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Ethics is concerned with 'right and wrong', although agreeing what is 'right' can be challenging. An understanding of ethics is essential to the delivery of skilled professional care. It is vital that nurses appreciate the value of ethics in their work. Ethics is relevant to clinical, practice-based issues and affects all areas of the professional nursing role. To apply ethics effectively, nurses must develop reasoning skills and understand the concepts and principles that assist ethical analysis. This article, the first in a series of articles relating to ethics and nursing, offers an introduction to ethics, primarily focusing on their application in clinical nursing practice. Throughout the article, the terms 'ethical' and 'moral' are used interchangeably.

Objective To determine the necessity for acid-washed containers for 24-h urine copper analysis. Methods Copper solutions, with concentrations relevant to clinical decision limits, were prepared by spiking both assay diluent and unknown urine samples with the copper calibrator. Samples were split between plain and acid-washed 24-h urine containers, and copper analysis was performed using inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results Measurement of copper in both spiked diluent and spiked urine samples showed minimal concentration bias between acid-washed and plain 24-h urine containers. Conclusions Acid-washed containers are not required for the measurement of copper in 24-h urine samples.

In England, Scotland and Wales legislation has facilitated the process of procuring an abortion to the point at which, in 2007, it appears to have been effectively assimilated into contemporary life. However, despite the legal acceptance of abortion it remains an ethically contentious subject. Arguments in favour of, or in opposition to, abortion can arouse vociferous and, on occasions, extreme reactions. At the heart of the abortion debate lie questions concerning rights, autonomy and the way in which society views disability (if a pregnancy is terminated for this reason alone). It is important that health professionals comprehend the basis of the abortion debate, from the perspective of their profession, society as a whole and the individual woman who may have had or is considering an abortion or has been affected by the subject in some way. This article examines some of the key ethical issues concerning abortion.

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