Professional and ethical accountability is an essential factor in the nursing profession and patient safety. As proposed by the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics requires that individual nurses take responsibility to one action to others (patients and family members, our profession, coworkers, workplace, and to oneself (Batti, & Steelman, 2014). Therefore, According to McCormick, (201) accountability is the basis in building trust, reducing fear, and enhancing morale and performant. Accountability depends on both effective communication skills and clinical expertise. It helps nurses to recognize breach in care that can adversely affect patient health outcome and be able to correct them on time. Therefore, the APRN should hold
What is the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses? Nurses play an essential role in providing empathetic care for patients and supporting them in what may be some of the most challenging moments of their lives. With this role comes the complexities of working with patients at critical moments when they are vulnerable and dealing with numerous privacy and other sensitive issues. To ensure that nurses operate with integrity in their work, the ANA code of ethics guides nurses in carrying out their roles with the highest standard of ethical care.
Outline ethical issues that impact the APN Ethical issues can impact the health care system in a variety of ways. The APN is expected to provide excellent regardless of the work environment. One issue that continues to influence the entire nursing profession is staffing inadequacies. “Without sufficient staffing it is difficult to meet ethical standards of professional practice responsibilities, including protecting the rights of individual patients and families, alleviation of suffering, and preserving their integrity”(Ulrich et al., 2010, p. 1).
According to Rachel (2012) “accountability is at the heart of nursing, weaving its way through nursing practice in all settings and at all levels” (para. 1). Accountability builds the individual and organizational credibility by clearly setting the expectations, goals, and commitments. As a nurse, I am committed to growing and advance in my knowledge and skills, adhere to the nursing standards and ethics, involve in professional associations, and attain any certifications needed for my practice. In personal growth and development area, I would rate myself in between the competent and expert level, since I am on track in implementing my action plans to advance my education, keep up with continued education credits required, have a plan for my
Jennah implemented ones role as a nurse in ways that reflect integrity, responsibility, ethical practices & evolving identity as a nurse committed to caring, advocacy and quality while adhering to evidence based practice by treating all individuals with dignity and respect. For example, what I could see, Jennah was nice to everyone. She was willing to step up and help out others. Jennah demonstrated appropriate written, verbal and non-verbal communication in a variety of clinical contexts by using therapeutic communication to the team members and residents.
I recognize that my actions and decisions have a direct impact on patient care and outcomes. Taking responsibility means acknowledging and learning from any mistakes or errors, without shifting blame. If I make a mistake, I am committed to addressing it promptly, reporting it to the appropriate personnel, and taking steps to prevent similar occurrences in the future. I strive to maintain open and honest communication with patients, their families, and the healthcare team, ensuring transparency and trust in my
Since scientists found out the sequenced the human genome in 2003, a number of studies of genetics and genomics have greatly contributed to determining the multiple factors of how acute and chronic diseases develop and progress, such as cancer or cardiovascular disease. Cancer is no longer a single disease, which occurs combined with other different disease-causing factors. The sequencing of the human genome is a powerful tool to diagnose and treat disease in a medical environment. This rapid advance in genomes studies can help many people to prevent and to treat the gene-based diseases, and healthcare professionals also are urged to use this knowledge in practice. However, these advancements in genomics are accompanied by many legal, ethical,
American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics with Interpretive Statements, provision 1 states, “the nurse, in all professional relationships, practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by consideration of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of health problems” "(About Code of Ethics," 2017). In order to provide quality care to the homeless population, the community health nurse is challenged to put aside her own preconceived opinions about drug addiction, alcohol abuse, mental illness and the assumed unwillingness to care for oneself. “While trying to help clients negotiate ‘the system’ the professionals may face a client’s noncompliance with medical regimes, drug abuse, and even stealing or selling medical resources” (Hunter, 1993, p. 139). Provision 3 of the ANA Code of Ethics affirms, “the nurse promotes, advocates for, and strives to protect the health, safety and rights
When one considers the traits needed to be a good nurse, and what a core value of nursing would be, a multitude of characteristics are brought forth. Common ideas brought forth are empathy, integrity, respect and communication. However, an often overlooked but nonetheless quintessential attribute of the nursing practice is accountability. In nursing, where the lives of patient’s and their loved ones, and the reputation of one’s own nursing practice are in one’s hands, it is essential to take responsibility for what you do or do not say or do. Being accountable for one’s actions or words can often mean either recovery or deterioration, health or illness, life or death.
(2014, June 6). Retrieved from ANA American Nurses Association: http://nursingworld.org/DocumentVault/Ethics-1/Code/Code-Provision-1.pdf Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements Provision 2. (2014, June 6). Retrieved from ANA American Nurses Association: http://nursingworld.org/DocumentVault/Ethics-1/Code/Code-Provision-4.pdf Kangasniemi, M. P. (2014). Professional Ethics in Nursing:
In the leadership in care delivery course, we were assigned to a hospital to perform clinical hours and provide care to four patients. Additionally, the purpose of this paper is to explain and provide examples on how our patient care included the concepts of Quality and Safety Education for Nursing (QSEN) competencies, delegation, handoff reporting, and a reflection of the clinical experience. Quality and Safety Education for Nursing (QSEN) Competencies QSEN consists of six competencies: patient centered care, quality improvement, teamwork and collaboration, safety, informatics, and evidence based practice. To provide patient-centered care, I had to educate the patient when administering medications on why the patient was taking the medication and side effects. Care had to be individualized with each patient and it included providing respect with his or her decisions in their care.
A profession is a paid activity in which a person engages. It is a person’s livelihood and the way that she contributes to the economy. In return, the person receives compensation in the form of money and benefits. Professionalism is the competence expected of a professional. It is the skill set that society expects from a professional.
I know that in my 25+ years of nursing there have been many issues that have involved one issue or another involving ethics of some sort, but probably the freshest in my mind has to be the one presented a few weeks ago. We had a patient on my unit (step-down) that came in nearly unresponsive from home that was a 78 year old male. Family states "they found him like this. He did have multiple health issues such as chronic renal failure on hemodialysis three times a week that he had missed for a week, congestive heart failure, atrial fib (controlled), diabetes, history of CVA x2, c-diff on admission that the family states that he had off and on a few months, so mostly a very sick patient to say the least. He was worked up from head to toe and showed no signs of another CVA, his A1C was good, BNP for his CHF was really not too bad.
A nurse must keep up to date on education and new processes in health-care, so they can provide the best care. As a nurse, you have promised to give each of your patients the best care that can possibly be given. Nurses must follow a code of ethics, to act safely, provide ethical care no matter how they feel about the patient or the reason they are in your care. Following this code of ethics shows your commitment to caring for people and society, it is a guide of ethics and standards to follow to keep everyone safe. Nursing is also a wonderful opportunity to meet hundreds of people from almost every nationality and every walk of life.
The Importance of Accountability Why is Accountability so important in the health care industry? Even though a situation may be positive or negative, every aspect of health care needs to be credited to something or someone, with accountability, errors can be fixed and then prevented and helps keep costs down. An employee accountability is measured by customer satisfaction, results of performance, and the cost and impacts of the employee over time, and affects an organization’s working culture by their values, integrity and work ethics. A successful organization follows the checks and balance process, maintains a positive working culture, and stays clear from blame.
The consequence of ethical decision-making rests in the fact that very different ethical issues regarding the same moral dilemmas can be made, resulting in neither a “right nor wrong” decision. Ethics involves doing “good” and causing no harm. Yet how one expresses what is ethical can differ from nurse to nurse. Educating nurses on the principles of nursing ethics give them the appropriate tools to base ethical decisions upon. Nevertheless, this information is then moulded by the values, beliefs and experiences of the nurse.