The Canadian Nurse's Code Of Ethics

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) states that all nurses must support a patients’ rights to be involved in decisions about their own care, it is extremely important to give sufficient information to

Healthcare organizations are committed to providing clients with quality service and experience while promoting safety, health, and healing. Nurses have the biggest impact in providing safe client care and are known for their commitment in improving or increasing client health. However, this ethical commitment may not always be met due to breakdowns in healthcare delivery. Deviations such as adoption of unsafe practices or behaviors can lead to sentinel events. Any disconnects or disruptions can be a detriment to client care. This paper will present recent cases of witnessed breakdowns of facility protocols that have led to adoptions of unsafe nursing practices, discuss its impact to healthcare, and how it has affected my personal perspective on the issue.

The ANA code of ethic states that patients have the inherent right for self-determination thus guaranteeing patient’s their right to make their own decisions regarding their health (Association, 2001). This right to make autonomous decisions has been passed to parents if the patient is a minor. The mothers’ decision to side with her daughter saying that she is mature enough to make her own healthcare decisions raises further questions on the teenager’s ability to make appropriate

Informed consent, by definition, requires the administering health care provider to disclose appropriate information to a competent patient, and allow that patient sufficient time to choose, voluntarily, whether to accept or refuse treatment (Appelbaum, 2007). For children, the law upholds an inability to provide their own informed consent as they lack the decisive ability inherent in consent (Appelbaum, 2007). Thereby, for children, a proxy, as determined by the state laws, chooses the course of treatment on their behalf (Appelbaum, 2007). Furthermore, for children of, an undesignated, reasonable age, a consultation about assent, or willingness for acceptance of treatment or care, should follow a guardian’s decision (Appelbaum, 2007). Responsibility

In recent years, the controversy of parental rights in the refusal and consent to medical treatment for their child is at the forefront. It is generally agreed that the parents’ rights to consent or refusal of treatment should be limited to those decisions that are in the child’s best interest. Yet the notion of “best interests” is very difficult to determine and define. Although parents have the legal obligation to ensure the welfare of their child and to not take actions that may cause them harm, the medical decision making process has particular ambiguity. For instance, what types of decisions

Child right in health care decision-making has been promoted by the International Council for Nurses (ICN) as it supports the declaration of the right of the child in full compliance to the UNCRC. The ICN is committed to uphold the opinions as outlined in the convention including promoting the rights of the child in health care setting, and participation

Consent gives healthcare practitioners the obligation to serve treatment. Consent must be obtained by nurses prior to providing any treatment to patients of all ages, excluding emergency circumstances. Patients can provide consent freely if they maintain the competency. This assignment has been exploring consent in adult and child nursing fields and observing the differences and similarities, in relations to the implications of consent. This assignment has analysed and evaluated the impacts on consent in associations to advantages, problems avoided and limitations that may exist.

Nursing is an all encompassing profession in which practitioners are not only proficient in technical medical functionality, they also have the obligation to remain compassionate and respectful of patients and as such are expected to adhere to pre established codes of ethics. Of these ethics, autonomy is of extreme importance as it offers patients a sense of personal authority during a time where they may feel as if their lives, or at the very least their health, is no longer under their control. Autonomy in the context of nursing allocates the patient and often their family with the final word on the course of treatment. The concept of patient autonomy is a highly variable subject in all fields of health care. It is a universal concept that varies widely in its meaning and interpretation. Autonomy in its simplest form can be defined as a state of independence or self governing (Atkins, 2006). Patient autonomy can also be defined as the ability to make once own decisions, based on one’s sound judgment. It is defined by the American Nurses Association (ANA, 2011) as the "agreement to respect another 's right to self determine a course of action; support of independent decision making." This seemingly straight forward ethical concept is rife with difficulties when one considers potential disagreements that may arise even when informed consent is provided, particularly among children or vulnerable people. Relevant research and

In modern medical ethics, patient autonomy is largely believed to be a major principle when making decisions about an individual’s health. It allows patients to have the right to practice their autonomy willfully and freely. Children and mainly adolescents have the right to take part in medical decision making to some degree. In most cases, the parent, child, and doctor are all in agreement, but this may not always be the case in some situations, instigating physicians to face problems and practice their ethics. No patient should be treated as incapable to make decisions based on mental immaturity unless his or her irrationality or mental immaturity is proven.

But in doing so, in taking full control over the adolescents “life and health” medical decisions the parents might not knowingly know that they are causing more suffering or pain to their child. One example is B.C case a sixteen year old who would tell his parents who after realizing his health was deteriorating rapidly mentioned to them how he did not want to be placed on a ventilator, even though his parents refused to talk about the outcome of such decisions. Nonetheless after his “pulmonary tests deteriorated rapidly” even after B.Cs wishes to not be placed on a ventilator his parents still placed him on one. Because his wishes were not respected B.C was later found unconscious and unresponsive after a failed suicide attempt which then after his suicide attempt his parents then respected his wishes and when B.C was brought to the hospital his parents requested on his behalf that a do not resuscitate be performed. Because of the parents wanting to decide for B.C who is the one personally dealing with the illness and not the parents they prolonged his life but they also prolonged his suffering which then lead him to try and end his life. It is hard for a parent to hear their kid say they would like to

There are many legal and ethical situations that healthcare providers will be faced with when providing medical treatment to either a child or an elderly adult. While there is often much discussion regarding the elderly and do not resuscitate orders, there are often times when the decisions for health care of a child may be overlooked. Some of the legal issues that may be faced by healthcare professionals are informed consent, confidentiality, reproductive services and child abuse. Patients have the right to decide what is done to their own bodies, but for children under eighteen, their parents decide for them. A major issue faced by healthcare professionals is parental refusal for treatment. Healthcare providers will be faced with many conflicting ethical and legal situations regarding refusal of a minor’s healthcare and treatment. These issues

Codes of ethics contain a coherent set of normative principles underlying a nurse’s purpose and associated values (Vanlaere and Gastmans, 2007). Two perspectives of ethics are the ethics of justice and the ethics of care (Botes, 2000). The ethics of justice constitutes an ethical perspective in terms of which ethical decisions are made on the basis of universal principles and rules, and in an impartial and verifiable manner with a view to ensuring the fair and equitable treatment of all people (Botes, 2000). The ethics of care, on the other hand, constitutes an ethical approach in terms of which involvement, harmonious relations and the needs of others play an important part in ethical decision making in each ethical situation (Botes, 2000).

Medical decisions can be extremely challenging for people to make, especially without any former medical training. A case where a child was treated for meningitis without parent consent has come to light and brought with it many questions. Do doctors have the right to treat children without parent consent? Should parents lose the ability to consent if they are not making the proper choices? How can parents make these choices without any prior medical knowledge? From an ethical standpoint, there is no right answer, however both the doctor and parents should be held responsible and hospitals need reform with regards to ethics and ethical decisions.

The Code of Ethics for Nurses has nine provisions and is used for the following purposes: a succinct statement of the ethical values, obligations, duties and professional ideals of nurses, as the profession’s non-negotiable ethical standard, and as a way for nurses to express their own understanding and commitment to society (Code of Ethics for Nurses, 2015). The provisions were written to provides guidelines for safe and compassionate care. The first provision is that nursing should show compassion and respect for each patient; “the nurse practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and unique attributes of every person” (Code of Ethics for Nurses, 2015). The second provision states that nurses should put the patient first, stating “the nurse’s primary commitment is to the patient, whether an individual,

The topic that will be researched is medical decision making, more specifically involved with the autonomous rights in adolescents, as well as their capacity to make there own medical decisions. This will include research about the ethics and the morals behind allowing adolescents to make there own medical decisions. I will also explore legal context involved including minor rights, and the legal extent of involvement the patient, the family, and the doctors are allowed. I will also research the emotional and psychological factors involved. More specifically how emotion and information processing is altered due to high stress situations caused by life threatening