The metaethics of nursing codes of ethics and conduct

Snelling, Paul

doi:10.1111/nup.12122

Cited by 17 publications

(22 citation statements)

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“…Even if the imminent evil (illness) is not removed, this new relationship opens the possibility for compassion or co‐suffering with the patient. Said compassion emerges as a skilful way of “being‐for‐the‐other‐person.” Compassion, as a virtue requiring emotional commitment, cannot be imposed (Snelling, , , 229–249) but only developed. In the age of technical development, the ability for compassion is a huge challenge to the contemporary nursing professional (Tałaj, Kupcepicz, & Fischer, , pp.…”

Section: Implications and Ethical Challenges For The Nursing Professionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Albert Mieczysław Krąpiec’s theory of the person for professional nursing practice

Ferdynus

2019

Nursing Philosophy

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This article presents the works of great Polish philosopher, Mieczysław Albert Krąpiec, whose creative output can be applied to professional nursing practice. Krąpiec's philosophical heritage is extensive and encompasses many philosophical fields: metaphysics, philosophical anthropology, philosophy of law, philosophy of culture, philosophy of politics and philosophy of language. Krąpiec created an original philosophical synthesis characterized by a realistic approach. In this paper, I present only one of several original philosophical concepts developed by Krąpiec: the theory of the person based on seven essential characteristics, that is the ability for cognition, love, freedom, religion, legal subjectivity, completeness and dignity. I attempt to show how these personal characteristics correspond to various patient needs. I argue that the qualitative deficit of any personal characteristics indicated by Krąpiec corresponds to a patient's real need that must be satisfied. I also stress that the skilful diagnosing of all—not only selected—qualitative deficits of characteristics can be defined as holistic care in the nursing profession.

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Section: Implications and Ethical Challenges For The Nursing Professionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Albert Mieczysław Krąpiec’s theory of the person for professional nursing practice

Ferdynus

2019

Nursing Philosophy

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“…I am not saying that nurses are not allowed to do this, or that none do, I am saying that they aren't required to. Instead, guidelines, in the form of codes of ethics or conduct are produced, and despite their inadequacy (Snelling, 2016a;Snelling, 2017), this seems to be enough. The standards for competence in the UK state that "All nurses must practice with confidence according to The Code, and within other recognized ethical and legal frameworks" (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2015, p.13).…”

Section: Evidence and Philosophy-unequal Siblingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…but it certainly is not for the conduct-code writers in the UK. The two types of codes differ significantly (Snelling, 2016a). Personally, I return to original texts to refresh my teaching and thinking, but it has to be said that referring to them is not always popular with students, and in a packed curriculum with limited assessments, examination of primary philosophical texts is not seen as important.…”

Section: Evidence and Philosophy-unequal Siblingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is at odds to modern nursing application, which requires nurses to show compassion to everyone. I say requires here because this is what you see in codes, including the sorts of codes that are more like law than ethics (Snelling, 2016a). What I am taking from this is that looking to the philosophers in great detail and then trying to apply their texts directly to practice is not likely to be helpful for most practicing nurses.…”

Section: James Sterba Starts His Book the Triumph Of Practice Over Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The subversion of Mill and the ultimate aim of nursing

Snelling

2017

Nursing Philosophy

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This is lightly edited and referenced version of a presentation given at the 20thInternational Philosophy of Nursing conference in Quebec on 23rd August 2016.Philosophical texts are not given the same prominence in nurse education as their more valued younger sibling, primary research evidence, but they can influence practice through guidelines, codes and espoused values. John Stuart Mill's harm principle, found in On Liberty, is not a universal law, and only a thoroughgoing libertarian would defend it as such, though it, or its remnants, can be seen can be seen in policy documents. But its influence is weakening. Smoking bans in enclosed spaces were initially justified with other-regarding considerations, but judgements from unsuccessful legal challenges from patients in UK psychiatric hospitals rely on preventing harm to the smoker, even when smoking outside, which does not harm others. In the wake of legislation, no-smoking policies enacted by hospitals are becoming more aggressive, banning smoking both inside and outside, and extending the use of power gained through employment to prevent nurses assisting patients enjoy a lawful habit. Mill's dictum has been subverted, and this speaks to the fundamental purpose of nursing.Should nurses collude and willingly exert their power for their version of the good of the patient? Or should they instead reaffirm values that support and facilitate life choices made by autonomous people? The paper supports the latter option, and this has wider application for nursing which can be illuminated, if not settled, by revisiting Mill and his famous dictum. K E Y W O R D SJohn Stuart Mill, no smoking policy, On Liberty, Rampton, Smoking | INTRODUCTIONWhen thinking about how I could make best use of this kind invitation to speak, I recalled a conference (I won't say which) some years ago. Two plenary speakers stick in the memory. The first was a wellknown nurse academic, who gave every impression that he was speaking completely off the cuff. He was to the extent that there were no notes and plenty of animation, but it soon became apparent that this was because it was little more than an introductory lecture, probably delivered in the same way to lecture halls full of bemused first semester undergraduates every September for many years. I went to coffee wondering whether he was worth the airfare.The second was a distinguished philosopher, and her paper was so dense and detailed that it passed straight over my head into the ether.Unlike the first speaker, she was reading her paper aloud. But it was a paper written to be read, not listened to. The complex ideas needed pause, a re-read and thoughtful application, and because as the education literature tells us, we have limited concentration spans, not least in a crowded and warm conference hall, her ideas were quickly lost. In my presentation, I aimed to steer the middle ground between these positions. I don't think that I said much that you haven't already heard but it's good to pause and revisit Mill and ask if we can lear...

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“…A code of conduct functions as a moral ‘compass’ for nurses (Lui et al, , p. 108), specifying the legal requirements, professional behaviour and conduct expected by the profession. Codes of conduct differ to codes of ethics as they refer to employees only, involve compliance, have a narrow focus and are specific in details (Snelling, ). This study explores Australian clinical nurses' familiarity with the new code (2018) and attempts to understand in what ways the code is important to nurses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relevance of nurses and midwives code of conduct in Australia

Cowin

Riley

Heiler

et al. 2019

International Nursing Review

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Aim This study explores Australian clinical nurses' and midwives' familiarity with a new code of conduct and understanding in what ways the code is important for nurses as they carry out clinical practice. Background Codes specify the expectations of nurses' responsibilities, legal requirements, behaviour and conduct. Being familiar with the code is central to being a professional nurse or midwife. As nursing continues to advance, updating the code is crucial to maintain professional and safe practice. Design This project utilized a cross‐sectional descriptive design. Methods A survey was developed incorporating Likert‐type scale assessments of the 7 value statements from the 2018 Australian Nurses' Code of Conduct for familiarity and importance. The survey included open‐ended questions to elicit clinical nurses' experiences of conduct breaches, opinions regarding usefulness and relevance of the code for current practice. Data were collected at an acute care hospital in Sydney during January 2018. Results Significant differences relating to cultural and patient‐centred approaches were revealed in the study. The new value involving the role of research was least understood and ranked least important by nurses and midwives. Professional ‘integrity’ resonated with participants when considering the behaviour of nurses, and short, unambiguous values were the most popular. Additionally, a substantial number of participants had no knowledge of the code or were not aware of the recently revised version. Conclusion and implications for nursing A code of conduct provides structure and guidance for workplace values and principles. A respected code is important to the nursing profession to help prevent inappropriate and incompetent behaviour and as a guide for nursing performance. Nurses in this study claimed the code was highly relevant to their work as a nurse and was incorporated into their daily practice.

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The metaethics of nursing codes of ethics and conduct

Abstract: Nursing codes of ethics and conduct are features of professional practice across the world, and in the UK, the regulator has recently consulted on and published a new code.

Cited by 17 publications

References 49 publications

Albert Mieczysław Krąpiec’s theory of the person for professional nursing practice

Albert Mieczysław Krąpiec’s theory of the person for professional nursing practice

The subversion of Mill and the ultimate aim of nursing

The relevance of nurses and midwives code of conduct in Australia

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