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Why Ethics & Beneficence in Nursing Matters

Why Ethics & Beneficence in Nursing Matters

The Nursing Code of Ethics helps ensure positive outcomes in healthcare. It consists of four basic principles: autonomy, beneficence, justice, and nonmaleficence.

Nurses have a tough job. They are often helping patients who are at their lowest, patients who can be unpleasant to work with, are facing life-altering conditions, or who have illnesses or injuries that would repulse the average person.

Nurses are expected to adhere to the Nursing Code of Ethics to ensure quality care. Most nursing students get a brief overview of this in their nursing education. We break down the basics of the Nursing Code of Ethics below.

What Is the Nursing Code of Ethics?

The Nursing Code of Ethics is a guideline developed by the American Nurses Association (ANA). According to the ANA, the code 'was developed as a guide for carrying out nursing responsibilities in a manner consistent with quality in nursing care and the ethical obligations of the profession.'

This code of ethics is meant to be used by nursing and healthcare professionals in the United States, both for those who are members of the ANA and those who are not. The ANA considers the code to be non-negotiable and foundational to nursing theory, practice, and praxis. It was developed from the long history of nursing in the United States.

The Nursing Code of Ethics is made up of nine provisions:

  • The nurse practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and unique attributes of every person.
  • The nurse's primary commitment is to the patient, whether an individual, family, group, community, or population.
  • The nurse promotes, advocates for, and protects the rights, health, and safety of the patient.
  • The nurse has authority, accountability, and responsibility for nursing practice; makes decisions; and takes action consistent with the obligation to promote health and to provide optimal care.
  • The nurse owes the same duties to self as to others, including the responsibility to promote health and safety, preserve wholeness of character and integrity, maintain competence, and continue personal and professional growth.
  • The nurse, through individual and collective effort, establishes, maintains, and improves the ethical environment of the work setting and conditions of employment that are conducive to safe, quality healthcare.
  • The nurse, in all roles and settings, advances the profession through research and scholarly inquiry, professional standards development, and the generation of both nursing and health policy.
  • The nurse collaborates with other health professionals and the public to protect human rights, promote health diplomacy, and reduce health disparities.
  • The profession of nursing, collectively through its professional organizations, must articulate nursing values, maintain the integrity of the profession, and integrate principles of social justice into nursing and health policy.