The Importance Of The American Nurses Association Code Of Ethics

Nursing is a career that is governed by a set of ethical principles. The duties of a nurse consist of care and support and its important that nurses are aware of their professional ethics. These principles are put into place to uphold and maintain moral values in healthcare. The American Nurses Association (ANA) code of ethics for nurses consists of nine provisions, outlined in the Code of Ethics for nurses with Interpretive Statements. These provisions are constructed to blueprint the role and responsibilities of a nurse. The chosen provisions being discussed will refer to the three main principles of patient autonomy, patient confidentiality, and patient rights.

Nurses face numerous challenges in their daily advocacy duties. Some physicians may not respond to nurses in a timely manner as they prioritize their task differently (Mendes & Ventura,2016). Additionally, institutional limitation frequently makes barrier for nursing to be able to advocate for patients (Mendes & Ventura,2016). Some professional who support nursing advocacy believe nurses should have higher autonomy to protect the patient in better way (Mendes & Ventura,2016). Nursing ethics constantly deals with challenges to freedom of practice, especially in hospital settings.

Ethical practice is another component of the social contract of nursing which is a reflection of the values, beliefs and moral principles of the nursing profession. The American Nurses Association (ANA) has established the “Code of Ethics for Nurses” which serves as a “guideline” for the nursing profession in which clinical judgements and

The nursing profession has not always been a moral and ethical profession; however Florence Nightingale achieved nursing standards and brought professionalism to nursing. Many organizations have a code of ethics to guide professional standards, policy and practice; nursing is one of those organizations. Nursing is a large, worldwide profession whose role and standard of care varies by location. This journal will examine the similarities and differences between three nursing organizations code of ethics: Canadian Nurses Associated (CAN), the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and the American Nursing Association (ANA). This journal will also review the Iowa Board of Nursing disciplinary practices and penalties.

A nurse owes a duty to her profession's own code of ethics. Patient autonomy, justice, and respect for patients' dignity are central to nursing practice. The Canadian Nurses' Association (CNA), through the publication of the codes of ethics for nurses, calls upon nurses to

Today nurses in all roles participate in ethical decision making arising from mortality, relationships, and conduct issues surrounding patient care and families. This is particularly the situation with ethical issues involving pediatrics and those unable to take their own decisions. While the patients’ interests should come first, there are many other factors that come into play when providing pediatric patient care: parents’ knowledge, cultural and religious practices, and the pediatric patient’s knowledge of their disease. Therefore, it is essential for nurses to follow the American Nurses Association (ANA) code of ethics to carry out nursing responsibilities in a manner consistent with quality in nursing care and the ethical obligations of the profession. In this paper I will discuss the ethical issues that deal with a fourteen year old boy with Cystic Fibrosis (C.F.). He has been faced with the proposition from his pulmonologist that he will not survive another acute respiratory distress attack and will have to intubated if his status deteriorated. However, he and his parents are not agreeing on whether or not he should be intubated if his status deteriorated with his next attack. This poses a huge ethical dilemma because as a nurse we are the patient’s advocate and need to do everything we can to make our patient comfortable as well as having the parents understand and accept the patient wants and desires.

Provision 8.1 of the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics denotes that health is a universal right. The provision states, “the nurse collaborates with other health professionals and the public to protect human rights, promote health diplomacy, and reduce health disparities” (Lachman, Swanson, & Windland-Brown, 2015, p. 365). From chapter 1, the ethical theory that best fits provision 8.1 is utilitarianism. The ethical theory of utilitarianism theorizes “one should act so as to do the greatest good for the greatest number” (Baillie, McGeehan, Garrett, & Garrett, 2013, p. 4). This theory promotes a universal method because it signifies that even if a decision is made and does not benefit every single person; however, benefits most

The American Nursing Association (ANA) is a professional organization that supports over 3.1 million nursing professionals in the areas by providing high standards of nursing practice, supporting the rights of nurses in the workplace, exhibiting a progressive and sincere view on nursing, and by raising awareness regarding regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public. (American Nurses Association, 2013) In 2001, the ANA presented its updated version of the Code of Ethics for the nursing field. (Bosek & Savage, 2007, p.57) The Code of Ethics contains nine provisions which illustrate the responsibilities

The ANA is a professional organization that represents all the nation’s registered nurses. It helps the advancement of the nursing profession by issuing high standards of practice, and promoting the rights of nurses in the profession. The Code of Ethics is developed as a guide for carrying out nursing responsibilities, along with an appropriate quality in caring with the ethical obligations of the profession. Ethic has always been an essential part of nursing as nursing has a history of concern for the sick, injured. The Code of Ethics for Nurses serves these purposes: it serves

There are nine provisions included in the ANA code of ethics. The provisions can be broken into three categories. The first category is the nurse’s ethical responsibilities to her patient which is provisions one through three. Second is the nurse’s obligation to herself, provisions four through six. The third ethical requirement for nurses is related to their relationship to the nursing profession, community, nation, and world overall. This focus is summarized in provisions seven through nine [ (American Nurses Association, 2013) ].

Truth-telling is an important issue within the nurse-patient relationship. Nurses make decisions on a daily basis regarding what information to tell patients. The specific issue in question is whether a nurse should abide by the Code of Ethics for Nurses by revealing the truth to the patient or refrain from telling the truth to the patient because they are respecting the wishes of the patient’s family. Nurses and health care professionals should always tell the truth to their patients unless the patient forgoes their rights to autonomy or cannot think for themselves. By providing the patient with the truth, they allow the patient to come to terms with their conditions and give them the options for further treatment.

(Thomas et al., 2002). Code of Ethics for Nurses • The nurses’ primary commitment is to the patient, whether an individual or group • The nurse promotes, advocates for, and protects the rights, health, and safety of the

Code of Ethics in nursing it is important to make sure the staff and patients are being respected and treated with dignity. The study of ethics has lead to basic concept such as justice and fidelity, autonomy, beneficence and nonmaleficence. It is very important to understand these concepts, because they assist the nurse with making decisions during difficult situations (ANA, 2001, p 6).

The Code of Ethics for Nurses was created to be a guide for nurses to perform their duties in a way that is abiding with the ethical responsibilities of the nursing profession and quality in nursing care. The Code of Ethics has excellent guidelines for how nurses should behave, however; these parameters are not specific. They do not identify what is right and wrong, leaving nurses having to ultimately make that decision. Ethics in nursing involves individual interpretation based on personal morals and values. Nursing professionals have the ethical accountability to be altruistic, meaning a nurse who cares for patients without self-interest. This results in a nurse functioning as a patient advocate, making decisions that are in the best

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).