Professional Code Of Ethics In Nursing

Superior Essays
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

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Nurses are on the frontlines of healthcare delivery and they carry a responsibility for providing care to clients in the most ethical way possible. It is vital for all nurses to possess ethical knowledge so they may conduct their actions appropriately, diffuse tense situations, and give safe and efficient care in today 's changing world. In practical care, the question to answer is: “What can I do?” The answer lies in the context of ethical principles. Ethical care seeks the best way to provide care by using the best nursing function.…

    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to Universal Health Services (2016), in order to provide safe and quality care, we adhere to the following principles: continuous improvement in measurable ways, employee development, ethical and fair treatment of all, and teamwork. Respectively, these principles can also be found in the ICN Code of Ethics. According to the International Council of Nurses (2012) nurses must develop and continuously monitor a work setting that promotes quality care, establish systems of professional appraisal and continuing education, provide care that respects the dignity and human rights of all, and create a workplace that supports the common professional ethical values of every member of the treatment…

    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Introduction The role of a nurse has been changeable at best and its route into professionalism has been fraught with an arduous struggle to improve education and standards. When considering these standards it is important to examine the differences between regulatory and professional nursing agencies, to understand the code of ethics that guide nursing practice and to be able to effect the professional traits from this code of ethics into practice. During the evolution of nursing, various theories have developed.…

    • 2454 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ana Code of Ethics The American Nurses Association is known as a very important organization; it defines nurses as being the most important option in order to resolve or improve health problems for a patient (ANA, 2011). Also to diagnose, provide recuperative care, as well as being capable of educating patients, in addition to applying and performing care treatment always under the supervision of a doctor. American Nurses Association (ANA) is basically in charge of maintaining the ANA Nurses Code of Ethics as well as the human rights according to (ANA, 2011). It has different provisions through which assures and provides more credibility to nurses, by clarifying that nursing is not simply a profession, or just another job, unlikely it gives…

    • 1070 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Nurse leaders work under very stressful situations and these stressful situations can lead to ethical dilemmas which can create the potential for moral distress. Inadequate nurse leaders often fail to address ethical dilemmas which can put patients and their staff members in danger. True nurse leaders will have the courage to challenge people when they see healthcare violations. They are the ones that are able to see in ways that are out of the norm and then find solutions to help resolve these challenges. They must not be afraid to take the first steps in being a role model or help develop and practice moral courage in the nursing profession.…

    • 130 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The Code of Ethics (2010) was created by the NCNZ which acts to guide nurses in ethical nursing practice. InItheICodeIofIEthics (2010), the four different types of relationships that nurses have, have been acknowledged these are nurse to client, colleague, organisation and society. With use of the underlying values of ethics in nursing- Autonomy (self-determination), Beneficence (doing good), Non Maleficence (doing no harm), Justice (fairness), Confidentiality (privacy), Veracity (truthfulness), Fidelity (faithfulness), Guardianship of the environment and its resources and being professional-in relation to each of the relationships, a RN would demonstrate both a professional and ethical nursing…

    • 97 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nursing Home Care Case

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Additionally, neither a nursing home nor hospice would accept him in his present condition. The case is especially interesting because of the symbolic value of food and the plight of the patient who has no alternative to hospitalization. The hospital staff experienced considerable stress at having to care for him. They were uncertain whether their obligation was to respect his autonomy and continue to provide food or to protect his health by avoiding aspiration, pneumonia, and possible death by denying him food.…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The nurse promotes, advocates for, and strives to protect the health, safety, and rights of the patient. You tell the Dr. that that the brother did not want this, and refuse to give any blood. You cannot give the blood to the patient because it is in violation of the rights of the patient. He has a living will that indicates that he would rather die than receive a blood transfusion. The patient does in fact die and the brother threatens a law suit.…

    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When these attributes are exhibited, it becomes part of one’s identity. While it is admirable, for people in general, to encompass these attributes, it is not required. Nurses are ethically obligated to live out these qualities while attending to their patients, patient’s family, co-workers, employer, and surrounding community (Code of Ethics, 2015). As a nurse, one must make decisions every day that will impact someone’s life; because of this, they have an obligation to consider the significance of their actions as they relate to the patients under their care. Being a safe and effective nurse requires many skills and a higher level of understanding. Because medicine is constantly changing, a nurse has a duty to remain current on the most relevant evidence based practice.…

    • 1229 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Terri Schiavo Case Study

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This is somewhat a reminder of the Terri Schiavo case where the patient was in a persistent vegetative state. Her husband argued that she would not want to continue with artificial nutrition and requested that her feeding tube be removed. The patient’s parents argued against her husband and wanted to continue with her feeding tube stating that her medical diagnosis is not what it appears to be. This brought about many courtroom proceedings and even legislature before it was determined that her feeding tube was to be…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In my view, nursing entails giving quality care to patients while concurrently adhering with codes of conducts that are affiliated with the profession. The core values of nursing define the driving force that dictates my values and behaviors. These core values include honesty, responsibility, equality of all patients, the pursuit of new knowledge, the desire to prevent and alleviate suffering and the belief in human dignity. Nurses discharge their responsibilities and make their ethical decisions based on the framework of the ANA 2014 code of ethics. The main principles surrounding the ANA code of ethics can be categorized into, • Confidentiality, this is the protection of clients’ privileged information • Fidelity, exercising the protection…

    • 1072 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ethical Issues In Nursing

    • 1349 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Pamela Warrick once said, “The difference between moral dilemmas and ethical ones, philosophers say, is that in moral issues, the choice is between right and wrong. In ethics, the choice is between two rights.” In today’s world with much technological advancement in technology and medicine, nurses are faced with many key issues and problems in the course of their practice that have the prospective to significantly influence their career. A major issue that most nurses and other healthcare givers in general irrespective of department or unit encounter is ethical issues. These ethical issues, even though may sometimes attract vague scrutiny, nurses faced with problems such as ethics, no matter how little, often times feel uneasy, troubled, and…

    • 1349 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ethical Dilemma This case study shows an issue that sadly occurs in the health care field almost every day. This includes patient negligence from inadequate nurses providing unsafe patient quality care to nurses not receiving the support they deserve to allow them to provide the safe quality care that patients require. In this case, the health facility failed the nurses, the 40 patients, and Shirley especially.…

    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Nurses are faced with many ethical and moral issues on day by day basis. Moral, ethical, and legal issues are common in the work environment and vary from patient to patient. As a nurse leader, one must be able to take leadership responsibility to address the ethical issues that nurses face. Determining the framework to assist nursing in dealing with ethical issues is important. It is important to remember that ethical frameworks are intended to help leaders solve ethical dilemmas by clarifying personal values and beliefs (Marquis & Huston, 2015).…

    • 1266 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    When first beginning Leadership and Management in nursing I figured that my previous business management course would overlap with this course, but I was still curious in seeing how they differed. I was looking forward to learning about different situations nurse managers are presented with and how to address them in a confident and efficient manor. I wanted gain an understanding of what qualities, methods and characteristics represent an effective nurse manager. I was especially, looking forward to learning more about how ethical and legal decisions are made and what decision making skills are used in the process, how to effectively deal with other staff and motivates them, and about organizing patient care. I planned on using this course…

    • 1360 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays