Question

Nursing practice in Australia is governed by Codes of professional conduct, code of ethics, standards for practice and professional boundaries instituted by Nurses and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). When administering prescribed medications to a client you refer to medication administration guidelines, policies, procedure and other legislative requirements relevant to medication administration. For the listed Codes of Conduct, Codes of Ethics and Standards for Practice, explain briefly how you would comply.

Code of Conduct

COC 1.1): Nurses practise in a safe and competent manner.

COE 6: Nurses value a culture of safety in nursing and health care.

Standard 9: Practises within safety and quality improvement guidelines and standards

How will you comply with these standards?

Code of Conduct

1.2) COC 2: Nurses practise in accordance with the standards of the profession and broader health system

COE 1: Nurses value quality nursing care for all people.

How will you comply with these standards?

Code of Conduct

1.3) COC 3: Nurses practise and conduct themselves in accordance with laws relevant to the profession and practice of nursing

Standard 1: Functions in accordance with the law, policies and procedures affecting EN practice

How will you comply with these standards?

Code of Conduct

1.4) COC 4: Nurses respect the dignity, culture, ethnicity, values and beliefs of people receiving care and treatment, and of their colleagues.

COE 2: Nurses value respect and kindness for self and others.

COE 3: Nurses value the diversity of people.

Standard 2: Practises nursing in a way that ensures the rights, confidentiality, dignity and respect of people are upheld.

How will you comply with these standards?

Code of Conduct

1.5) COC 5: Nurses treat personal information obtained in a professional capacity as private and confidential.

COE 7: Nurses value ethical management of information.

Standard 2: Practises nursing in a way that ensures the rights, confidentiality, dignity and respect of people are upheld.

How will you comply with these standards?

Code of Conduct

1.6) COC 6: Nurses provide impartial,u comply with these standards? honest and accurate information in relation to nursing care and health care products.

COC 7: Nurses support the health, wellbeing and informed decision-making of people requiring or receiving care.

COE 5: Nurses value informed decision-making.

Standard 6: Provides skilled and timely care to people whilst promoting their independence and involvement in care decision-making

How will you comply with these standards?

Code of COnduct

1.7) COC 8: Nurses promote and preserve the trust and privilege inherent in the relationship between nurses and people receiving care.

COC 9: Nurses maintain and build on the community's trust and confidence in the nursing profession.

How will you comply with these standards?

Code of Conduct

1.8) COC 10: Nurses practise nursing reflectively and ethically

Standard 8: Provides nursing care that is informed by research evidence

How will you comply with these standards?

COde of COnduct

1.9) Standard 3: Accepts accountability and responsibility for own actions

How will you comply with this standard?

Answer 1

Conduct Statement 1 -Nurses practise in a safe and competent manner

Explanation :-

1. Nurses are personally accountable for the provision of safe and competent nursing care. It is the responsibility of each nurse to maintain the competence necessary for current practice. Maintenance of competence includes participation in ongoing professional development to maintain and improve knowledge, skills and attitudes relevant to practice in a clinical, management, education or research setting.

2. Nurses are aware that undertaking activities not within their scopes of practice may compromise the safety of persons in their care. These scopes of practice are based on each nurse’s education, knowledge, competency, extent of experience and lawful authority.

3. Nurses, reasonably and in good faith, advise their immediate supervisors or employers of the scopes of their practice including any limitations.

4. When an aspect of care is delegated, nurses ensure the delegation does not compromise the safety or quality of care of people.

5. Nurses practise in a safe and competent manner that is not compromised by personal health limitations, including the use of alcohol or other substances that may alter a nurse’s capacity to practise safely at all times. Nurses whose health threatens their capacity to practise safely and competently have a responsibility to seek assistance to redress their health needs. This may include making a confidential report to an appropriate authority.

Conduct Statement 2 - Nurses practise in accordance with the standards of the profession and broader health system Explanation :-

1. Nurses are responsible for ensuring the standard of their practice conforms to professional standards developed and agreed by the profession, with the object of enhancing the safety of people in their care as well as their partners, family members and other members of the person’s nominated network. This responsibility also applies to the nurses’ colleagues.

2. Nurses practise in accordance with wider standards relating to safety and quality in health care and accountability for a safe health system, such as those relating to health documentation and information management, incident reporting and participation in adverse event analysis and formal open disclosure procedures.

3. Nurses’ primary responsibility is to provide safe and competent nursing care. Any circumstance that may compromise professional standards, or any observation of questionable, unethical or unlawful practice, should be made known to an appropriate person or authority. If the concern is not resolved and continues to compromise safe and competent care, nurses must intervene to safeguard the individual and, after exhausting internal processes, may notify an appropriate authority external to their employer organisation.

4. Nurses recognise their professional position and do not accept gifts or benefits that could be viewed as a means of securing the nurses’ influence or favour.

Conduct Statement 3 - Nurses practise and conduct themselves in accordance with laws relevant to the profession and practice of nursing

Explanation -:

1. Nurses are familiar with relevant laws and ensure they do not engage in clinical or other practices prohibited by such laws or delegate to others activities prohibited by those laws. 2. Nurses witnessing the unlawful conduct of colleagues and other co-workers, whether in clinical, management, education or research areas of practice, have both a responsibility and an obligation to report such conduct to an appropriate authority and take other appropriate action as necessary to safeguard people and the public interest.

3. Where nurses make a report of unlawful or otherwise unacceptable conduct to their employers, and that report has failed to produce an appropriate response from the employers, nurses are entitled and obliged to take the matter to an appropriate external authority.

4. Nurses respect the possessions  and property of persons people in their care and those of their colleagues, and are stewards of the resources of their employing organisations.

Conduct Statement 4 - Nurses respect the dignity, culture, ethnicity, values and beliefs of people receiving care and treatment, and of their colleagues

Explanation :-

1. In planning and providing effective nursing care, nurses uphold the standards of culturally informed and competent care. This includes according due respect and consideration to the cultural knowledge, values, beliefs, personal wishes and decisions of the persons being cared for as well as their partners, family members and other members of their nominated social network. Nurses acknowledge the changing nature of families and recognise families can be constituted in a variety of ways.

2. Nurses promote and protect the interests of people receiving treatment and care. This includes taking appropriate action to ensure the safety and quality of their care is not compromised because of harmful prejudicial attitudes about race, culture, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age, religion, spirituality, political, social or health status, lifestyle or other human factors.

3. Nurses refrain from expressing racist, sexist, homophobic, ageist and other prejudicial and discriminatory attitudes and behaviours toward colleagues, co-workers, persons in their care and their partners, family and friends. Nurses take appropriate action when observing any such prejudicial and discriminatory attitudes and behaviours, whether by staff, people receiving treatment and care or visitors, in nursing and related areas of health and aged care.

4. In making professional judgements in relation to a person’s interests and rights, nurses do not contravene the law or breach the human rights of any person, including those deemed stateless such as refugees, asylum seekers and detainees.