Ethical Principles in Nursing & Healthcare Practice

Ethical Principles in Nursing & Healthcare Practice

1. Ethical Principles
Dr. EsraaMohammed Soltan
Lecturer of Nursing Administration-Suez Canal University
Diploma of Health Professions Education (DHPE)

2. Outline:
•Introduction.
•Definition of ethical action.
•Definition of ethical principle.
•Ethical principles used in nursing.
•When to use ethical principles?
•Summary.

3. Introduction:
Ethicalprinciplesareusefulstrategiesformembersof
thehealthcareteam(e.g.,physician,pharmacist,
nurse)andincludestandardsortruthsonwhich
ethicalactionsaremade.

4. Definition of ethical action:
Ethicalactionmeanshowthatpersonorgroupacts
accordingtoethics.

5. Definition of ethical principle:
Anethicalprincipleisasortof“ruleofthumb”on
howoneshouldorshouldn’tbehave.It’slikea
generalrulethatdefinesgoodorbadbehavior.

6. Ethical principles used in nursing:
Ethical
principles
Autonomy
Beneficence
Nonmaleficence
Justice
Fidelity
Veracity
Confidentiality
Privacy

7. Autonomy:
Definition:
Thepatienthastherighttomakehis/herowndecision.
Roleofnurse:
Thenursehelpsthepatientunderstandthenatureandextentofhisdisease
processandthepossibleoutcomesoftreatment.Thiswillenablethepatient
tomakethebestpossibledecisionabouthishealthcarebasedonall
availableinformation.

8. Beneficence:
Definition:
Thenursewantstodogoodforthepatient;thepotentialbenefitto
thepatientisweighedagainstthepotentialrisk.
Roleofnurse:
Thenursewillprovidethepatientwiththeinformationthatwillhelp
himreducetheriskofharmbymakingchoicesbasedonall
availableinformation.

9. Nonmaleficence:
Definition:
Avoidingdoingharmtothepatient.
Roleofnurse:
Thenursewillmakeeveryefforttoprotectthewell-being
ofthepatientandwillnotallowactionsthatcouldcause
harmtothepatient.

10. Justice:
Definition:
Fairandequitabletreatmenttoallpatients.
Roleofnurse:
Thenursemusttreatallpeoplefairlywithoutconsidering
socioeconomicstatus,personalcharacteristics,orthe
basisforthepatient'shealthproblems.

11. Fidelity:
Definition:
Beingloyaltocommitmentsandaccountablefor
responsibilities.
Roleofnurse:
Thenursewillstayfaithfultothenurse-patient
relationshipthathasbeenforgedwiththepatient.

12. Veracity:
Definition:
Avoiding misleading patients.
Roleofnurse:
Thenurseprovidesthepatientwithtruthfulinformation;
thiswillallowthepatienttomakeevidence-based
decisionsabouthishealthcare.

13. Confidentiality:
Definition:
Pertainstotheamountofinformationthatcanbe
disclosedaboutapatientwithouthis/herconsent.
Roleofnurse:
Thenursewillnotallowprotectedhealthinformationto
bereleasedaboutthepatient.

14. Privacy:
Definition:
Limitingtheamountofinformationtodiscloseaboutoneself.
Roleofnurse:
Thepatientexpectsthenursetoguardhisprivacy,andthe
nurseprotectshimfromharmthatcouldresultfromabreach
ofhisprivacy.

15. Ethical principles used in nursing:
Ethical
principles
Autonomy
Beneficence
Nonmaleficence
Justice
Fidelity
Veracity
Confidentiality
Privacy

16. When to use ethical principles?
Whenfacingdecisionsthathavenoeasyanswers,
nursescanconsideroptionsagainsteachofthe
principlesofhealthcareethics.

17. Summary:
•Introduction.
•Definition of ethical action.
•Definition of ethical principle.
•Ethical principles used in nursing.
•When to use ethical principles?

19. References:
•Linton,A.D.(2015).Introductiontomedical-surgical
nursing.ElsevierHealthSciences.
•Terry,A.J.(2013).TheLPN-to-RNBridge:Transitionsto
advanceyourcareer.Jones&BartlettPublishers.
•Weiss,S.A.,Tappen,R.M.,&Grimley,K.
(2019).Essentialsofnursingleadership&management.FA
Davis.