While maintaining professionalism it is also important for all nurses to follow the law and work within …show more content…
Ethics is defined as moral principles that govern an individual’s behavior of being good or bad. Nurses have an ethical accountability towards the patients whom they care for in everyday nursing situations (Arnold & Boggs, 2015). All nurses should be aware of ethical principles and they are: autonomy which means that individuals have a right to make decisions about their lives; beneficence which means doing good while preventing from any harm; non-maleficence which means to do no harm, it is nurses duty to protect the patient from any cruelty and torture; and justice which means treating everyone equally (Athar, 2011). The prime duty of all nurses is to deliver safe, competent, consistent, and ethical care to their patients. Nurses must think of ethics before they act in order to provide highest nursing standard care (Arnold & Boggs, …show more content…
In nursing, there are many unintentional health care errors which should be reported in written, verbal, or other forms of communication. Reporting errors can prevent similar errors in future and improve patient safety. If the errors are not disclosed or reported, the ethical principles of non-maleficence and beneficence are violated. The nurse can prevent harm to patients by telling the truth about the errors, regardless of bad or good news, which also helps to build therapeutic relationships based on trust (Wolf & Hughes, 2008). For example, the nurse should immediately report to senior staff, as well as the patient if she suspects that wrong medication is being given, to prevent any further harm to the