NURS440 Issues and Trends in Nursing

Week 1 Discussion

DQ1 Describe one situation you have encountered where your actions were guided by the Nursing Code of Ethics. If you have never encountered such a situation, imagine a possible situation you could face in the future. Link this experience to one of the elements in the code of ethics found at http://www.nursingworld.org/codeofethics.

DQ2 Why is the impaired nurse neither praised nor looked upon with reverence like his/her peers?

 

MORE INFO 

The Nursing Code of Ethics

Introduction

The nursing profession is grounded in a set of ethical principles that guide the practice of nursing. These principles are outlined in the Code of Ethics for Nurses developed by the American Nurses Association and approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The code includes ten goals that every nurse should strive toward:

Primacy of the patient.

The primacy of the patient is a concept that can be tricky to understand and apply. It means that nurses should put the needs of their patients first, regardless of their own personal desires or wishes. Nurses need to be respectful of the rights and beliefs of patients and families, but they also need to remember that they are first responders who are trained in helping people with complex medical issues like cancer or heart disease.

The nursing code of Ethics states: “Nurses must give priority attention and respect for each person as an individual with unique values, beliefs, lifestyle choices, cultural backgrounds and circumstances.”

Nursing is a profession with a distinct body of knowledge and its own practice domain.

Nursing is a profession with a distinct body of knowledge and its own practice domain.

The nursing profession has its own code of ethics which provides standards for professional conduct in the delivery of services to patients, clients, families and communities. The code was developed by members of the American Nurses Association (ANA) as an essential part of their role as leaders in nursing education and practice.

Individual freedom, justice, and human rights must be respected.

It is important to respect the rights and dignity of patients. Nurses have a duty to report any abuse or neglect they witness, even if it occurs in their own facilities. This includes patients from other hospitals or nursing homes, regardless of whether the nurse is directly involved with them.

Nurses are also expected to respect patient privacy when administering medication or performing tests on them—even if those activities may seem harmless at first glance (such as taking blood pressure).

Each nurse has an obligation to participate in activities that advance nursing as a profession.

Each nurse has an obligation to participate in activities that advance nursing as a profession. This means participating in research, teaching and education, administration and policy development. Nurses also have an obligation to promote the health of their communities through advocacy or public service.

Relationships between nurses and clients are characterized by caring and mutual respect.

The nurses’ relationships with clients are characterized by caring, mutual respect and dignity. Nurses should strive to build trust and support the development of self-esteem in their clients.

The nurse has the responsibility for providing safe, quality care to all patients; respecting the rights of each individual member of society; treating everyone equally regardless of race or culture; avoiding any behavior that would compromise patient safety or violate professional standards for competence; encouraging self-esteem in patients through appropriate communications about their own strengths and weaknesses so they may improve accordingly as individuals rather than just as members within a group (e.g., families).

Proficiency in providing care is grounded in scientific knowledge, but it also involves intuition and aesthetic dimensions of nursing practice.

The nurse’s knowledge is grounded in the scientific principles, but it also involves intuition and aesthetic dimensions of nursing practice. The nurse should always be learning and improving their skills. They must be able to distinguish between fact, opinion and speculation; use their understanding of science to solve problems; apply their knowledge when making decisions about how best to meet each client’s needs; communicate effectively with clients (family members or staff) about what will help them achieve their goals; encourage everyone involved in caregiving activities including family members who may be caring for loved ones at home while they recover from illness or injury.

Collaboration with colleagues ensures continuity of high quality care.

Collaboration is a key component of the nursing process. Nurses need to collaborate with colleagues in order to provide high-quality care, and they must be able to communicate effectively with each other. The following tips can help you improve your collaboration:

• Communicate openly and honestly with your peers about any concerns or challenges you are having during or after treatment. This will allow them to offer support if needed and make sure that they know what’s happening on their end as well.* Listen carefully when others speak; try not only hearing what someone is saying but also understanding why it matters so much.* Avoid overly emotional responses such as yelling, crying or criticizing others’ work habits — these may lead others away from discussing issues openly rather than dealing with them directly through conversation instead

The nurse takes responsibility for professional decisions and actions.

You are responsible for your actions and decisions.

You are responsible for your mistakes and the consequences of those mistakes.

You can’t blame others for what happened, because they didn’t make the decision to do something wrong or they weren’t there at the time you made a mistake.

All nurses should have these goals in mind when they are providing care

To be a nurse, you should have these goals in mind:

• Be compassionate. Nurses are people too and they have feelings just like everyone else. It’s okay to admit when you don’t know what to do next or how someone else is feeling.

• Be knowledgeable about your field of work and its ethical standards so that you can help others without making mistakes yourself or putting their wellbeing at risk by doing something that doesn’t make sense from a medical standpoint (for example, giving someone an antibiotic when they need surgery).

• Be ethical at all times—including during your lunch break! Don’t cheat on exams; don’t steal drugs; don’t try selling out your teammates’ secrets for personal gain (even if those secrets include how much money will get saved by replacing an old filter with a new one); etc., etc..

Conclusion

We hope that this article has given you a better understanding of the nursing code of ethics. We know that it can be intimidating and tough to keep up with all these rules, but we hope that we have made it easier for you!

We now return you to your life so that you may continue on in blissful ignorance about all things related to nursing education or nursing care.