Nursing Ethics

Nursing Ethics

Introduction

Ethics is the basic code of conduct that have to be incorporated in the personal and professional life of an individual. Nurses, being the first line responders are the basic pillars of the health care system. These nurses are responsible for giving appropriate care to the patients using their extensive knowledge and skills.

Ethics refers to the basic code of conduct for the nurses as health are professionals. The nursing ethics defines the outline of the nursing profession with the extensive knowledge incorporating the nursing duties and the relationship with patients and the other health care professionals. There are several theories that have been given in order to define the concept of ethics for the nursing professionals. These theories summarize the professional ethics in different terms with a slender variation in the conceptualization.

As the nurses are the mainstay of the health care profession, it is of concern that these experts should be aware of their basic duties, which includes confidentiality of the patient as the most powerful professional and ethical obligation. They should keep the private knowledge of the patient's personal life and the disease history, and it is their duty to be the undisclosed hidden.

Discussion

Ethical Theories

An understanding of ethics is key to the progress of skilled master foresight. It is basic that nurses recognize the significance of ethics in their capacity. Ethics is critical to clinical, and proof based problems and impacts each one of the domains of the master nurturing part (Chaloner, 2007). To apply ethics efficaciously, nurses must progress thinking aptitudes and grip the contemplations and benchmarks that help ethical examination. There are several theories of ethics that can vary on the situation at which they are applied. These ethical theories give the cryptogram of demeanor and provides the basis for decision making. The theories are as following

Consequentialism

Deontology

Virtue Ethics

Principlism (Beauchamp and Childress, 2008)

Virtue Ethics Theory and it's Significance

Virtue ethics theory is considered as the modernized form of the old Aristotle's ethical conceptualization. The basic concept of Aristotle was that the primary reason for human existence is to live in accordance with the purpose for which he is born. Virtue means a fine habit while the virtue ethics theory refers to the specialized concept of morality, integrity and the character of an individual. The theory deals with the detailed concepts of the right and the wrong actions in relation with the act of a person (Cline, n.d). Normative moral principles, rules and regulation with corollary and deontology are the prime factors that drive the theory. It deals with the moral predicament, and the main focus is on the individual's characteristics incorporating the ethics as basic values, rather than the attempt that gives negative or positive outcomes.

There is a close relationship with the virtue ethics theory and the ethics of nurses code of conduct. The theory deals with the self organization and control, genuineness, legitimacy, munificence, consideration, perspicacity, reliability and integrity of the primary health care professionals, the nurses. The theory guides the professionals ...