Why Ethics & Beneficence in Nursing Matters

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.

The 4 Principles of Nursing Ethics

The nine provisions of nursing all fit broadly within the four core principles of nursing ethics: autonomy, beneficence, justice, and nonmaleficence. These four ethical principles are meant to help nurses provide quality care and improve patient outcomes. We break them down more in-depth below.

1. Autonomy

Autonomy refers to a person's right to control their own body. In nursing practice, this means providing patients with the information that they need so that patients can make informed decisions about their medical care.

Part of patient autonomy in nursing is developing the nurse-patient relationship so the patient trusts you to provide evidence-based information that allows them to make the best healthcare decisions for their situation. This includes outlining both the benefits and potential risks of treatments and procedures.

Nurses need to have autonomy for themselves as well. They should only be practicing within their scope of practice, as defined by their state and organization. For example, a registered nurse (RN) should not be acting in the scope of a nurse practitioner.

2. Beneficence

The ethical principle of beneficence refers to the promotion of good within the healthcare setting. It means advocating for the patient's best interest and well-being, regardless of the nurse's personal opinion. In some cases, this may mean the nurse may need to step outside their comfort zone to attend to patient needs. For example, nurses may need to help drug addicts detox or help a teen mom give birth.

In essence, beneficence comes down to showing compassion for all patients and putting patient care first, regardless of the nurse's personal ethical issues.

3. Justice

Justice in nursing means providing equitable treatment to all patients and advocating for all patients' rights. This requires nurses to remain impartial when it comes to things like a patient's age, religion, or economic status.

The principle of justice says that decision-making should be based on patient needs, not on personal opinion or bias. For example, nurses should be impartial when assigning priority to patients, basing it on medical needs rather than anything else.

4. Nonmaleficence

Nonmaleficence can best be defined as the first rule of the Hippocratic Oath: do no harm. It means actively working to ensure a patient's well-being. Of course, some outcomes are out of your control. The principle of nonmaleficence comes down to taking the steps to ensure safe, effective, and high-quality care to patients to reduce harm as much as possible.

Why Do Ethics in Nursing Matter?

Ethics in nursing matter because, whether we know it or not, we all have biases and opinions that can potentially influence our work. By instilling the principles of ethics, nurses are reminded to put patient needs above all else.

The code of ethics for nurses helps ensure ethical decision-making and high-quality care for everyone. It also helps nurses make the right decision when faced with ethical dilemmas, allowing them to ensure ethical standards across all facets of their work.