The Tenets Essay
Tenets are principles used to guide professionals in their role in society. For example, the nursing code of ethics guides nurses in their profession as they execute their duties and responsibilities in a way dictated by the ethics to achieve excellence in nursing care. In the medical field, ethical standards ensure nurses uphold virtues such as respect and honesty to promote the quality of healthcare services. Out of the nine nursing code of ethics tenets, only two will be discussed in this paper.
One of the tenets, tenet three, is the advocacy role. Nurses are responsible for ensuring patients’ safety and protecting their rights and health for all the patients under their care. Advocacy is one of every nurse’s critical responsibilities, enabling them to act as an intermediary between the patient and their relatives, friends, and doctors.
As outlined in the code of conduct, nurses can use their power to influence and promote patients’ safety, promote their rights, and ensure their needs are met since they are the primary caregivers. The tenet involves ensuring that the patient’s privacy and confidentiality rights are protected. The nurse can advocate for practices that protect patient information and ensure it is secure and cannot be disclosed unless agreed upon (Butts & Rich, 2022).
Advocacy can also protect human research participants by ensuring that they have all the information about the research and the right to decide whether to participate. Nurses have a role in protecting the concerns of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups regarding their participation in research, for example, reporting researchers who violate the rights of any participant.
According to Haddad & Geiger (2018), nurse Managers and leaders can also use the advocacy role to ensure that nurses with the required skills, knowledge, and competency are in practice areas and use appropriate performance standards to measure their performance in clinical areas. Nurses also have to promote a culture of safety where nurses ensure policies and regulations are implemented to ensure patient safety.
If errors occur, they are investigated, and necessary disciplinary action is taken. When this tenet is applied effectively, patients receive high-quality and equitable nursing care, boost the nurse’s performance rating, and promote trust between the patient and the nurse (Butts & Rich, 2022).
The second tenet I choose is the sixth tenet, where the nurse has to establish, maintain and improve the ethical environment, and work setting and use employment conditions that promote safe, quality care (Butts & Rich, 2022). Nurses have to have moral virtues to improve their interaction with patients under their care, such as patience, compassion, honesty, knowledge, and skills.
Nurses can promote patient dignity through mutual communication, caring, transparency, and respect for these virtues. According to Haddad & Geiger (2018), nurses are responsible for doing good by applying principles such as beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, and fidelity. These principles guide nurses and help them create a safe environment where patients can get quality care without discrimination.
In addition, environmental factors also help nurses fulfill their ethical obligations. For example, policies and performance standards, disciplinary procedures, and ethical committees influence nurses’ professional practice. Therefore, nurses must establish a moral environment collectively to promote safe, quality care to all patients and ensure professional satisfaction.
The tenet can also promote nurses’ general welfare and minimize moral distress or strain. It also leads to providing safe and quality care to patients, increasing their satisfaction with the healthcare services nurses provide (Haddad & Geiger, 2018).
Nurses have an advocacy role in fighting for and protecting patients’ rights to ensure they receive quality care and their needs are fully met. The role is critical to nurses since they spend most of their time with patients and know their needs to improve patient health outcomes. In addition, establishing a conducive working and moral environment is essential in providing quality healthcare services. As a nurse, I will be motivated by positive health outcomes for all patients and have a responsibility to provide high-quality care.
References
Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2022). Nursing ethics: Across the curriculum and into practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Haddad, L. M., & Geiger, R. A. (2018). Nursing ethical considerat