Ethical principles provided by ARN in the documents related to the nursing practice
The activity of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN) is based on the range of the documents (including the code of ethics for nurses) developed by the American Nurses Association which are general for different types of the nursing services. However, ARN improved the general variant of the code with references to the peculiarities of the rehabilitation nurses practice.
The main task of nurses is to provide the effective care participating in the definite interactions with the patients. Thus, the fact of the nurses’ frequent communication with patients results in the necessity of solving a number of ethical issues.
To reduce the negative effects of the ethical challenges for nurses and to follow the interests of the patients, it is significant to use the principles fixed in the Position Statement of ARN on the Ethical Issues.
The first aspect of the code is to address the patients’ rights (including the rights of minors) directly (ARN, 2012). Nevertheless, this question is rather controversial and requires its solution according to the statements that the rehabilitation nurse often acts according to the patient’s interests (advocate), and she should be aware of the importance of patients’ participation in the decision-making process (ARN, 2012).
Moreover, the rehabilitation nurse should respond to the aspect of the patient’s confidentiality and privacy with references to the principles of autonomy, beneficence, and justice. The use of restraints and the peculiarities of the interactions with the patients with suicidal behaviors are also regulated by the ethical code of ARN.
Such problems as the character of relations between nurses and patients and the elements of the health care reform are also limited by the norms of ARN’s code. The rehabilitation nurses should protect the rights of their patients, support them while solving the ethical issues, and help them in the decision-making process (ARN, 2012).
The standards of the care emphasized by ARN
ARN determines the basic standards of providing the nursing care which depends on the division of the staff of the rehabilitation nurses into the advanced practice nurses and the nursing assistive personnel. The standards which are addressed to these groups of nurses are different, and this difference is based on the level of the qualification.
The advanced practice nurses should have a degree in nursing and be able to provide effective comprehensive assessments, diagnose the complex responses of individuals, and address the requirements of the members of the patients’ families (ARN, 2012).
“They synthesize complex data to formulate decisions and plans that optimize health, promote wellness, manage illness, prevent complications and secondary disabilities, maximize function, and minimize disabilities” (ARN, 2012). The advanced practice nurses’ activity includes the combination of the knowledge, research, consultation, and practice.
The nursing assistive personnel should provide the effective support of the patients in their everyday activities, to control the peculiarities of the patients’ hygiene and nutrition (including the control over the patient’s following the dietary restrictions). Nevertheless, there is a range of the specialized tasks which should be realized by the nursing assistive personnel.
They are required to provide the mobility assistance, to fix the changes in the patients’ “temperature, pulse, respirations, and blood pressure and pain level” (ARN, 2012). The standards of the care also include the principles of the behavior management and monitoring the facts of the patients’ input and output.
Reference
Association of Rehabilitation Nurses. (2012). Web.