Ethics in Nursing
Ethics is part of the foundation upon which nursing is built. A code of ethics makes explicit the primary goals, values and obligations of the profession. Thus the ethical tradition of nursing is self-reflective, enduring and distinctive. Rooted in an abiding concern for the welfare of those who receive care, as well as for the moral shape of society, nursings ethics has a distinguished history of concern that encompasses both the individual and the community. ... Nursing encompasses the protection, promotion and restoration of health, the prevention of illness, and the alleviation of suffering in the care of patients, as individuals, families, groups and communities. Nursing also encompasses actions that seek to bring about change in those aspects of social structures that detract from health and human flourishing, extending even to the international community. The Code of Ethics is a succinct statement of the moral obligations and duties of every individual who enters the nursing profession. ... The Code refers to the recipients of nursing care as patients, reflecting the essential role of nurses in caring for the sick. ... As nursing and its social context change, revisions to the Code itself or to the Interpretive Statements become necessary. Interpretative Statements are responsive to the current context of nursing and its practice in a more particular way than are the provisions; thus they are subject to more frequent revision than the provisions.