Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia Assessment Answer

Introduction

The Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia (CENA) is a guiding document for the nursing professional group in Australia and it provides insight into the standards of practice expected by nurses at all levels. It includes the rights of both the health care providers and the consumers who receive care. It is based on the principles and standards set in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Development Programme, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The document was developed to ensure accountable and responsible nursing practice in Australia. There are multiple purposes behind developing the CENA which included identifying the fundamental ethical standards relevant to the nursing profession, providing nurses with a reference point to judge their behaviour in a specific situation, guiding ethical decision making and making the community aware of the human rights standards and ethical values (ANMF, 2010).

The CENA is an important document that guides nurses during their day-to-day practice. The document contains eight value statements and it gives all nurses a reminder regarding their commitment to society. According to Zahedi et al. (2013), nurses are responsible for providing high-quality care to patients and ethical codes are published by every recognized professional group in the world. It gives nurses an idea regarding how to behave ethically and how they can balance risks or barriers in fulfilling their professional obligations. In the CENA, the value statements are categorized into four categories namely self, person or health consumers, colleagues and the community (See Figure 1). Hence, it defines the ethical responsibilities of nurses for all four categories.

Figure 1: Code of ethics organized into four categories. Source: (Clement, 2016)

For instance, value statement 3 is that nurses value the diversity of people. It implies actions for the self or nurse which is to value their own unique identity and evaluate the differences of others. The duty concerning health consumers is to value the diversity of people and develop cultural knowledge. With respect to their duty towards a colleague, nurses need to accept diversity among colleagues and engage in non-discriminatory interpersonal relationships. Moreover, in the community, nurses have the duty to address disparities among vulnerable and cultural groups such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Figure 2: Cultural competence in nursing. Source: (Butler et al., 2016)

References

Australian Nursing & Midwifery Council (ANMF). (2010). Code of ethics for nurses in Australia. Retrieved from: https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/disability-support/submissions/sub0335-attachment3.pdf 

Butler, M., McCreedy, E., Schwer, N., Burgess, D., Call, K., Przedworski, J., ... & Kane, R. L. (2016). Improving cultural competence to reduce health disparities. https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/products/cultural-competence/research-protocol

Clement, I., (2016). Textbook on Professional Trends and Adjustments in Nursing. Retrieved from: https://www.jaypeedigital.com/book/9789385891106/chapter/ch6

Zahedi, F., Sanjari, M., Aala, M., Peymani, M., Aramesh, K., Parsapour, A., ... & Dastgerdi, M. V. (2013). The code of ethics for nurses. Iranian journal of public health, 42(Supple1), 1.

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