COURS

The following chart will assist the

action.
E UNIT nurses to translate the standards into

1. STUDY THE STANDARDS UNDER EACH ELEMENT OF

THE CODE.
2. REFLECT ON WHAT EACH
THINK ABOUT HOW YOU
3 STANDARD MEANS TO YOU.
CAN APPLY ETHICS IN YOUR
NURSING DOMAIN.
3. DISCUSS THE CODE WITH
CLASSMATES TASKS YOUR GROUPS AND

For questions 1-3:

The Code of Ethics for Nursing is a guideline of the ethical obligations for every individual who pursues the
nursing profession. As nurses, we can apply these standards by seeing to it that we maintain our
professionalism and focusing on doing our job. Our responsibility is to provide primary care to people who
require nursing care. We are always held accountable and liable for our nursing practice and the safety of our
patients. A nurse should also collaborate and maintain a respectful relationship with his/her co-workers but
when a patient’s health is endangered by the co-worker, he should take appropriate actions to safeguard the
patient. If we saw that our co-workers did something unethical, we should advise them and set an example to
provide quality care to the patients.

Our group has discussed earlier the different dilemmas that we have experienced during our duties. We were
able to discuss the codes and which ones are fit for our chosen scenarios. Though it was hard at first, we were
able to understand which codes were fir and we were also able to have a little discussion about the conduct and
obligations of nurses. We also discussed how to resolve these problems as nursing students and how to face
them in the future as we become registered nurses.

4. USE A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE FROM EXPERIENCE TO IDENTIFY ETHICAL DILEMMAS AND

STANDARDS OF CONDUCT AS OUTLINED IN THE CODE.

One dilemma that I have experienced during our last rotational duty in QCGH was when my patient insisted
on giving me some of her food while I checked her vital signs. She also told me that if I would not accept the
food, she would not allow me to take her vital signs again, but I know that she only jokingly said that.

5. IDENTIFY HOW YOU WOULD RESOLVE THE DILEMMAS

I know that as a student nurse, I should not accept any gifts that my patients will give me regardless if it is
just food or a thing during the duty hours. As stated on the Article 3; Section 11 on the Code of Ethics for
Registered Nurses, a registered nurse should decline any gift, favor or hospitality which might be interpreted
as capitalizing on patients. In times when I will encounter this situation again, I will politely decline my
patient’s offer so that it will not become an issue in the unit. I will also explain the implications of not
following the Code of Ethics.

6. COLLABORATE AND WORK IN GROUPS TO CLARIFY ETHICAL DECISION MAKING.

Our group has discussed earlier the different dilemmas that we have experienced during our duties. We also
discussed how to resolve these problems as nursing students and how to face them in the future as we
become registered nurses. Ethical decision making is important in our profession as nurses because we deal
with the most vital thing in the world; the people’s lives. We need to uphold our responsibilities and make the
Nursing Code of Ethics as guidelines for professionalism. These are the things that we did and consider as an
ethical decision making:

For Athena’s scenario and solution, we discussed that what she did as a student was correct because she
didn’t report or overstep her boundaries. As it says in the module, one of the principal elements that outline
the standards of ethical conduct is the Nurses and practice. It states there that nurses carry personal
responsibility and accountability for nursing practice and should maintain competence by continual learning.
And working within the nurse practice acts and nursing standards of practice is the Professional Boundaries
and Ethico-Moral Obligations for Nurses as Specified by the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses with
Interpretive Statements in 2001.

For Erma's, she discussed that it is necessary to perceive and eliminate unethical options and select the best
ethical alternative. Ethical decisions generate and sustain trust; demonstrate respect, responsibility, fairness,
and caring; and are consistent with good citizenship. These behaviors provide a foundation for making better
decisions by setting the ground rules for our behavior. process of making ethical decisions requires
commitment, consciousness, and competency. In that way, they accomplish what they want to accomplish
and advance their purposes.

As for Airielle’s experience, she discussed to her groupmates that as nurses our fundamental responsibilities
are to restore health and to alleviate suffering. But the patient was declining all the offered treatment and she
should respect that considering her social status.

For Alexis, declining a patient’s offer does not mean that we don’t want to build rapport with them, but as
nurses we need to acknowledge what was written in the Code of Ethics so that we will not cross the boundary
of us being a health care provider and the boundary of our patients. She said that it is okay to befriend the
patient but we need to be mindful about what our main goal is, to take care of them until they achieve their
optimal health. We should always remember that there is always a right time and place for everything but not
while doing our job.