallowing test to determine her ability to eat (she had not eaten in three days). Unfortunately, she was unable to swallow the apple sauce and was denied any food by mouth for fear of aspirating. The nutritionist recommended putting the patient on Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN). The brother, however, denied the recommendation. After thoroughly educating the brother about the importance of TPN and dangers of denying TPN, the brother finally agreed. Although the patient was considered “brain dead”, she had an advanced directive (AD) stating her wishes which was proved that she was still a human being who was adamant about her quality of life and autonomy. Being the nursing student on her case, it was interesting watching the process of all health care providers informing the surrogate about TPN feeding, but also respecting any decision that the brother would make. None of the health care providers forced the brother to make the decision of accepting the feeding. He was given as much time as he needed to contemplate the decision. He made the decision without the influence of others but solely the overall well-being of his dear sister. …show more content…
The ANA (2015) defines virtue as “…universal, learned, and habituated attributes of moral character that predispose persons to meet their moral obligations; that is, to do what is right” (p. 23). In week three, we discussed the difference between beneficence and nonmaleficence. According Baillie et al. (2013), it states that beneficence is to “do good” and nonmaleficence is to “avoid evil”. Upholding these standards come with limitations when faced with ethical issues that make require compromise. This compromise is also known as the principle of proportionality which ultimately contradicts the belief of doing all good or avoiding all evil (Baillie et al., 2013). As nurses, we stand strong on these principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence. These principles guide our practice in quality of patient care and safety. It is our responsibility as nurses to not only hold ourselves accountable but to also hold our coworkers accountable when caring for our patients. When virtues are neglected, the patient is at great risk for harmful
Each passing day, decisions are made that require the guidance and support that ethics provides in order to address situations with fairness. All professional arenas are expected and required to uphold standards that are centered on ethical principles. Ethics, according to Baillie, H., McGeehan, J., Garrett, T., & Garrett, R. (2013), “seeks to determine how human actions may be judged right or wrong” (p. 1). As nursing students, we are taught to regard every human being we care for in an ethical manner that does not threaten their dignity. With that in mind, the American Nurse Association (ANA) has developed a standard nursing code of ethics. The nursing profession stands on nine provisions …show more content…
I was caring for a patient who was suffering from a debilitating illness that eventually caused her to be bedridden and have the mind of a one year old child. Her brother, who was her legal surrogate, requested a swallowing test to determine her ability to eat (she had not eaten in three days). Unfortunately, she was unable to swallow the apple sauce and was denied any food by mouth for fear of aspirating. The nutritionist recommended putting the patient on Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN). The brother, however, denied the recommendation. After thoroughly educating the brother about the importance of TPN and dangers of denying TPN, the brother finally agreed. Although the patient was considered “brain dead”, she had an advanced directive (AD) stating her wishes which was proved that she was still a human being who was adamant about her quality of life and autonomy. Being the nursing student on her case, it was interesting watching the process of all health care providers informing the surrogate about TPN feeding, but also respecting any decision that the brother would make. None of the health care providers forced the brother to make the decision of accepting the feeding. He was given as much time as he needed to contemplate the decision. He made the decision without the influence of others but solely the overall well-being of his dear sister. …show more content…
The ANA (2015) defines virtue as “…universal, learned, and habituated attributes of moral character that predispose persons to meet their moral obligations; that is, to do what is right” (p. 23). In week three, we discussed the difference between beneficence and nonmaleficence. According Baillie et al. (2013), it states that beneficence is to “do good” and nonmaleficence is to “avoid evil”. Upholding these standards come with limitations when faced with ethical issues that make require compromise. This compromise is also known as the principle of proportionality which ultimately contradicts the belief of doing all good or avoiding all evil (Baillie et al., 2013). As nurses, we stand strong on these principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence. These principles guide our practice in quality of patient care and safety. It is our responsibility as nurses to not only hold ourselves accountable but to also hold our coworkers accountable when caring for our patients. When virtues are neglected, the patient is at great risk for harmful