Self-care as an ethical obligation for nurses

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 1694-1702
Author(s):  
Mary Linton ◽  
Jamie Koonmen
Keyword(s):  
Patient Care ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Safe Patient Care ◽  
Health Risk Appraisal ◽  
Loving Kindness ◽  
American Nurses Association

As members of the largest and most trusted healthcare profession, nurses are role models and critical partners in the ongoing quest for the health of their patients. Findings from the American Nurses Association Health Risk Appraisal suggested that nurses give the best patient care when they are operating at the peak of their own wellness. They also revealed that 68% of the surveyed nurses place their patients’ health, safety, and wellness before their own. Globally, several nursing codes of ethics include the requirement of self-care. Often, these codes embed the responsibility to protect and promote one’s own health within the clearly described obligation to provide safe patient care. The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses is unique in that it states explicitly that nurses must adopt self-care as a duty to self in addition to their duty to provide care to patients. One of the basic assumptions of Watson’s Philosophy and Science of Caring is that caring science is the essence of nursing and the foundational disciplinary core of the profession. Watson’s theory of human caring provides support for the engagement in self-care. Two important value assumptions of Watson’s Caritas are that “we have to learn how to offer caring, love, forgiveness, compassion, and mercy to ourselves before we can offer authentic caring and love to others” and we also must “treat ourselves with loving-kindness and equanimity, gentleness, and dignity before we can accept, respect, and care for others within a professional caring-healing model.” Embedded within several caritas processes is an outline for a holistic approach to caring for self and others that can guide nurses to improve their mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

What educational and other experiences assist recently qualified nurses to understand and deal with clinical risk and patient safety?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Philip Charles Hawes
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Clinical Environment ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Clinical Role ◽  
Safe Patient Care ◽  
Clinical Risk

<p>This research was undertaken to investigate how newly graduated nurses recognise and develop skills relating to clinical risk and patient safety. I set out to understand how and where new graduates learn those skills and what would help future undergraduate nurses better prepare for the complexities of the clinical setting.  A qualitative research study using Appreciative Inquiry (AI) was the chosen methodology. This was selected for its aspirational outlook, which allows positive conclusions to be drawn from the study’s findings. Nine nurses in their first year of clinical practice participated in the study and they were interviewed on a one-to-one basis.  The key findings demonstrated that the approaches to teaching clinical risk and safe patient care and experiences of these in the undergraduate setting were variable, with many participants describing that they were ill prepared for the rigours of the clinical environment. They identified workplace culture, clinical role models, exposure to the clinical environment; experiential learning, narrative story sharing, debriefing and simulation as contributing factors to their ability to learn and understand clinical risk and safe patient care.  Despite their initial uncertainty, the participants were able to describe safe patient care and clinical risk. They identified cultures of safe patient care, safe teaching and safe learning. The participants further identified their preferred learning styles and recommended strategies that educationalists and clinical stakeholders employ to facilitate their professional development and understanding of clinical risk and patient safety.  The participants identified a more thoughtful, structured and overt approach to teaching the subject of clinical risk and patient safety to prepare for the clinical environment. They desired more experiential exposure, either clinical or simulated. They highlighted the need for effective preceptors and role models, alongside opportunities for sharing their clinical experiences and debriefing critical incidents. Furthermore, they recognised aspects of workplace cultures that facilitated or hindered effective clinical practice and safe patient care.</p>

Talked Over As If I Weren't There: Reflections From a Nurse and Educator

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-66
Author(s):  
Christina Purpora
Keyword(s):  
Patient Care ◽  
Work Environment ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Nursing School ◽  
Safe Patient Care ◽  
As If

Most nurses were taught in nursing school to avoid talking over a patient as if the patient were not there. This manuscript describes the author's experience of being talked over as a patient—what it meant to her as a nurse relating to the ethics of the situation and as an educator of future nurses. The American Nurses Association's Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements (2015) addresses the responsibility of nurses at all levels within an organization to sustain a work environment that ensures quality, safe patient care. Nurses who embody this responsibility are knowledgeable, skilled, and mindful of what they say and how they act and interact around, with, and over patients and toward each other.

Lessons from Feminist Therapy for Ministerial Ethics

1994 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-243
Author(s):  
Katherine M. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Professional Ethics ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Pastoral Ministry ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Feminist Therapy ◽  
Small Communities ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Boundary Maintenance

Suggests a parallel between the situation that provoked a code of ethics for feminist therapy and the current situation in pastoral ministry. Notes that both professions have critiqued others' professional ethics and have tended to consider themselves, by definition, ethical. Observes that both professions possess diverse theoretical perspectives and often propose practices which raise ethical dilemmas not governed by traditional codes of ethics. Opines that boundary maintenance in small communities and the notion of overlapping relationships may carry solutions from some feminist therapy to the solving of problems of ministerial ethics. Claims that making self-care a part of ethics is essential.

scholarly journals Pharmacy Practice in High-Volume Community Settings: Barriers and Ethical Responsibilities

Pharmacy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Christopher T. Owens ◽  
Ralph Baergen
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Pharmacy Practice ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Shared Responsibility ◽  
Community Settings ◽  
Ethical Responsibilities

Pharmaceutical care describes a philosophy and practice paradigm that calls upon pharmacists to work with other healthcare professionals and patients to achieve optimal health outcomes. Among the most accessible health professionals, pharmacists have responsibilities to individual patients and to public health, and this has been especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pharmacists in high-volume community settings provide a growing number of clinical services (i.e., immunizations and point-of-care testing), but according to job satisfaction and workplace survey data, demands related to filling prescriptions, insufficient staffing, and working conditions are often not optimal for these enhanced responsibilities and lead to job dissatisfaction. Professional codes of ethics require a high level of practice that is currently difficult to maintain due to a number of related barriers. In this paper, we summarize recent changes to the scope of practice of pharmacists, cite ethical responsibilities from the American Pharmacists Association Code of Ethics, review data and comments from workplace surveys, and make a call for change. Corporate managers, state boards of pharmacy, and professional organizations have a shared responsibility to work with community pharmacists in all settings to find solutions that ensure optimal and ethical patient care. Attention to these areas will enhance patient care and increase job satisfaction.

scholarly journals The Dimensions of Ethical Leadership Delineated by Codes of Ethics for Executives and Financial Officers

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Harlan Etheridge ◽  
Kathy Hsiao Yu Hsu
Keyword(s):  
Insider Trading ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Publicly Traded ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Sarbanes Oxley ◽  
Financial Scandals ◽  
Code Violations

The financial scandals of the late 1990s and early 2000s led Congress to pass the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). SOX Section 406 requires publicly-traded corporations to disclose whether they have a separate code of ethics that applies to their senior financial officers (financial code of ethics). Our study examines the content of the financial code of ethics of 29 publicly-traded firms and find that, in accordance with SOX 406, full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosures and compliance with applicable laws and regulation are strongly encouraged by these codes of ethics as are and honest and ethical conduct and communication of issues by the senior financial officers. Most of the codes we examine also expect their senior financial officers to be positive role models for other employees and to actively promote ethical behavior. Most of the financial codes of ethics we examine also prohibit certain activities, primarily conflicts of interest and insider trading. The majority of the codes also specify penalties for violations of the codes with most of the codes listing termination of employment and other disciplinary actions in response to code violations. Most of the codes also contain provisions that require senior financial officers to report any violations of the code of ethics of which they are aware. We are surprised to find that many of the codes do not discuss important issues. For example, the issues of waivers of the code of ethics or prohibition of retaliation for reporting code violations are discussed only by a minority of the codes in our study. Similarly, less than half of the codes in our study require officer signatures or certification and less than a third discuss the process for amending the code of ethics. Finally, very few codes provide guidance for officers who seek clarification of the code, discuss who within the company is considered the “owner” of the code, or disclose where interested parties can locate the code.

scholarly journals What educational and other experiences assist recently qualified nurses to understand and deal with clinical risk and patient safety?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Philip Charles Hawes
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Clinical Environment ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Clinical Role ◽  
Safe Patient Care ◽  
Clinical Risk

<p>This research was undertaken to investigate how newly graduated nurses recognise and develop skills relating to clinical risk and patient safety. I set out to understand how and where new graduates learn those skills and what would help future undergraduate nurses better prepare for the complexities of the clinical setting.  A qualitative research study using Appreciative Inquiry (AI) was the chosen methodology. This was selected for its aspirational outlook, which allows positive conclusions to be drawn from the study’s findings. Nine nurses in their first year of clinical practice participated in the study and they were interviewed on a one-to-one basis.  The key findings demonstrated that the approaches to teaching clinical risk and safe patient care and experiences of these in the undergraduate setting were variable, with many participants describing that they were ill prepared for the rigours of the clinical environment. They identified workplace culture, clinical role models, exposure to the clinical environment; experiential learning, narrative story sharing, debriefing and simulation as contributing factors to their ability to learn and understand clinical risk and safe patient care.  Despite their initial uncertainty, the participants were able to describe safe patient care and clinical risk. They identified cultures of safe patient care, safe teaching and safe learning. The participants further identified their preferred learning styles and recommended strategies that educationalists and clinical stakeholders employ to facilitate their professional development and understanding of clinical risk and patient safety.  The participants identified a more thoughtful, structured and overt approach to teaching the subject of clinical risk and patient safety to prepare for the clinical environment. They desired more experiential exposure, either clinical or simulated. They highlighted the need for effective preceptors and role models, alongside opportunities for sharing their clinical experiences and debriefing critical incidents. Furthermore, they recognised aspects of workplace cultures that facilitated or hindered effective clinical practice and safe patient care.</p>

scholarly journals Identifying Ethical Hypernorms For Accounting Educators

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-54
Author(s):  
Philip H. Siegel ◽  
Steven Mintz ◽  
Mohsen Naser-Tavakolian ◽  
John O'Shaughnessy
Keyword(s):  
Role Models ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Ethical Principles ◽  
Internal Auditing ◽  
Accounting Profession ◽  
Unique Role ◽  
Unethical Behaviors

Accounting educators have a unique role in academe because students learn about codes of ethics that will guide their actions as professionals. We identify hypernorms related to internal auditing educators that reflect unethical behaviors believed to be universally unacceptable by that community. We then compare the results to a prior survey of accounting educators and identify ethical principles for accounting academics in their roles as teachers and researchers. The results might help to develop a code of ethics for accounting educators to help them serve as role models for students as they prepare to enter the accounting profession.

scholarly journals Measurement properties of the construct of the code of ethics content: The South African experience

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mercy Mpinganjira ◽  
Mornay Roberts-Lombard ◽  
Goran Svensson ◽  
Greg Wood
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Measurement Model ◽  
Measurement Properties ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Sampling Frame

Background: Many organisations develop codes of ethics to help guide business conduct. However, not much is known about the contents of codes of ethics. Objectives: This article aims at investigating the code of ethics content construct and its measurement properties using a sample of firms from South Africa. Method: The study followed a quantitative research approach. The sampling frame consisted of the top 500 companies in South Africa. A structured questionnaire was administered using the telephone survey method. The respondents consisted of company secretaries and heads or managers responsible for ethics in the respective companies. At the end of the data collection period, a total of 222 usable responses were obtained. Results: The findings show that South African top companies have comprehensive codes of ethics as evidenced by the high mean values obtained from all of the content items under investigation. The findings also support the notion that the code of ethics content construct is multidimensional. Seven different dimensions were confirmed in the analysis. The measurement model of the ethics content construct was found to be valid as evidenced by the goodness-of-fit measure and measures of validity. Conclusion: The study shows that the code of ethics construct is multi-dimensional in nature. The framework provided in this study can also be used in developing, evaluating and strengthening existing codes where such need arises. This study contributes to theory on business ethics and presents the first tested measurement model of the code of ethics construct in South Africa.

Fire in operating theatres: DaSH-ing to the rescue

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 188-193
Author(s):  
Liam Wilson ◽  
Omer Farooq
Keyword(s):  
Patient Care ◽  
Fire Safety ◽  
Training Session ◽  
Operating Theatre ◽  
In Situ Simulation ◽  
Safe Patient Care ◽  
Team Interactions ◽  
Operating Theatres ◽  
Theatre Staff ◽  
Safety Officer

Operating theatres are dynamic environments that require multi professional team interactions. Effective team working is essential for efficient delivery of safe patient care. A fire in the operating theatre is a rare but potentially life threatening event for both patients and staff. A rapid and cohesive response from theatre and allied staff including porters, fire safety officer etc is paramount. We delivered a training session that utilised in situ simulation (simulation in workplace). After conducting needs analysis, learning objectives were agreed. After thorough planning, the date and location of the training session were identified. Contingency plans were put in place to ensure that patient care was not compromised at any point. To ensure success, checklists for faculty were devised and adhered to. A medium fidelity manikin with live monitoring was used. The first part of the scenario involved management of a surgical emergency by theatre staff. The second part involved management of a fire in the operating theatre while an emergency procedure was being undertaken. To achieve maximum learning potential, debriefing was provided immediately after each part of the scenario. A fire safety officer was present as a content expert. Latent errors (hidden errors in the workplace, staff knowledge etc) were identified. Malfunctioning of theatre floor windows and staff unawareness about the location of an evacuation site were some of the identified latent errors. Thorough feedback to address these issues was provided to the participants on the day. A detailed report of the training session was given to the relevant departments. This resulted in the equipment faults being rectified. The training session was a very positive experience and helped not only in improving participants’ knowledge, behaviour and confidence but also it made system and environment better equipped.

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