Professional Nursing Ethics Term Paper

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Ethics

Nursing Ethics

Professional Nursing Ethics

It is not a good idea, but it is possible to become a nurse today without knowing what the Nightingale Pledge is and more important, what it represents. The reason it is not a good idea is simple; nursing is a field that carries with it a great social, moral and ethical responsibility. This accountability is now guided by the Code of Ethics with Interpretive Statements; however, the original blueprint was the Nightingale Pledge. We could consider that original pledge as nursing's equivalent to the physicians' Hippocratic Oath. In other words, the modern version of the Nightingale Pledge, the Code of Ethics with Interpretive Statements, is a thorough guide that helps both new and old nurse's alike carry out their responsibilities in a way that also meets all ethical duties required by the profession. The Nightingale Pledge has evolved for more than a century and over that time; the healthcare industry has obviously changed in countless ways. But, so have the responsibilities of nurses. Along each step of the way, the code of ethics has been there to provide goals, values and obligations for those practicing the art of nursing. The code's ethical commitments have been updated as needed and this paper will attempt to describe some of these ethical promises.

Social Responsibility

The Nightingale Pledge moved from its original principles that it was built on and it has now evolved into the Code of Ethics with Interpretive Statements which incorporate more modern social and ethical virtues. For example, the code points out that the nursing community should collaborate with other health professions and citizens in order to promote community and national efforts to promote better societal health. President Obama has been fighting diligently in order to provide healthcare insurance for all Americans.

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Behind the scenes, nurses have also been working hard to meet their own social and ethical obligations to help the cause. "This has been an historic week of events for advocates of health care reform. The House passed H.R. 3962, 'The Affordable Health Care for America Act.' I wanted to take the opportunity to thank nurses across the country for their help and support in advancing meaningful health care reform. Whether you took part in town halls, wrote letters to the editor, or contacted your own representatives to voice your opinion -- your actions had an impact." (Patton) This can be considered to be a prime example of how the nursing community's ethical obligation helps direct its members in all aspects of their lives.

Legal and ethical issues

The healthcare industry, just like any other industry, understands that if an organization as whole is to provide a quality product or service, then that organization needs a commitment from top to bottom from all of its employees. Nursing meets their role by filling two ethical duties. The first is to respect independence and the second is to meet the needs of the patient. Through these duties, nurses must act to safeguard clients' and the public from incompetent, unethical or illegal acts of any person. With this idea understood, it is also important to distinguish the ideas of legal and ethical obligations.

Consider the notion of committing healthcare fraud and its impact on the duties of autonomy. Who has not heard of a ghost prescription or a phantom patient? If a nurse knowingly updates an official medical record of a real or imaginary patient with real or imaginary information such as claiming that….....

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