The code of ethics adopted by the American Nurses Association (AMA) is aimed at ensuring that nurses always act in the best interests of patients. For instance, some of the provisions emphasize respect for every person as well as the personal integrity of medical workers (AMA, 2001, unpaged). Moreover, this code of ethics attaches importance to professional growth and cooperation that are essential for helping patients. These rules should shape the philosophy of nurses and their daily work. In particular, they should affect their relations with patients and colleagues.
Each provision of this code can have profound implications for the work of nurses. For instance, one can discuss the following statement, “The nurse collaborates with other health professionals and the public in promoting community, national, and international efforts to meet health needs” (AMA, 2001, unpaged). It should be noted that nurses can greatly improve public health by screening people or by telling them about the importance of healthy lifestyles. So, the code of ethics obliges nurses to fulfill their duties to the community.
The code of ethics is also designed to minimize the possibility of negligence and malpractice. In this case, the term negligence can be defined as a nurse’s failure to provide care that every professional will provide in similar circumstances (Daniels, 2004, p. 147). For instance, a nurse can act negligently if he/she forgets to screen a patient during an outreach program. So, negligence can be viewed as inaction that exposes a patient’s health to threat. In turn, malpractice can be understood as wrongful conduct or deliberate violation of professional or ethical rules (Daniels, 2004, p. 147). One can distinguish the following elements of malpractice: 1) the damage is done to the patient; 2) violation of professional standards; 3) the duty that was not performed; 4) evidence showing that the actions of a nurse-led to the damage. For instance, a nurse can give a patient the wrong dose of medication. However, there is no list of malpractices because the appropriateness of the same action depends on particular circumstances.
References
American Nurses Association. (2001). 2001 Approved Provisions. Web.
Daniels, R. (2004). Nursing Fundamentals: Caring & Clinical Decision Making. New York: Cengage Learning.