Professional Foundations in Nursing Flashcards
What is nursing ontology?
The nature of reality in nursing
What is epistemology in nursing?
Our relationship with the truth and knowledge; what we do with our knowledge
Why is ethics needed in health care?
Technological advances, increasing complexity of health care, and growing sophistication of science and technology
What are professional responsibilities of nurses?
Serve public interest and common good, possess a unique body of knowledge, have multiple accountabilities, engage i decisions that influence and shape public policy, law and societal norms
What are the CNA entry to practice competencies of a registered nurse?
Clinician, advocate, coordinator,, communicator, collaborator, professional, educator
Why is it important that health care professionals know the law?
Failure to understand responsibilities and standards puts nurse at risk of discipline or legal action, nurses have legal obligations to their patients, nurses have corresponding rights
What does a code of ethics represent?
A characteristic of a professional body, a public declaration of a professions values and responsibilities, a formal expression of a professions values and responsibilities
What are the 7 principles of deontology?
Providing safe, compassionate, competent and ethical care, promoting and respecting informed decision making, preserving dignity, maintaining privacy and confidentiality, promoting justice, being accountable
What does the CNA code of ethics consist of?
Nursing values and ethical responsibilities, ethical endeavours: respond to and protect the vulnerable
What is the code of Hammurabi?
The first recorded collection of law and ethical codes in which justice was strict, the behaviour of women was regulated, and class distinctions occurred
What was the Hippocratic Oath (400 BC)?
Contains principles found in modern day codes: beneficence and nonmaleficence, sanctity of life, competence, professional integrity, privacy and confidentiality
What was the Nuremburg Code (1947)?
Established after the trials of Nazis accused of human experimentation
Reaffirms that research must be conducted with adherence to the ethical principles of informed consent, beneficence, and nonmaleficence
What did the early nursing ethical codes focus on?
Strong foundation in Christian morality, focused on obedience, compliance, etiquette, and loyalty to the physician, less focused on judgement, reflection or critical thinking
What are the values and ethical responsibilities outlined in the CNA code of ethics?
Providing safe, compassionate, competent, and ethical care, promoting health and well being, promoting and respecting informed decision making, preserving dignity, maintaining privacy and confidentiality, promoting justice, being accountable
What are the ethical endeavours outlined by the CNA code of ethics?
It challenges the profession of nursing to work collectively with others to recognize the diversity of the Canadian population, consider the challenges that influence the health and well being of the world and strive to reduce health disparities due to poverty, homelessness, and vulnerability
What values does the Canada Health Care Act outline?
Public administration, comprehensiveness, universality, portability and accessibility
What functions may clinical ethical committees have?
Consultation, education and policy making
What are some safety rights that patients have?
Right to respect and dignity and the right to be kept safe
What are common causes of adverse events in health care?
Human limitations/ error, communication breakdown, fatigue, workload, complexity of processes, reliance on memory over checklists, systemic problems
What are causes of adverse events in pediatric care?
Medication, unfamiliarity with peds care protocols, miscommunication, lack of coordination of care, lack of scope, depth and focus on documentation
What is one of the most important factors in developing a culture of patient safety?
Leadership: leaders must demonstrate commitment through articulated values and actions
What often precedes errors?
A series of events or misteps
What aspects of safety for nursing and health care is the RNAO concerned about in order to create a safe environment for patients and caregivers?
Quality care and nursing, quality work environments, and multi level accountability
What is ethics?
The philosophical study of morality
What is ethical theory?
The study of the nature and justification of general ethical principles that can be applied to moral problems
What is biomedical ethics?
Explores the ethical questions and moral issues associated with health care
What is nursing ethics?
Focuses on the moral questions within the sphere of nursing practice and relationships
What is applied ethics?
The field of ethics in which these theories and principles are applied to actual moral problems
What is morality?
The tradition of beliefs and norms within a culture or society about right and wrong human conduct
What are non-normative ethics?
The fields of descriptive ethics and meta-ethics: descriptive ethics gather factual descriptions and explanations of moral behaviours and beliefs; meta-ethics analyzes the meanings of terms such as right, obligation, good and cultures
What are normative ethics?
Attempts are made to identify the basic principles and virtues that guide morality
What are ethical dilemmas?
They arise when the best course of action is unclear and when strong moral reasons support each position
What is moral distress?
Results when we are not able to face these issues and deal effectively with them
What are values?
An ideal that has meaning or importance to an individual, group or society