Reference no: EM133510459

Question

The onset of nursing ethics can be traced back to the late 19 century. At that time, it was thought that ethics involved virtues such as physician loyalty, high moral character, and obedience. Since that early time, the nursing profession has evolved, and nurses are now part of the healthcare team and are patient advocates. The first formal Code of Ethics to guide the nursing profession was developed in the 1950s and published by the American Nursing Association (ANA). It guides nurses in their daily practice and sets primary goals and values for the profession. Besides to provide a succinct statement of the ethical obligations and duties of every individual who enters the nursing profession.
At the same time, it also provides a nonnegotiable ethical standard and is an expression of nursing's understanding of its commitment to society. The Code of Ethics has been revised over time; the last update was in 2015. The current version represents advances in technology, societal changes, expansion of nursing practice into advanced practice roles, research, education, health policy, and administration, and builds and maintains healthy work environments.