Nurses spend many years gaining the necessary education, licensure, experience, and certifications needed to deliver quality care to patients. While all those things work together to improve patient outcomes, it is the nursing code of ethics that guides all nursing professionals in how they must conduct themselves while on the job. Show Among other things, nurses must commit to following good moral values to ensure all patients receive equal treatment from practitioners. The hallmarks of ethical nursing include care, empathy, and respect for all patients. Most nurses already have a strong moral compass and desire to help others, which is why they chose the profession. Realizing that every decision they make can impact the health and well-being of their patients is part of the purpose of the nursing code of ethics. In this article, we will explore: History of the nursing code of ethicsOriginally called the “Nightingale Pledge,” the first nursing code of ethics was developed in the 1890s. Named after nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, the earliest draft of these guiding principles was a modified version of the Hippocratic Oath for medical doctors. Nursing graduates would recite the Nightingale Pledge at their graduations to publicly express their commitment to following ethical nursing practices. In 1950, the American Nurses Association (ANA) developed a more formal code of nursing ethics. This version originally contained four principles: autonomy, beneficence, justice, and nonmaleficence. In 2015, nine interpretive statements were added to the code to guide nurses more practically. Many states include the nursing code of ethics as part of their practice statements. Nursing professionals must check with their licensing board to determine if their intended state of practice is one of them. Considering the importance of the code and its legal implications, nursing professionals can expect ongoing reviews and revisions as needed. Four principles of ethics for nursesThere are four main principles in the original nursing code of ethics. Every nurse must commit to practicing them. Most undergraduate nursing programs include these principles in their curriculum, though at times it can be confusing. Let’s break each one down clearly and concisely. 1. Autonomy Nurses often serve as advocates for their patients, ensuring the protection of their rights. To be effective, nurses must recognize every patient’s right to self-determination. They must present their patients with all relevant medical information and treatment options, offering education about anything the patient does not fully understand. Nurses should include the benefits, complications, and potential risks of any medical intervention so patients can make well-informed decisions. A final piece to the autonomy principle is for nurses to ensure that the entire medical team follows the wishes of the patient. 2. Beneficence This is just a fancy way of saying nurses should act with compassion to promote the welfare of others. In other words, nurses must always do what is best for their patients. This goes above and beyond the commitment to “do no harm.” Beneficence involves the active practice of removing patients from situations that can cause them harm and present them with options that will help them. 3. Justice Nurses must care for their patients with the same level of fairness, regardless of their financial situation, gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation. 4. Nonmaleficence Not to be confused with beneficence, nonmaleficence means “do no harm.” It is one of the main principles of nursing ethics and similar codes of conduct for most healthcare professionals. Nurses must choose medical interventions that will cause the least amount of harm to the patient in the pursuit of a beneficial outcome. Nurse code of ethics interpretive statementsAs previously mentioned, the original nurse code of ethics was amended in 1950 to include nine interpretive statements. The American Nurses Association added the provisions to clarify the original four principles. Each of the nine provisions revolves around moral values and encourages nurses to always act for the good of their patients. The nine provisions are:
Practicing nursing ethicsPart of making ethical decisions as a nurse involves staying current on healthcare services and treatments. Many states require nurses to complete continuing education requirements to maintain their licensure. Nursing professionals can take advantage of Incredible Health’s free nursing CEU courses to keep their skills sharp and their patients at the heart of everything they do.
Share this: Facebook Twitter Reddit LinkedIn WhatsApp The International Council of Nurses and the World Health Organization defined nursing as a profession or practice that involves independent as well as collaborative care of all individuals, families, communities and societies, sick or well in all state of affairs. Nursing includes the promotion of health, prevention of illness, and the care of ill and provision of rehabilitative services to terminally ill patients and those living with disabilities to maintain the optimal health and the quality of life aspect in the definition of health (ICN 2012). Nursing is both art and practice thus making it a complex profession that requires vigilant competent and committed personnel to provide services to the public taking considerations to key nursing roles such as advocacy, promotion of a safe environment, research, and participation in developing and reviewing of policies and inpatient and health systems management, and continued education (ICN 2012). Like any other profession, nursing is governed by a set of ethical principles/requirements; high level of education commits to the professional code of ethics/code of conduct and to protect the interest of the public. According to Brown, (n.d.), the code of ethics for nurses focuses on the professional behaviour and on making sure decision making is client oriented as much as possible and outlines ethical responsibilities of the nurse. It is the responsibility of the whole nursing fraternity to have a copy of the code available at all times, know and understand the content, abide by the code as well as a duty to effectively and carefully practice their profession.
Get Help With Your Nursing Essay If you need assistance with writing your nursing essay, our professional nursing essay writing service is here to help! Find out moreIt is very important for the nursing profession to have and understand their code of ethics. This paper will discuss the code of ethics in details including the purpose and the implications of the code of ethics. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, (2018), refer to the code of ethics for nurses’ as an important document that outlines the legal requirements, professional behavior and conduct expectations as well as obligations for all nurses, in all areas of practice. The code further describes the principles of professional conduct guiding safe service delivery and clearly summarizes the conduct expected of nurses by their clients/patients, colleagues and the community at large (Lachman 2009). The code is developed such that it is in harmony with the country’s Law. The code consists of seven principles of conduct, grouped into focus areas “domains”, each with an explanatory statement and practical guidance to demonstrate how it is applied in nursing practice. Supporting the code of ethics is the expectation that nurses will use their professional judgment to deliver the best results in their area of practice (Gibbons S. & Jeschke E 2012 and Haddad & Geiger 2018). The code of ethics is a very important tool for nurses to have because nursing is a very complex and dynamic profession that deals with human lives; omissions, substandard of care and negligence are not tolerated. The code reminds nurses of their primary focus which is centered around the care and the rights of their patients. Limentani (1999) mentioned that when patients seek medical assistance they often feel at risk yet; there is a need to share intimate and vital information about their lives thus the need of the code to shape the behavior of the nurse as she/he takes care of the patient professionally. Nurses are expected to provide nursing care the correct way at the very first time they provide the service according to the code. The code should be ethical effective to provide guidance on managing ethical issues ‘dilemmas’ that might arise at the societal level, the administrative level, and the clinical level. According to the ICN (2012) an ethical effective code act as; a brief statement of the ethical obligations and responsibilities of every individual who enters the nursing profession, profession’s non – negotiable ethical standard and an expression of nursing’s own understanding of its commitment to society to avoid unnecessary misconduct. Nursing nationally and internationally is expected to function according to the code. LSUA, (2016) made it clear that patients have the right to make decisions about their healthcare and decide to accept or refuse treatment, however, they should expect to receive accurate and complete information about their conditions from nurses who are taking care of them and make informed decisions based on the information shared to them. While taking care of the client there are many ethical issues that the nurse may encounter where only the code can defend the practicing nurse thus it is very important in nursing profession (Zahedi, et. al 2012). Nurses should be observant of these ethical issues as they might sometimes conflict with the very same code of ethics, nurse’s values and beliefs resulting. Consideration should be made especially for the first four (4) principles (autonomy, beneficence, justice, and non-maleficence). According to Haddad & Geiger (2018), nurses should remember that all patients have a right to be treated fairly and equally while healthcare workers including nurses have a duty to refrain from maltreatment, minimize harm, and promote good health towards patients (beneficence). Nurses are also expected to assist patients with tasks that they are unable to perform on their own such as bathing a bedridden patient, keeping side rails up for a restless patient, and/or providing medications as prescribed and on time. Failure to adhere to the principles of the code may result in suspension from work, dismissal, lawsuits as well as forfeiting certificates by nurses. So it is for those reasons it is very important for nurses to be up to date with their code of ethics. The code of ethics for nurses is a guide for action based on social values and needs. It has meaning only as a living document if applied to the realities of nursing and health care in a changing society. To achieve its purpose the code must be well understood, internalized and used by nurses in all aspects of their work. It must be available to nurses throughout their work lives. List of References
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