This document discusses ethical issues in nursing. It defines ethics and codes of ethics, including the American Nurses Association code which outlines 9 principles. Common nursing ethics dilemmas are discussed, such as informed consent, cultural diversity, and workplace issues. Ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice are explained. The document also covers moral problems nurses may face like uncertainty, dilemmas, and distress. It provides examples of how nurses can clarify ethical decisions and discusses nurse executive behaviors and use of ethical power.

1. Ethical issue
Sara M Aljanabi
King Abdul-Aziz University

2. outline
 Means of ethics and Cod of ethics
 American nurses association code of ethics and professional standards
 Ethical principles
 Moral problem
 Common Nursing Ethics Dilemmas
 Clarified the ethical decisions
 Nurse executive behaviours
 Ethical power

3. Ethical dilemma

5. Means of ethics
Discipline in the judgment of rightness or wrongness, unfairness or fairness with moral
duty and obligation.

6. Professional codes of ethics function as a guide to the highest standards of ethical practice
for nurses. They are not legally binding.
A professional code of ethics is a set of principles, established by a profession, to guide
the individual practitioner.

7. Code of Ethics
The 2015 ANA code of ethics for nurses has nine statements.
The first Code of Ethics for Nurses was adopted by the ANA in 1950 and has
been revised 6 times since then.
Most recently in 2015. this code outlines the important general values, duties,
and responsibilities that flow from the specific role of being a nurse.

8. Code of Ethics
clients rights and safety
health work cultures and self-care
The social issues relates to the
nurses obligations to society
and the profession

9. American nurses association code of ethics and
professional standards
1. The nurse practices with respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and uniqueness of
every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal
attributes, or the nature of health problems.
2. The nurse’s primary commitment is to the patient, whether an individual, family,
group, or community.
3. The nurse promotes, advocates for, and protect the health, safety, and rights of the
patient.

10. 4. The nurse is responsible and accountable for individual nursing practice and determines
the appropriate delegation of tasks consistent with the nurse’s obligation to provide
optimum patient care.
5. The nurse owes the same duties to self as to others, including the responsibility to
preserve integrity and safety, to maintain competence, and to continue personal and
professional growth.
6. The nurse participates in establishing, maintaining, and improving health-care
environments and conditions of employment to provide quality health care and consistent
with the values of the profession through individual and collective action.

11. 7. The nurse participates in the advancement of the profession through contributions to
practice, education, administration, and knowledge development.
8. The nurse collaborates with other professionals and the public in promoting
community, national, and international efforts to meet health needs.
9. The profession of nursing, as represented by associations and their members, is
responsible for articulating nursing values, for maintaining the integrity of the profession
and its practice, and for shaping social policy.

12. Ethical issue and clinical practice
 The increase the sophistication of medical science and technology
 Inter-professional relationship
 Organ donations and transplants
 Special concerns relating to patient with AIDS, high-risk neonates,
 Concerns about practical limits on financial resources for health care
 Change in society
 Growing emphasis on the autonomy of the individual
Ethics has always been significant in professional nursing practice. Ethical becoming
more important since the 1990
… why

13. Important of cod of ethic
• If the nurse ignores the issue, it may lead to
burnout and their leaving the unit and/or the
nursing profession
• Nurses who do not heed the nursing code of
ethics could also find themselves in legal
trouble.

14. Scope and standards
Scope and standards for nurse administrators describes the decisions and actions made by
nurse administrators that are based on ethical principles.

15. This standard provide a framework for decision making and managing healthcare system.

16. Ethical principles
Biomedical ethicists describe three
primary principles. Respect for persons
Beneficence
Justice

17. Ethical principles
The principle of Respect for persons describes individuals ability to take rational action
and make moral choices. Autonomy, veracity, confidentiality, and informed consent
evolve from the principle of respect for persons
The principle of Beneficence has two purposes:
 Do no harm
 Promote good
The principle of Justice involved fairness, rights, and obligation

18. Ethical principles
Davis describes four ethical
principles
Autonomy
Beneficence
Non-maleficence
Justice

19. Ethical principles
• Autonomy: personal freedom of action is an ethical principle to be applied by nurse
managers toward professional nurses.
o The professional nurse is given autonomy to deliberate about nursing action
o The professional nurse becomes an advocate agent for patient rights.
o The patient is responsible for making decisions about his/her care
o The family may be involved with the patients consent

20. Ethical principles
Non-maleficence: is define as the avoidance of intentional harm or the risk of inflicting
harm on some one.
Beneficence: is the principle of viewing persons as autonomous not harming them and
contributing to their health and welfare.
Justice: justice involves giving people what is deserved, or legitimately claimed.

21. Moral problem
Ethics addresses three types of
Moral problems
Moral
uncertainty
Moral
dilemma
Moral
distress

22. Moral problem
Moral uncertainty : doubt about moral principles or rules that may apply or the nature of
the ethical problem itself
Moral distress : inability to take the action known to be right because of external
constraints.

23. Ethical dilemma
Ethical dilemmas, are situations in which there is a choice to be made between two
options, neither of which resolves the situation in an ethically acceptable fashion.
Ethical dilemmas assume that the chooser will abide by societal norms, such as codes of
law or religious teachings, in order to make the choice ethically impossible.

24. Example of Common Nursing Ethics Dilemmas
Informed
consent
Disclosing
medical
conditions
Incompetence
among peers

25. Nursing ethics and the work environment
Nurses report communication difficulties and workplace bullying and
violence as serious work environment ethical dilemmas
Patient safety and staffing issues also fall into the work environment
category.
Patient safety and social media .

26. Nursing ethics and
diversity
• Cultural diversity and caring for
people with different values and
traditions, and accepting their
rituals, can present challenges in
the practice setting

27. Clarified the ethical decisions
• It is legal ?
• Is it balance?
• How will it make me feel about myself ?

28. Nurse executive behaviors
• Advocates for patients, consumers, personal who are recipients of services.
• Identify ethical issues and dilemmas designs human resource management policies to
make employment satisfying to employees and to facilitate open communication among
employees and managers.
• Facilitates a framework for professional nursing practice based vision, mission,
philosophy, EBP and standards of practice.

29. Ethical power
• Nurse managers should plan for persistence by spending more time following up on
education and activities that build commitment of personnel.
• Nurse managers should promote perspective by giving their staff time to think.
• Nursing service managers should consider developing an organization-specific code of
ethics expressed in observable and measurable behaviours

30. Ethical power
• Nurse managers should build an organization to succeed, thereby building up
employees through pride in their organization.
• Nurse managers should work to sustain patience and continuity through a long-term
effect on the organization

31. References
L. Marquis and Carol J. (2015) Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing Theory
and Application, Bessie Lippincott Williams.
Roussel, l. (2006). management and leadership for nurse administrators (4th edition ed.)