ETHICS

Ethics is derived from Greek word “ethos” meaning custom or

character.
Ethics are the distinction between right and wrong based on a body of
knowledge , not just based on opinions. Ethics in nursing is set of
moral codes of professional behavior towards holistic care.
The ethical code is a set of guidelines formulated by the members of
profession with the help of specialists in the field of nursing leaders,
advocates and other members of the society.
Nursing ethics refers to ethical issues involved in nursing practice.
PURPOSES OF CODE OF ETHICS IN
NURSING
• Standards for the behaviours of nurse and provide general guidelines
for nursing action.
• The code helps to distinguish between right and wrong.
• The code enables a correct decision and a uniform decision within the
groups.
• Helps to protect rights of individuals, families, and community and
also the right of the nurse.
Ethical principles
Confidentiality Autonomy

Justice

Accountability

Principles Non maleficence

Fidelity Beneficence
Autonomy
It refers to the right to make one’s own decisions.

The nurses should recognize the individuals uniqueness, the right to be

what the person is, and the right to choose personal goals.

Nurses should follow the principle autonomy & respect a clients right to
make decisions even when those choices seem not to be in the clients
best interest.
Justice
The principle of fairness, is the basis for the obligation to treat all
clients equally and fairly.

Health care system provides care on the basis of medical need rather
than ability to pay, social status, race or gender.
Non maleficence

Non maleficence is the avoidance of harm or hurt.

It is an obligation to never deliberately harm another. The nurse tries to

balance the risks and benefits of a plan of care.

In health care ethics its important to do good but also equal

commitment not to do harm.
Beneficence
Beneficence means promoting good or doing good.
It refers to taking positive actions to help others.
Fidelity
It means to keep a promise.

Nurses have an obligation to follow throughout with nursing care.

Fidelity is defined as the consistent delivery of interventions which
ensures that all participants are provided the same information,
guidance, and/or materials.
Fidelity in nursing ethics is when a nurse remains true to the values,
principles, and standards. This means not engaging in any unethical
behavior and following guidelines set by healthcare employers
Accountability
Accountability is about maintaining competency and safeguarding
quality patient care outcomes and standards of the profession, while
being answerable to those who are affected by one's nursing or
midwifery practice.

Nurses are expected to take responsibility for their own actions

(including errors) and ensuring their practice is consistent with practice
standards, guidelines and all legislation appropriate to the profession.
Confidentiality

Confidentiality is an important ethical principle in nursing.

It is an important legal and medical obligation that all health
professionals are supposed to obey. Matters regarding patients should
not be disclosed to others at any cost.
Veracity
The principle of veracity, or truth telling, requires that
healthcare providers be honest in their interactions with patie
Veracity means to tell the truth—to never lie to patients or
give them knowingly false reassurance, which is also lying. For
example, if a patient was starting chemotherapy and asked about the
side effects, a nurse practicing veracity would be honest about the
side effects they could expect with chemotherapy
NURSES AND PATIENTS
• Nurses’ primary professional responsibility is to people requiring
nursing care and services now or in the future, whether individuals,
families, communities or populations (hereinafter referred to as either
‘patients’ or ‘people requiring care’).
• Nurses promote an environment in which the human rights, values,
customs, religious and spiritual beliefs of the individual, families and
communities are acknowledged and respected by everyone. Nurses’
rights are included under human rights and should be upheld and
protected.
• Nurses ensure that the individual and family receive understandable,
accurate, sufficient and timely information in a manner appropriate
to the patient’s culture, linguistic, cognitive and physical needs, and
psychological state on which to base consent for care and related
treatment.
• Nurses hold in confidence personal information and respect the
privacy, confidentiality and interests of patients in the lawful
collection, use, access, transmission, storage and disclosure of
personal information..
• Nurses respect the privacy and confidentiality of colleagues and
people requiring care and uphold the integrity of the nursing
profession in person and in all media, including social media.

• Nurses share with society the responsibility for initiating and

supporting action to meet the health and social needs of all people.
• Nurses advocate for equity and social justice in resource allocation,
access to health care and other social and economic services.
• Nurses demonstrate professional values such as respect, justice,
responsiveness, caring, compassion, empathy, trustworthiness and
integrity. They support and respect the dignity and universal rights of
all people, including patients, colleagues and families.
NURSES AND PRACTICE
• Nurses carry personal responsibility and accountability for ethical
nursing practice, and for maintaining competence by engaging in
continuous professional development and lifelong learning.
• Nurses maintain fitness to practice so as not to compromise their
ability to provide quality, safe care.
• Nurses practise within the limits of their individual competence and
regulated or authorised scope of practice and use professional
judgement when accepting and delegating responsibility.
• Nurses value their own dignity, well-being and health. To achieve this
requires positive practice environments, characterised by professional
recognition, education, reflection, support structures, adequate resourcing,
sound management practices and occupational health and safety.
• Nurses maintain standards of personal conduct at all times. They reflect
well on the profession and enhance its image and public confidence. In
their professional role, nurses recognise and maintain personal relationship
boundaries.
• Nurses share their knowledge and expertise and provide feedback,
mentoring and supporting the professional development of student nurses,
novice nurses, colleagues and other health care providers.
• Nurses are patient advocates, and they maintain a practice culture
that promotes ethical behaviour and open dialogue.
• Nurses may conscientiously object to participating in particular
procedures or nursing or health-related research but must facilitate
respectful and timely action to ensure that people receive care
appropriate to their individual needs.
• Nurses maintain a person’s right to give and withdraw consent to
access their personal, health and genetic information. They protect
the use, privacy and confidentiality of genetic information and human
genome technologies.
• Nurses take appropriate actions to safeguard individuals, families,
communities and populations when their health is endangered by a
co-worker, any other person, policy, practice or misuse of technology.
• Nurses are active participants in the promotion of patient safety. They
promote ethical conduct when errors or near misses occur, speak up
when patient safety is threatened, advocate for transparency, and
work with others to reduce the potential of errors.
• Nurses are accountable for data integrity to support and facilitate
ethical standards of care
NURSES AND THE PROFESSION
• Nurses assume the major leadership role in determining and
implementing evidence-informed, acceptable standards of clinical
nursing practice, management, research and education.
• Nurses and nursing scholars are active in expanding research-based,
current professional knowledge that supports evidence-informed
practice.
• Nurses are active in developing and sustaining a core of professional
values
• Nurses, through their professional organisations, participate in
creating a positive and constructive practice environment where
practice encompasses clinical care, education, research, management
and leadership.
• Nurses contribute to positive and ethical organisational environments
and challenge unethical practices and settings. Nurses collaborate
with nursing colleagues, other (health) disciplines and relevant
communities to engage in the ethical creation, conduct and
dissemination of peer reviewed and ethically responsible research
and practice development as they relate to patient care, nursing and
health.
• Nurses engage in the creation, dissemination and application of
research that improves outcomes for individuals, families and
communities.
• Nurses prepare for and respond to emergencies, disasters, conflicts,
epidemics, pandemics, social crises and conditions of scarce
resources. The safety of those who receive care and services is a
responsibility shared by individual nurses and the leaders of health
systems and organisations. This involves assessing risks and
developing, implementing and resourcing plans to mitigate these.
NURSES AND GLOBAL HEALTH
• Nurses value health care as a human right, affirming the right to
universal access to health care for all.
• Nurses uphold the dignity, freedom and worth of all human beings
and oppose all forms of exploitation, such as human trafficking and
child labour.
• Nurses lead or contribute to sound health policy development.
• Nurses contribute to population health and work towards the
achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
• Nurses recognise the significance of the social determinants of health.
They contribute to, and advocate for, policies and programmes that
address them.
• Nurses collaborate and practise to preserve, sustain and protect the
natural environment and are aware of the health consequences of
environmental degradation, e.g. climate change. They advocate for
initiatives that reduce environmentally harmful practices to promote
health and well-being
• Nurses collaborate with other health and social care professions and
the public to uphold principles of justice by promoting responsibility
in human rights, equity and fairness and by promoting the public
good and a healthy planet.
• Nurses collaborate across countries to develop and maintain global
health and to ensure policies and principles for this.