Code Of Ethics



Code of Ethics

Lisa

[Name of the Institution]

Code Of Ethics

Introduction

Code of ethics is a term used to represent guidelines that lay the foundations of the general form of professional practices. The nurses are constantly exposed to complex situations and with higher demand for concern, therefore the code of ethics primarily are core to the nursing practice. It is incorporated as an integral part of the nursing practice. Code of ethics evidently in nursing practice refers to the applied form of practice, observed evidently recurringly in nursing practice. the code of ethics in the nursing practice suggest that it values medical ethics, autonomy, and beneficence. Thus, the code of ethics is a set of rules with ethicals strings attached to serve those in medical misery. The code of ethics has been developed to give nursing a sense of practice. Code of ethics incorporates the norms and values of nursing practice and determines what is expected of them. It enables the nurses to actively participate in decision making, and evaluate their practice. Sensitive and receptive behaviors are the driving force behind the effective and productive implementation and incorporation of the code of ethics in the nursing profession. The code of ethics aspires nurses to pursue quality in nursing care through their application. the nursing practice requires the nurses to apply them to not only limit them to their practice only but extend their application at different levels from individual to health care, the community and the society at large. The code of ethics for nurses was developed by the American Nurses Association (ANA) to lay out guidelines for the nursing care practice. The ANA aims at achieving the responsibilities and obligations ethically and morally. It presents the nurses with the set of standards to bear while delivering the care to the patients especially their dignity and confidentiality CITATION Gas13 \l 1033 (Gastmans, 2013). The code of ethics is comprehensively nurse's own commitment to their profession and society.

Thesis Statement

The paper explores the code of ethics in the nursing practice and healthcare in reference to the code of ethics given by the American Nursing Association with prime emphasis on the Provision 3 its significance, validation, and implementation.

Discussion

It is established that the utmost and foremost duty of the nurses is to deliver their medical and health care services to the patient. However, how and in what guidelines will they provide these services is presented in the set of rules and ethics. In today's world nurses face issues in their professional practices due to the challenges, complexities, and persistence of constantly evolving issues in the field of medicine. The American Nursing Association established its first code of ethics in 1950. In recent years, the code has evolved from their primary focus on the patient to more collaborative, concerned and effective healthcare delivery by the nurses. Although the code of ethics has been revised twice in the past few years, however, the essentials and the core themes in the code of ethics for nursing practices remain the same. The recent document on the code of ethics by ANA is called the Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements published in 2015. The document integrates the ethics in the clinical state of affairs and practice of nursing. It includes the values, virtues, and morals along with the obligations an responsibility of practice CITATION LLO16 \l 1033 (LL Olson, 2016). In a nutshell, it is a document which presents nurses to formalize behaviors when they face moral or ethical dilemmas CITATION Win15 \l 1033 (Winland-Brown, Lachman, & Swanson, 2015).

The code of Ethics has nine provisions that outline the guidelines for nursing practice both in and outside of the working environment. The nine provisions include the dignity of patient, commitment to the subjects, advocacy to the rights of patients, commitment to the profession, accountability and evaluation of practice for further development, creation of conducive environment for both the patient and health care staff, constant application and adoption of latest literature, standards and health policies, collaboration with other medical staff to reduce health disparities and uphold human rights and lastly the nurses shall endorse the professional integrity through their practice of norms and incorporation of themes like social justice in their health policy. Developing a solid understanding and constantly practicing the standards displayed in the nine provisions help nurses excel professionally by reducing stress at the workplace.

Provision 3

The provision three of the code of ethics given by the American Nursing Association is as they state;

“ The nurse promotes, advocates for, and protects the rights, health, and safety of the patient.”This explains that nurses should provide health care by helping safeguard the privacy of their patient. they shall keep the details confidential to themselves and shall share only the aspects with other healthcare providers that are needed by them as per the provisions. The provision marks that the patient's information attained by the nurses shall be strictly managed and to be used only for medical purposes. The medical data attained from the patient shall be used with the patient's consent for research and academic purposes. The nurses shall provide the patient with all the required information needed by consciously informing the patient regarding the risks and concerns the patient shall be aware of CITATION Gai13 \l 1033 (Gail Keenan, 2013). This delegates the key role of nurses to gain informed consent from them. Provision 3 also enables the nurses to inculcate the knowledge and uphold standards CITATION Don01 \l 1033 (Donna Adams, 2001). This can be implemented by the nursing mentors and nursing managers who can ensure that the staff is sufficiently equipped with the required knowledge and is trained. Nurses can promote patient health by working together and creating an enabling environment in the workplace to ensure patients safety. This consequently helps in reducing health care errors, and in cases when errors do occurs nurses can have a presented guideline to handle it. The provision suggests that nurses remain actively involved in the health care of the patients in order to reduce unskilled unethical, illicit or ineffective practiced, and also by extending their services inside and outside the workplace so that the lives of patients could be saved more vigilantly. However, if the patient is unsatisfied and wants to change their nurse, their decision shall b respected. Provision 3 also incorporates that if a professional colleague is unproductive and ineffective in delivering their services they can b assisted and recommended treated by their fellow nursing colleagues. Any other violation against the standards of health shall be reported to the authorities so that particular amendments and actions can be taken to improve conditions. Provision 3 keeps the dignity, and the safety of the patients prime due to the nursing code of ethics however if the patient's demands and requests are illegal, unethical and violate the code of ethics for nurses, they can also report the patient's behavior to the nursing manager, or supervisor. However, in any other that there is a conflict between the patient and the authorities, the decision shall be taken in favor of the patient.

The nurses can achieve provision 3 by practicing nursing interventions keeping the respect of the patient at their center. Nurses shall adhere to the demands to healthcare and information regardless of the patient's race, color, sex, ethnicity, status, and physical abilities. Nurses shall implement up to date strategies. While presenting and communicating with the patients, the nurses shall indulge in a gentle behavioral and verbal manner of interaction, so that they can earn a level of comfort and trust CITATION Gai13 \l 1033 (Gail Keenan, 2013). Which would help the nurses better comprehend the patient's health status. Consent is important and prime to patients safety and informed decision making, however in an emergency situation, nurses are advised are o start intervention make a rightful decision to save the patients life.

Conclusion

As an integral part of nursing professional practice, the American Nursing Association has developed the nursing code of ethics in their nine provisions. It is developed to enhance professional quality n healthcare through setting goals and standards. These provisions help nurses recognize the complexities involved in their health care delivery and take informed and productive decisions to overcome complexities involved. The professional responsibilities demand to get in-depth involvement with the patents, therefore it is vital that the nurses keep accountability and valuation persistent in their healthcare towards the patients; it aids in sustaining standards and quality in their professional capacities. This code of ethics principles empowers and aid the nurses in taking gratifying decisions in compliance with ethical and moral elements of the social environment.

Keeping that in mind the ANA held that the nine provisions in the code of ethics serve as the most competent document for the nurses in order to eliminate the ambiguities and vague interpretation regarding their role and behaviors while delivering their health care services. In this regard, provision 3 safeguards the patient's information secure and enables the best in their regard to reducing the risk of health deficit by the healthcare providers i.e. nurses. However, constant and recurring development in the code of ethics with the ever-evolving challenges and complexities with the advancement in science and the medical issues shall also be pertinent to a better nursing care delivery.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Donna Adams, B. K. (2001). Professionalism in nursing behaviors of nurse practitioners. Journal of Nursing, 203-210.

Gail Keenan, E. Y. (2013). Challenges to nurses' efforts of retrieving, documenting, and communicating patient care information. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 20(2) 245-251.

Gastmans, C. (2013). "Dignity-enhancing nursing care: A foundational ethical framework". Nursing Ethics. , 20 (2): 142–149. .

LL Olson, F. S. (2016). The ANA code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements: Resource for nursing regulation. Journal of Nursing Regulation-Elsevier, 7(2); 9-20.

Winland-Brown, J., Lachman, V. D., & Swanson, E. O. (2015). The New 'Code of Ethics for Nurses With Interpretive Statements' (2015): Practical Clinical Application, Part I. Medsurg Nursing, 24(4);268-271.