Essay On Ethical Issues In Nursing

Nursing practice is the foundation on which we provide competent care to patients. The guidelines we follow to provide safe, compassionate, competent, and ethical care are outlined in the Code of Ethics (Canadian Nurses Association, 2008). This code guides nurses in the minimum care that we should provide to our patients. Nursing practice needs The Code of Ethics to help teach nurses the kind of care we should be providing, and to also help when we face an ethical situation that needs resolving. It is an important tool to use when dealing with social issues. The code also gives input where ethical decisions may be blurred. There are many global issues that make the ethics of nursing more complicated due to an individuals’ beliefs and values. The Code of Ethics is essential to nursing practice not only for guidance on ethical experiences but also for the ever changing profession of nursing through both global issues and controversial medical advances. Firstly, the Code of Ethics provides insight into ethical experiences that nurse’s encounter during their practices. These ethical experiences include ethical problems, uncertainty, dilemmas, distress, residue, …show more content…
As nurses it can be difficult to work with children with whom their parents are highly involved in the decision making process. Children have opinions that do not always agree with their parents decisions, and as nurses we can’t allow our ethics and values to impair our nursing practice. Dealing with children also means dealing with their families as well. Adults are not expected to consult with their parents and health care professionals the way that children are expected to. We must adjust our standards to treat people with the best care possible, which is another reason that the code is useful for when our judgements become unclear due to personal social