Ethical and Legal Issue in Nursing

Ethical and Legal Issues Paper Christel Rockwood NURS/391 March 11, 2014 Renee Martin-Thornton Ethical and Legal Issues Ethics is an integral part to nursing practice. The American Code of Ethics for Nurses (ANA) with interpretive statements acts as a guide for professional conduct by outlining the ethical values of the profession. The Code provides the profession with a statement of responsibility to the public and serves as a basis for individual nursing decisions in clinical situations when ethical dilemmas arise. The code integrates universal, ethical principles which serve as the foundation for ethical actions. Nurses face ethical dilemmas on a daily basis. Our primary goal as nurses is the commitment to protect our patients. Provision 2 of the American Nursing Code of Ethics, describes the nurses primary commitment is to the patient. (ANA, 2010). Another important goal is to maintain safety, dignity and accountability. Respect the patients confidentiality and autonomy. The Nurse acts as the person who helps and advocates for the patient and their families about health care and end of life decisions. According to the American Nurse Association Code of Ethics, Provision 11 states that, a fundamental principle that underlines all nursing practice is respect for the inherent worth, dignity, and human rights of every individual (ANA, 2010). In the case study of Marianne a comatose patient, she has no advance directives, leaving her husband and children to make the decisions with different opinions. (Chitty Black, 2011, pg.175). The ethics committee is already working on the case and are assisting the family in the decision making process. The nurse must ethically accept the familys decisions and provide the highest quality nursing care for Marianne regardless if the nurse agrees or not. The nurses actions should be