Fundamentals of Nursing and Midwifery 2e

Chapter 11 Values, ethics and advocacy

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BOX 11-3 International Council of Nurses Code of Ethics for Nurses

• The fundamental responsibility of the nurse is fourfold—to promote health, to prevent illness, to restore health and to alleviate suffering. • The need for nursing is universal. Inherent in nursing is respect for life, dignity and rights of humans. It is unrestricted by considerations of nationality, race, creed, age, sex, politics or social status. • Nurses render health services to the individual, the family and the community, and coordinate their services with those of related groups. Nurses and people • The nurse’s primary responsibility is to those people who require nursing care. • The nurse, in providing care, promotes an environment in which the values, customs, and spiritual beliefs of the individual are respected. • The nurse holds in confidence personal information and uses judgement in sharing this information. Nurses and practice • The nurse carries personal responsibility for nursing practice and for maintaining competence by continual learning. The nurse maintains the highest standards of nursing care possible within the reality of a specific situation. • The nurse uses judgement in relation to individual competence when accepting and delegating responsibilities. • The nurse, when acting in a professional capacity, should at all times maintain standards of personal conduct that reflect credit on the profession. Nurses and colleagues • The nurse sustains a cooperative relationship with colleagues in nursing and other fields. The nurse takes appropriate action to safeguard the individual when their care is endangered by a colleague or any other person. Nurses and the profession • The nurse plays the major role in determining and implementing desirable standards of nursing practice and nursing education. • The nurse is active in developing a core of professional knowledge. • The nurse, acting through the professional organisation, participates in establishing and maintaining equitable social and economic working conditions in nursing.

Source: Adapted from International Council of Nurses, 2012.

• Nursing Council of New Zealand’s Code of Conduct for Nurses (NCNZ, 2012). Codes of ethics and conduct for midwifery include: • Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council’s Code of Ethics for Midwives in Australia (ANMC, 2008b) • Midwifery Council of New Zealand’s Code of Conduct (MCNZ, 2010) • New Zealand College of Midwives’ Code of Ethics (NZCM, 2008a). See the reference material at the end of this chapter for resources and links to the respective nursing and midwifery codes. Australia and New Zealand have professional codes of ethics for nurses and midwives. Investigate the code of relevance to your professional practice and compare it to the International Code (see Box 11-3): • Are there differences that reflect the individual countries, or are the principles enshrined applicable wherever you practice?

• Identifying the fundamental moral commitments of the nursing profession • Providing nurses with a basis for self- and professional reflection on ethical conduct • Providing the community with an overview of the moral values that nurses can be expected to hold. Codes are effective in accomplishing their goals only to the extent that members of the profession uphold them. Code requirements may exceed legal requirements. Viola- tions of the law subject a nurse to civil or criminal liability (see Chapter 12), and violations of the codes of ethics and conduct may result in reprimands, censure, suspension or expulsion. Codes of ethics and conduct for nursing include: • Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council’s Code of Ethics for Nurses (ANMC, 2008a) • International Council of Nurses’ Code of Ethics for Nurses (ICN, 2012) • New Zealand Nurses Organisation’s Code of Ethics (NZNO, 2009)