Code of Conducts in Nursing
The roles and responsibilities of nurses are diverse but revolve around caring for the ill, aged, and the dying. The nurse’s code of ethics was designed to offer guidance in regard to the roles and responsibilities of their profession. Ethics is an integral part of nursing. The sensitive nature of their duties comes with numerous ethical challenges. The code of ethics provides the necessary guidelines that can be used by nurses to navigate through their careers (Mues et al. 2017). The code of ethics was developed by the American Nurses Association (ANA) and provided the professions’ ethical standards that out to be adhered to by everyone who joins the profession. The code also offers support to the nurses in theory professionals as well as reducing their distress.
The code of ethics in nursing is dynamic as it changes with the social context of the profession. The document is made of two main components, the provisions followed by the accompanying interpretive statement. Nine provisions define the relations between the nurse, between nurses and patients, between nurses and the management, as well as between nurses and the nursing society (Bao et al., 2016). The first, second, and third provisions entail the fundamental values and responsibilities of nurses. The following three highlight the boundaries of loyalty and duty. The last three provisions address the duties of nurses beyond their individual encounters with patients.. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The nine provisions include
Provision 1
The nurses are required to practice with both compassion and respect for the dignity of the patients without prejudice. This entails;
1.1 Respect for human dignity
1.2 Relationship with patients
1.3 The nature of health
1.4 The right to self-determination
1.5 Relationship with colleagues
Provision 2
The primary commitment of the nurse is the patient
2.1 Primacy of the patient’s interests
2.2 Conflict of interest for nurses
2.3 collaboration
2.4 professional boundaries
Provision 3
Nurses have a duty to advocate for, promote, and protect the rights, safety, and health of the patients (Mues et al. 2017).
3.1 Protection of the Rights of Privacy and Confidentiality
3.2 Protection of Human Participants in Research
3.3 Performance Standards and Review Mechanisms
3.4 Professional Competence in Nursing Practice
3.5 Protecting Patient Health and Safety
3.6 Patient Protection and Impaired Practice
Provision 4
The nurse has accountability, responsibility, authority for nursing practice, and the need to take actions that are consistent with their obligation in the provision of optimal care.
4.1 Authority, Accountability, and Responsibility
4.2 Accountability for Nursing Judgments, Actions, and Decisions,
4.3 Responsibility for Nursing Judgments, Actions, and Decisions
4.4 Delegation of nursing task
Provision 5
The nurses have a responsibility to promote safety and health, a duty they owe to themselves and the patients.
5.1 Duty to Self and Others
5.2 Promotion of Personal Health and Well-Being
5.3 Wholeness of Character
5.4 Preservation of Integrity
5.5 Competence and Professional Growth
5.6 Personal Growth
Provision 6
Nurses should establish and maintain the healthcare work settings to make it contusive to health care provision (Mues et al. 2017).
6.1 The environment and moral virtue and value
6.2 The Environment and Ethical Obligation
6.3 Responsibility for the Healthcare Environment
Provision 7
Nurses should take part in the development of their practice and professional standards and development (Bao et al., 2016).
7.1 Contributions through Research and Scholarly Inquiry
7.2 Contributions through Maintaining, and implementing standards of Professional Practice
7.3 Contributions through Nursing and Health Policy Development
Provision 8
The nurses work alongside other health professionals to protect and promote health diplomacy, human rights, and health initiatives.
8.1 Health is a Universal Right
8.2 Collaboration for Health, Human Rights, and Health Diplomacy
8.3 Obligation to Advance Health and Human Rights
8.4 Collaboration for Human Rights in Complex and Extraordinary Practice Settings
Provision 9
The profession of nursing must maintain the integrity of the profession, articulate nursing values, and integrate social justice principles into nursing (Bao et al., 2016).
9.1 Articulation of Values
9.2 Integrity of the Profession
9.3 Integrating Social Justice
9.4 Social Justice in Nursing and Health Policy
References
Bao, Y., Bertoia, M. L., Lenart, E. B., Stampfer, M. J., Willett, W. C., Speizer, F. E., & Chavarro, J. E. (2016). Origin, methods, and evolution of the three Nurses’ Health Studies. American journal of public health, 106(9), 1573-1581.
Mues, K. E., Liede, A., Liu, J., Wetmore, J. B., Zaha, R., Bradbury, B. D., … & Gilbertson, D. T. (2017). Use of the Medicare database in epidemiologic and health services research: a valuable source of real-world evidence on the older and disabled populations in the US. Clinical epidemiology, 9, 267.