Code of Ethics for Nurses - Essay Example

of Ethics for Nurses The of ethics is a set of guidelines that provide nurses with the ethical tenets of their job. This essay discusses the first eight provisions of American Nurses Associations Code of Ethics. The essay explores each provision briefly, giving the ethical virtues associated with each. I have given personal examples from my work experiences in the later half of my paper that duly emphasize the integration of ethics in daily practice. The focus of ethics in healthcare has intensified in consideration of advancements in technology like genetics (Smeltzer, Bare, Hinkle & Cheever, 2009). Code of ethics is a statutory set of written guidelines on which an organization bases the required ethical standards that its employees need to follow. Healthcare department follows a strict set of moral values that need to be observed by the professionals, mainly because of their diverse interaction with service users. The practice of professional nursing with medical proficiency encompasses the observance of ethical values that are tied to the profession. The American Nurses Associations Code of Ethics lays down a set of principles that provides an ethical model for nurses to base their conduct on. The analysis of the judgment made by nurses is referred to as nursing ethics (Fry & Veatch, 2006). The first provision highlights the sanctity of human life and makes it a binding on all nurses to show respect and empathy to his/her patients. A nurse is expected to appreciate the worth and uniqueness of the patients; the nurse and patient relationship should be free from stereotypes, prejudices and bias based on religion, color and creed as well as on the financial status of the patient, seriousness of the patient’s health and personal attributes. An unprejudiced attitude is reflective of the high regard a person has for other humans and is depictive of their compassion. A nurse is responsible for the emotional support and well-being of the patients and stereotypes would be detrimental to the nurse-patient bond that is of high significance in healthcare (Lachman, 2006). The second provision states that a nurse’s primary commitment is to the patient- whether the patient is an individual or group. A nurse’s attitude is reflective of the care needed by the patient. Nurses must also ensure that their professional attitude does not come into conflict with personal gains; also professional jealousy can compromise the quality of the care offered by the nurses. It is important to keep these in check because a patient is the nurse’s primary centre of attention. This reaffirms the honest nature of the nurse and his/her dedication to his/her profession- a dishonest and unconcerned nurse would not be able to provide effective healthcare. Professional boundaries, nursing care should be impartial to any considerations of fiscal returns and professional relationships should be healthy, with collaborative efforts to achieve optimum patient-centered care. The third provision emphasizes the nurse’s duty to protect and advance the rights of the patients. A patient’s right to privacy makes it a binding on nurses to ascertain that the patient’s privacy is not intruded upon; the nurse also needs to observe confidentiality of the patient’s affairs. A nurse is responsible for the health of the patient and therefore if any colleague is involved in malpractice, the nurse should report it to the senior authorities. Such an attitude attests the quality of morally strength and beneficence in the nurse; beneficence means that one ought to endorse good and shun harm (Lubkin & Larsen, 2006). Keeping the law aside, a nurse’s conscience can not let him/her permit any sort of exploitation or maltreatment of the patient. A nurse is responsible and accountable for his/her practice and this ideology constitutes the fourth provision of the Code of Ethics. A nurse should accept the moral responsibility of the job and should be acutely aware of the consequences of any sort of negligence or malpractice. Nurse who have managerial roles are expected to delegate task assignments justly and competently. Moreover, assessing the experience and competency of subordinate nurses, managerial nurses are responsible for the provision of an environment that is conducive to learning. If the nurse is honest to her job, he/she would not indulge in activities that would compromise her reputation and the quality of his/her service. The ethical duty of showing the same degree of respect to others as one does oneself forms the basis of the fifth provision. Like the way one would uphold one’s integrity, it is expected of colleagues to safeguard each other’s rights and integrity as well. Interprofessional relationships can only flourish if mutual respect is present. A reflection of the nurse’s kind and generous nature, recommendations by nurses to peers to improve their practice can contribute to effective teamwork. Every nurse should inculcate continual professional advancement in her practice since knowledge about innovations would help deliver better healthcare. Through collaborative efforts of colleagues, nurses should strive to maintain a healthy environment that encourages care delivery in line with professional ethics. This concept formulates the sixth provision. Excellence can only be achieved if the working environment is agreeable and motivating. It is also incumbent on nurses to promote quality provision of healthcare by interacting with peers and recognizing their worth and addressing issues that hinder the delivery of quality service. Striving to improve working conditions that would help other colleagues shows the selfless nature of the nurse. A nurse who is concerned with his/her own motives will not be bothered about other colleagues; his/her selfish motives will decrease her respect in the eyes of her peers. The seventh provision articulates the need to enhance one’s practice by acquiring knowledge and improving administrative capabilities. Professional advancement is achieved by active involvement in activities that promote professional values and by implementation of professional values. The nurse is active in fostering a core of professional knowledge (Cherry & Jacob, 2005). One can also serve as a role model to other peers and guide them in developing professional habits that will improve their conduct. A nurse who is dedicated to his/her profession and is not selfish will work towards better performance and would guide his/her colleagues as well. Inability to do so will deprive the nurse of professional traits. Teamwork is critical in healthcare settings as concerted efforts of the doctor and nurses can provide the best possible treatment to the patient and aid the patient in regaining health. The eighth provision stresses the importance of teamwork to achieve far-reaching effects. A nurse should not limit himself/herself to the patient only but also contribute to raising awareness in the community about health problems. By doing this, nurses will be working in achieving national and international objectives of improving healthcare facilities, delineating the selfless and philanthropist nature of the nurses. My work experiences as a nurse have taught me the importance of developing and incorporating ethics in my practice. Commitment to work is of the utmost importance. By being committed to my work, I gained respect in the eyes of my team leader. I used to attend my patients with compassion and assiduously performed all nursing tasks, trying not to procrastinate. My meticulous nature and adherence to rules kept me out of trouble. Therefore with time, I was given promotion and was made the head of the nurses’ team. Working as the head of the team increased my responsibilities. I used to delegate tasks to nurses according to their competencies so that their practice could be a productive learning experience for them. Also, I had to make sure that the nurses did not slack behind in their tasks and encouraged them at little accomplishments. I was prompt to resolve any conflicts between the nurses so as to diffuse any unpleasant tensions that would otherwise disrupt the working environment and compromise the performance of the nurses. Thus during my time as the team head, I was able to successfully maintain the team and achieve shared goals of healthcare. However, despite my efforts to nourish healthy relationships with peers, professional jealousy and competition took its roots. Once in a kidney transplant operation, my team had to work with the nurses’ team from the nephrology department. An exchange of harsh words with one of the nephrology nurse led to a clash of interests between the two teams. Each team tried to deter the other team’s progress; low collaborative teamwork led to the subsequent reduction in the quality of healthcare provided to the patient. Therefore, realizing the gravity of the situation, I had a meeting with my team and on general consensus we apologized for our behavior to the nephrology team. Hence it can be concluded that ethics part an integral core of nursing practice and an inability to observe them can lead to dire consequences. For a nurse, it is essential to commit oneself to the patients, with due respect to peers and sustain a healthy working environment. A nurse must also take into account the moral obligations of her actions. Collaborative teamwork is essential and continual advancement of profession should also from the basis of the nurse’s ideology in order to be a successful professional. References Cherry & Jacob (2005) Contemporary nursing: issues, trends, & management. Missouri: Elsevier Health Sciences. Fry, S. T. & Veatch, R. M. (2006) Case studies in nursing ethics. Jones & Bartlett Learning Lachman, V. D. (2006). Applied ethics in nursing. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company. Lubkin, I. M. & Larsen, P. D. (2006) Chronic illness: impact and interventions. Massachusetts, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Smeltzer, S. C., Bare, B. G., Hinkle, J. L. & Cheever, K. H. (2009) Brunner & Suddarths Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Volume 1. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Read More