NUR 502 Grand Canyon Week 2 Discussion 2

What is the role of the Advanced Professional Nurse in creating an ethical practice environment? Respond to this question, based on your selected APN role.

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The role of the Advanced Professional Nurse in creating an ethical practice environment

Introduction

As a well-trained and experienced Advanced Professional Nurse, you are not only ethically aware of the nursing profession but also have the expertise to apply ethics in your practice. As an APN, you have a role in creating an ethical practice environment for all members of your health care team by demonstrating respect for patients’ autonomy, beneficence and nonmaleficence. You must also be able to demonstrate justice through your actions and decisions regarding patient care; veracity and fidelity in working collaboratively with other nurses regarding patient care; and adherence to regulatory requirements such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Foundations of Professional Ethics-The APNs role in creating an ethical practice environment

As a nurse, you are an important role model for other nurses. You are responsible for creating an ethical practice environment that promotes patient safety and well-being, quality nursing care and continuity of care.

As the Advanced Professional Nurse (APN), your job is to provide patients with safe and effective health care services in accordance with the standards set by the hospital administrators or governing bodies. Your role includes providing education on how to keep patients safe during procedures or treatments; educating staff members about their roles within this system; monitoring compliance with policies regarding patient rights; taking action when necessary so that all parties involved know what they can do to improve quality outcomes within their own departments/units/units at every level of organization within health services organizations such as hospitals

Respect for Autonomy

Respect for autonomy is the right of an individual to make their own decisions. It is important to respect the autonomy of patients and their families, so it’s critical that APNs have a clear understanding of both ethical issues and the laws and regulations that govern nursing practice. In addition, APNs must be aware of ethical issues related to patient-centered care (e.g., professional boundaries) as well as legal requirements such as informed consent for medication administration (see Chapter 10).

The Code of Ethics for Nurses states: “Nurses should strive to promote health and prevent disease through competent care given according to established standards by persons who are knowledgeable about health problems [and] apply appropriate knowledge about human development in making decisions about healthcare delivery.”

The American Nurses Association defines several aspects related to this concept:

• Respectful communication between nurses & patients/families;

• Patient rights;

• The need for collaboration among healthcare professionals including nurses, physicians & other providers during patient care activities such as assessments or treatments;

Beneficence-Nonmaleficence

As an APN, you are expected to provide quality care to your patients. However, as a healthcare professional who works in an environment where all of the decisions made impact other patients and families, there is always a chance that something could go wrong—even if it’s unintentional.

As an APN, you must be aware of this ethical dilemma: providing beneficial care while at the same time harming someone else in some way or another (e.g., potentially killing them). In order for us as nurses working within this setting we need guidelines on how we can prevent harm from happening when performing our duties efficiently and effectively so that everyone benefits from what we do!

Justice

To meet the ethical standards of a health care provider, you must be fair and just in your treatment of patients. You should also strive to treat all patients with equal access to care, resources and treatment options.

You can do this by creating an environment where rewards and punishments are fairly distributed to employees who make ethical decisions on behalf of their patients. For example, if one nurse has been helpful but another has not been so helpful during a time when your practice was experiencing an increase in patient volume (a busy period), then you might consider rewarding that helpful nurse more than usual while punishing someone else who has been less helpful during this same period (because they may have been less available).

Veracity and Fidelity

To create an ethical practice environment, you must be truthful and honest with yourself. This includes the following:

• Being accurate in your information gathering. It is important to be thorough when gathering data to use in decision making or reporting back to patients, colleagues and others involved with care delivery. If you know that a patient has a condition that requires special attention (such as diabetes), then it may be helpful for you to ask questions about how they are managing their disease so that you can provide them with more individualized care if needed. If someone comes into contact with other patients who are also affected by this same condition through shared resources—such as meal plans or transportation options—then those individuals should also receive accurate information about what those resources will offer them in terms of assistance when interacting with each other during their time together at work/school/etcetera .

• Honesty in relationships with all parties involved; including yourself!

The APN must be continually aware of ethical issues, the laws and regulations that govern nursing practice and the professional code of ethics.

The role of the Advanced Professional Nurse is to be continually aware of ethical issues, the laws and regulations that govern nursing practice, and the professional code of ethics. These are all changing constantly. APN’s should also be aware of their own feelings towards these issues because they will have to deal with them at some point in their career or even as an individual professional.

The APN must also know what is expected from him/her by his/her employer as well as from other stakeholders in order for him/her to maintain a healthy work environment that promotes ethical behavior on behalf of patients, staff members and others who may be affected by certain actions taken by nurses; this includes co-workers as well!

Conclusion

The APN must be continually aware of ethical issues, the laws and regulations that govern nursing practice and the professional code of ethics. If a nurse is not aware or fails to take action when they become cognizant of a situation which may warrant changes in their practice, then they are not upholding the principles outlined above.