The ethical principles create a foundation for nursing practice. Ethical principles form the basis for nurses’ decisions based on universal principles and consideration of patient outcomes when making clinical judgments. The most central of the ethical principles is the respect for people. The primary and basic ethical principles include: respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice (Grace & DRN, 2017). These primary ethical principles are used along with secondary ethical principles when making clinical decisions and interpreting ethical issues. The secondary ethical principles include confidentiality, veracity, and fidelity.
The most fundamental principle of professional behavior according to the American Nurses Association is the respect for people (Blais, 2015). This ethical principle has a wide range of applications in all life situations. Respect for persons emphasizes that all individuals should treat each other as worthy person. In clinical practice, this principle generally means that respecting a patient’s autonomy. The principle of nonmaleficence advocates for avoidance of any harm to the patient. It is promoted by various interventions such as preventing deliberate harm which may occur during performance of nursing actions. The principle of beneficence advocates for the active promotion of good by providing health benefits to the clients and considering how best a patient can be helped. The principle of justice emphasizes the promotion of fairness or equity in every situation a nurse encounters such as fair allocation of resources (Blais, 2015).
Veracity emphasizes the act of being completely truthful with patients. Healthcare professionals are required to not withhold the whole truth from patients even when it may stress the patient. The principle of fidelity involves keeping’s one promises. Nurses and healthcare professional ought to be true and faithful to their professional responsibilities and promises through providing individualized patient care (Grace, & DRN, 2017). The principle of confidentiality advocates for respect of privileged patient information. Ethical principles provides the foundation of nursing practice and impacts clinical decisions.
References
Blais, K. (2015). Professional nursing practice: Concepts and perspectives. Pearson.
Grace, P. J., & DRN, P. (Eds.). (2017). Nursing ethics and professional responsibility in advanced practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
