BASIC TERMS IN NURSE ETHICS
Basic
This refers to freedom from external control. In health care the concept applies to respect for the patients.
What is Autonomy?
This refers to answering for your own actions.
What is Accountability
This turns away from conventional principles of ethics as a way to determine best actions and focuses instead on the details of a situation.
What is Casuistry, or case-based reasoning?
Civil state laws that define nursing and the standards you must meet within individual states.
What are Nurse Practice Acts?
This act ensures that when patients come to the emergency department or the hospital, an appropriate medical screening occurs.
WHAT IS Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA)?
This refers to taking positive actions to help others.
What is Beneficence ?
This refers to a willingness to respect one’s professional obligations and to follow through.
What is responsibility?
This looks to the nature of relationships to guide participants in making difficult decisions, especially relationships in which power is unequal or in which a point of view has become ignored or invisible.
What is feminist ethics?
This protect society and provide punishment for crimes, which are defined by municipal, state, and federal legislation.
What are Criminal laws?
This includes standards regarding accountability in the health care setting. Notably, it establishes patient rights regarding privacy of their health care information and records.
What is Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ?
This refers to faithfulness or the agreement to keep promises.
What is
Fidelity?
This is a set of guiding principles that all members of a profession accept.
What is A code of ethics?
This offers an alternative view to utilitarianism and deontology. Similar to feminist ethics, care-based ethics focuses on understanding relationships, personal narratives and the context in which ethical problems arise.
What is ethics of care?
This is derived from statutes passed by the US Congress and state legislatures.
What is Statutory law?
This is characterized by four themes embedded in nursing practice: (1) consumer rights and protections, (2) affordable health care coverage, (3) increased access to care, and (4) quality of care that meets the needs of patients.
What is the Affordable Care Act (ACA)?
This refers to refers to the health care team’s obligation to respect patient privacy.
What is confidentiality?
This defines actions as right or wrong based on their adherence to rules and principles such as fidelity to promises, truthfulness, and justice.
What is Deontology?
When two opposing courses of action can both be justified by ethical principles.
What is ethical dilemma?
These are derived from federal and state constitutions. For example, in the United States, a constitutional right afforded to every citizen is the right to refuse treatment.
What are Constitutional laws?
These regulations are associated with them are interrelated with other laws governing the practice of nursing.
What is the Informed Consent and Health Care Act?
This is a deeply held belief about the worth of an idea, attitude, custom, or object that affects choices and behaviors.
What is Values?
This proposes that the value of something is determined by its usefulness.
What is a utilitarian system of ethics?
This describes the anguish experienced when a person feels unable to act according to closely held core values.
What is Moral distress?
These are derived from health care laws, best practice guidelines, professional organization white papers, evidence-based nursing knowledge, and citizen advocacy groups.
What are Standards of nursing care?
This is conduct that falls below the generally accepted standard of care of a reasonably prudent person.
What is Negligence?