Code of Ethics
A
code of ethics is a formal statement of a group's ideals and values. It is a
set of ethical principles that
·
Is shared by the members of the group
·
Reflects their moral judgments' over time
·
Serves as a standard for their professional
actions.
International Council
of Nurses Code of ethics & Professional conduct for nurse
It has four principal elements that outline the standards of
ethical conduct.
·
Nurses and people
·
Nurses and practice
·
Nurses and profession
·
Nurses and co-workers
Nurses and people:
·
The nurse's primary professional responsibility
is to people requiring nursing care.
·
In providing care, the nurse promotes an
environment in which the human rights,
values, customs and spiritual beliefs of the individual,
family and community are respected.
·
The nurse ensures that the individual receives
accurate, sufficient and timely information on which to base consent for care
and related treatment.
·
The nurse holds in confidence personal
information and uses judgment in sharing this information.
·
The nurse shares with society the responsibility
for initiating and supporting action to meet the health and social needs of the
public, in particular those of vulnerable populations.
·
The nurse advocates for equity and social
justice in resource allocation, access to health care and other social and
economic services.
·
The nurse demonstrates professional values such
as respectfulness,
responsiveness, compassion, trustworthiness and integrity.
Nurses and practice:
·
The nurse carries personal responsibility and
accountability for nursing practice, and for maintaining competence by continual
learning.
·
The nurse maintains a standard of personal
health such that the ability to provide care is not compromised.
·
The nurse uses judgment regarding individual
competence when accepting and delegating responsibility.
·
The nurse at all times maintains standards of
personal conduct the reflect well on the profession and enhance public
confidence.
·
The nurse, in providing care, ensures that use
of technology and scientific advances are compatible with the safety, dignity
and rights of people.
·
The nurse strives to foster and maintain a
practice culture promoting ethical behaviour and open dialogue.
Nurses
and the profession:
·
The nurse assumes the major role in determining
and implementing acceptable standards of clinical nursing practice, management,
research and education.
·
The nurse is active in developing a core of
research-based professional knowledge that supports evidence-based practice.
·
The nurse is active in developing and sustaining
a core of professional values.
Nurses
and the profession:
·
The nurse, acting through the professional
organization, participates in creating a positive practice environment and
maintaining safe, equitable social and economic working conditions in nursing.
·
The nurse practices to sustain and protect the
natural environment and is aware of its consequences on health.
·
The nurse contributes to an ethical
organisational environment and challenges unethical practices and settings.
Nurses
and co-workers:
·
The nurse sustains a collaborative and
respectful relationship with co-workers in nursing and other fields.
·
The nurse takes appropriate action to safeguard
individuals, families and communities when their care is endangered by a
co-worker or any other person.
·
The nurse takes appropriate action to support
and guide co-workers to advance ethical
conduct.
Code of Ethics for
Nurses in INDIA (2006)
1.
The nurse
respects the uniqueness of individual in provision of care
·
Provides care for individuals without
consideration of caste, creed, religion, culture, ethnicity, gender,
socio-economic and political status, personal attributes, or any other grounds.
·
Individualizes the care considering the beliefs,
values and cultural sensitivities.
·
Appreciates the place of individual in the
family and community and facilitates
participation of significant others in the care.
·
Develops and promotes trustful relationship with
individual (s)
·
Recognizes uniqueness of response of individuals
to interventions and adapts accordingly.
2.
The nurse
respects the rights of individuals as partner in care and help in making
informed choice
·
Appreciates individuals right to make decisions
about their care and therefore gives adequate and accurate information for
enabling them to make informed choices
·
Respects the decisions made by individual (s)
regarding their care
·
Protects public from misinformation and
misinterpretations
·
Advocates special provisions to protect
vulnerable individuals/ groups
3.
The nurse
respects individual's right to privacy, maintains confidentiality, and shares
information judiciously.
·
Respects the individuals' right to privacy of
their personal information
·
Maintains confidentiality of privileged
information except in the life threatening situations and uses discretion in
sharing information
·
Takes informed consent and maintains anonymity
when information is required for quality assurance/ academic/legal reasons
·
Limits the access to all personal records
written and computerized to authorized persons only.
4.
Nurse
maintains competence in order to render Quality Nursing Care
·
Nursing care must be provided only by registered
nurse
·
Nurse strives to maintain quality nursing care
and upholds the standards of care.
·
Nurse values continuing education, initiates and
utilizes all opportunities for self
development
·
Nurse values research as a means of development
of nursing profession and participates
in nursing research adhering to ethical principles.
5.
The nurse if
obliged to practice within the framework of ethical, professional and legal
boundaries
·
Adheres to code of ethics and code of
professional conduct for nurses in India developed by Indian Nursing Council
·
Familiarizes with relevant laws and practices in
accordance with the law of the state.
6.
Nurse is
obliged to work harmoniously with members of the health team.
·
Appreciates the team efforts in rendering care
·
Cooperates, coordinates and collaborates with
members of the health team to meet the needs of people
7.
Nurse
commits to reciprocate the trust invested in nursing profession by society
·
Demonstrates personal etiquettes in all dealings
·
Demonstrates professional attributes in all
dealings.
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