Mission Fufillment Finding Comfort and Guidance Through the ANA Code of Ethics
Nursing is a demanding yet rewarding career path centered on human care. Consequently, this dynamic and imperfect profession holds great responsibility for those who earn licensure. As educators, we recognize that practicing the art and science of nursing is a privilege, not a right. Nurses consistently put their patients first, and as a result, the job can leave you feeling exhilarated, depleted, thrilled, scared, happy, and exhausted, all in the same 12-hour shift. As educators preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals, we must remind our learners to find balance. Nurses must not only care for their patients and communities, but also care for themselves. Our learners have many key stakeholders in their corner. One of the most important is the American Nurses Association (ANA), specifically through its Code of Ethics (COE). As many of us know, licensed nurses must follow the Nurse Practice Act in each state where they are licensed. In addition, all licensed nurses are ethically held to the standards set forth by the ANA COE. Providing our learners with knowl- edge and understanding of the ANA COE can be empowering, especially as nurses encounter challenging situations and must make complex decisions every day. The COE was recently revised to include 10 Provisions . These provisions provide guidance and inspiration for nurses of all backgrounds and career trajectories.
If you are preparing your learners for potential workplace conflicts, I suggest you review Provisions 5 and 6, “Duties to Self” and “Ethical Work Environments.” If you have a particularly challenging learner in a clinical setting, see Provision 8, “Collaborative Relationships.” If you are trying to keep your learners focused on their career path while contributing to the greater good, provisions 7 and 9 explain “Knowledge Development” and “Commitment to Society” in a way that applies to practicing nurses of all ages and scopes. It is important to incorporate real-world scenarios into our teaching so that learners can engage with and apply the 10 provisions before going into the practice arena. As an NCLEX coach working with both RN and PN learners, I make a concerted effort to emphasize ethics in all webinars and individually, especially when reviewing the NCSBN test plans. Both the RN and PN test plans highlight the importance of ethical practice: RN under “Management of Care,” and PN under “Coordination of Care.” Each test plan states that a nurse shall: “Practice in a manner consistent with the nurses’ code of ethics.” By grounding our practice in the ANA Code of Ethics, we not only uphold the integrity of the profession but also empower our learners to navigate the challenges of a career with confidence, competence, and compassion. Respectfully, Stephanie Orth, PhD, RN
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