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Review the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses. While all of the provisions are vital to professional nurses, discuss the provisions that are most important for nurse administrators to apply to their role as leaders within a healthcare organization.

 

 

 

Kyle Ledoux posted

     The ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses is a conceptualized framework designed to keep all of the aspects of nursing conduct in perspective. There are many different aspects to nursing, and further, more responsibilities for nurse administrators as leaders within a healthcare organization. The code of ethics themselves contain nine provisions- all of which are important to patient care and nursing. Despite this fact, there are one or two provisions which I believe stand out among the rest that are applicable to nurse administrators in leadership roles. 

     Provision four states that "the nurse has authority, accountability, and responsibility for nursing practice; makes decisions; and takes action consistent with the obligation to promote health and to provide optimal care" (ANA, 2019). From my perspective, nurse leaders and administrators are in positions of leadership because they have led by example in their organization in such a way that it stands out among other patient care advocates. Obviously, the nurse administrator must be capable of exercising authority among their nursing staff- but in a respectful manner. I think above all others, nurse administrators must take a personal sense of accountability and responsibility for everything that occurs within their unit. Even if an event was not directly their fault (ex. a patient fall), I believe a true leader would hear an event such as this and conduct unit huddles or unit based council meetings to reinforce patient safety and brainstorm ways to prevent future patient falls. The ability to make decisions at any given moment is a responsibility of every practicing nurse, but a nurse leader makes decisions that involves safety of patients and nurses.

     I believe all of these specifications within the fourth provision of the ANA Nursing Code of Ethics describe what are fundamental expectations and requirements of nursing administrators and leaders. At the core of all of these responsibilities listed within the fourth provision is patient safety. According to Roussel, Thomas, and Harris (2020), "patient safety is a basic tenet of professional practice, and being an advocate for a safe environment is embedded in the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics." One of the priority goals of patient care is to constantly ensure patient safety. Nurse leaders and administrators are aware of this and their conduct must persistently ensure this principle because if the safety of our patients is not maintained, the nursing practice itself would cease to exist. 

References

America Nurses Association. (2019). Code of Ethics . Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/coe-view-only

Roussel, L., Harris, J. L., & Thomas, P. L. (2020). Management and leadership for nurse

          administrators (Eighth). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.