Introduction
Healthcare workers must treat their patients with compassion and respect while adhering to ethical norms. Ethical principles and standards guide healthcare practitioners in making moral judgments. This work aims to locate, summarize, and apply a recognized code of ethics for the healthcare profession. The Code of Ethics of the American Nurses Association (ANA) is a generally established code of ethics in the healthcare sector, and its application is vital for the nursing profession.
The Three Selected Provisions of the ANA Code of Ethics
Provision 1: Respect for the Inherent Dignity, Worth, and Unique Attributes
Although the Code has nine provisions, one may examine three specific main points. First, the significance of honoring each individual’s intrinsic value, dignity, and human rights is underlined. Nurses must provide compassionate and respectful care to their patients, regardless of their cultural background or beliefs (ANA, 2022). This point shows the core of the nursing profession – empathy for patients and attention to their needs beyond physical health.
Provision 3: Advocacy for the Rights, Health, and Safety
Second, one of the requirements of the nursing profession is to promote and advocate for the patient’s health, safety, and rights (ANA, 2022). Nurses are accountable for providing their patients with safe and high-quality care while respecting their autonomy and freedom to make informed decisions about their treatment.
Provision 7: Knowledge Development, Professional Standards, and the Generation of Policies
Finally, one of the central points in the Code is education – nurses must grow professionally and advance the field through research and policy improvement (ANA, 2022). Thus, the main points of the Code are to respect patients, care for their needs and well-being, and develop professionally.
Benefits of the ANA Code of Ethics
Like other professional fields, nursing can benefit from a code of ethics for many reasons. For instance, as it provides the central values nurses should follow, the Code establishes some basic rules for nurses to build a positive and caring environment for patients and other staff members. In this case, such parts of the Code, such as nurses’ commitment to improving nursing through research and developing professional standards, contribute to high-quality care. Another advantage of the Code is its transparency in what nurses prioritize in their daily duties. The patient’s dignity, autonomy, and well-being are basic needs that nurses should acknowledge before administering treatment.
Application of ANA Code of Ethics to Nursing Practice
Applying the Code of Ethics is directly tied to the nurse’s duties. One of the core points in respecting the patient’s dignity is their right to privacy. For example, if a patient’s family member inquires about the patient’s status, the nurse must balance the patient’s privacy and confidentiality with the family’s need for information. The nurse should only disclose necessary and appropriate information and, if possible, obtain the patient’s consent (Linton & Koonmen, 2020).
Another example is when a nurse watches a co-worker misbehave or offer subpar care. The nurse must report the inappropriate behavior to authorities and advocate for the patient’s well-being (Turale et al., 2020). The scenarios described above show how an ethics code can guide the nurse in the workplace.
Conclusion
To summarize, the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses is an essential instrument that offers a framework for ethical decision-making in healthcare. Additionally, the Code highlights the value of fostering ethical workplace practices and policies, cooperating with other healthcare professionals, and developing the nursing profession via research and teaching. The Code provides critical rules for nurses to follow for effective patient care while adhering to ethical standards. Nurses must get acquainted with the Code and utilize it as a guide in everyday practice. By doing so, nurses may guarantee that they are giving their patients safe, compassionate, and respectful care while adhering to the ethical values of the healthcare profession.
References
American Nursing Assotiation. (2022). Why ethics in nursing matters. Web.
Linton, M., & Koonmen, J. (2020). Self-care as an ethical obligation for nurses. Nursing Ethics, 27(8), 1694–1702. Web.
Turale, S., Meechamnan, C., & Kunaviktikul, W. (2020). Challenging times: Ethics, nursing and the COVID‐19 pandemic. International Nursing Review, 67(2), 164-167.