Introduction
A code of ethics aims to “articulate the values of a profession, establish the standards for professional conduct, and provide guidelines for decision-making” (Tluczek et al., 2019). The ANA Code of Ethics beautifully summarizes the core values of nursing as a profession with a solid commitment to ethics. It highlights nursing’s longstanding dedication to helping the ill, wounded, and defenseless and promoting equality and fairness in society. Nursing care at the individual and communal levels puts this dedication into practice, making it more than just words on a page. The many facets of nursing practice, from disease prevention to health promotion and restoration, are reflected in the code. A self-reflective, lasting, and unique ethical tradition may then be built around the assumption that nurses would defend the values and moral standards of the nursing profession.
Ethical Foundation of Nursing
The code emphasizes the importance of nursing’s ethical underpinning, which is fundamental to the profession. According to Martins et al. (2020), nurses need ethical reasoning skills since they work within a framework that prioritizes patients’, families’, and communities’ well-being. For nurses, this framework provides a map that helps them put their patient’s needs first and protect their rights in various healthcare settings. Patients’ and communities’ confidence in nurses is strengthened by this ethical basis, which promotes a therapeutic connection between nurse and patient that extends beyond the purely medical.
Prevention of Illness and Alleviation of Suffering
One of nursing’s fundamental tenets is a focus on wellness promotion and pain management. Nurses have an active role in empowering people and communities via health education, lifestyle counseling, and preventative measures beyond the provision of medical solutions. This preventative strategy is consistent with public health priorities and benefits treatment recipients. By addressing the core causes of health disorders, nurses play a crucial role in establishing a culture of wellness and prevention.
Protection, Promotion, and Restoration of Health
The code emphasizes the many ways in which nurses contribute to maintaining and enhancing health. In addition to treating patients, nurses also promote health in its broadest meaning. For this reason, it is essential to cultivate healthy communities, promote health-affirming policies, and engage in efforts to improve social determinants of health. The guideline encourages nurses to think of health as more than just the absence of disease, considering all aspects of an individual’s life, not only their physical condition.
Adherence to Professional Ideals and Moral Norms
The code underlines the expectation that nurses adhere to the values and moral standards of the profession. This commitment needs continual self-reflection since the ethical environment of healthcare is changing and frequently poses new problems. In the face of moral quandaries, the code provides a decision-making framework consistent with nursing’s guiding principles. Nurses can handle ethical dilemmas in patient care when guided by their professional values, as stated by Jasemi et al. (2020). Nurses play an essential role in maintaining and advancing the nursing profession’s unique ethical heritage by adhering to these standards.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the ANA Code of Ethics contains the ethical underpinning of nursing, articulating the profession’s core aims, beliefs, and duties. It acts as a guiding guideline that not only guides the behavior of individual nurses but also develops the collective identity of the nursing profession. Nurses ensure compassionate, patient-centered care that extends beyond treating sickness by adhering to the principles outlined in the code. The code is consequently a representation of nursing’s unwavering dedication to improving society and promoting social justice.
References
Jasemi, M., Cheraghi, R., Azimzadeh, R., & Namadi, F. (2020). The relationship between personality characteristics and adherence to professional values among nursing students. Nursing and Midwifery Studies, 9(1), 29-35. https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/77825007/5-libre.pdf?1641018422=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DThe_relationship_between_personality_cha.pdf&Expires=1699890541&Signature=RsFp1-rW4jQM6b0a~vzeN0zCBdxA4GlXkMPORaPFiTZeTFIALn3CYHPqZhi035zWkO9~GaHjquq-GLmf94uE5MfeFPJj-~J–ZJmnFkVDss1CQ7DEPxMQuPMWPNLrPd-TzmyPeP2m5XI4BIE1VwHg3UQqIT7ZLKcleTOdgjvf9D~YxQABuHiZ~eGT1Jps2dT7snrJN0yOl0VfBmDOO3eths2s0qIYfLJo3GA6BloKHUpt7FjLPHP-Bi-gT0N1GUMWxvWRyDCZ~iWpsWVxfaAfRO4Av8SufUQKc1G4NqbG0Zt-aX9JUfZqGFF91ndTn9y0JlDuElMcMg9bvUSx6LaEw__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA
Martins, V., Santos, C., & Duarte, I. (2020). Bioethics education and the development of nursing students’ moral competence. Nurse Education Today, 95, 104601. https://sci-hub.hkvisa.net/10.1016/j.nedt.2020.104601
Tluczek, A., Twal, M. E., Beamer, L. C., Burton, C. W., Darmofal, L., Kracun, M., … & Turner, M. (2019). How the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics informs Genetic/Genomic Nursing. Nursing ethics, 26(5), 1505-1517. https://sci-hub.hkvisa.net/10.1177/0969733018767248
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