Canadian Nurses Association's Code Of Ethics In Nursing

To properly serve the public, health professionals are entrusted with the responsibility to comply with the standards of ethical practice and conduct. For registered nurses, the foundation of ethical practice is specified in the Canadian Nurses Association’s Code of Ethics, containing values and ethical responsibilities for nurses. In this paper, we will focus on the seventh primary value- Being Accountable- and the seventh ethical responsibility stating that a patient requesting care “that is in conflict with the nurse’s moral beliefs and values… the nurse provides safe, compassionate, competent and ethical care until alternative care arrangements are in place…” (Association, 2008). Although there are numerous nursing situations that can create

The nursing interactionist theory focuses on the “interpersonal relationship between the nurse and patient” (Potter & Perry, 2014), emphasizing “the practice of nursing as an interactive and therapeutic relationship” (Potter & Perry, 2014), and directing care towards maintaining health. MAID, however, can be viewed as a paradoxical treatment that dismisses this theory and a conflicting endeavor can emerge between the patient’s right to demand an assisted death and a nurse’s right to decline participation. This strenuous degree of conflict may be elucidated by the nurse’s ethical responsibility in relieving the suffering of the person they care for; the dilemma resides in the nurse’s inability to act in accordance with the answerability inherent in being a professional. When nurses are unable to balance their moral integrity with ethical issues, this results in moral distress. Moral distress develops when a nurse is conscious of the values and ethical principles involved in a situation but cannot carry out the right action due to a barrier (Falcó-Pegueroles, Lluch-Canut, Roldan-Merino, Goberna-Tricas, & Guàrdia-Olmos, 2015). If the nurse’s moral values are incompatible with care requested by the patient, it can affect the nurse’s ability to cope and ultimately, the incapability to provide compassionate care (Davis, Schrader, & Belcheir, 2012). Although the

In relation to MAID where differences of positions appear, nurses must explore the impact of MAID on their own practice, including one’s comfort level in end-of-life discussions, and advancing toward the length to which a nurse might be inclined to, directly or indirectly, engage in an assisted death or not to engage at all. Thus, a purposeful reflection on this topic is valuable in order to gain self-awareness and insight so that it may be utilized to influence others towards positive