Kontakt 2021, 23(2):83-89 | DOI: 10.32725/kont.2021.021

The importance of ethical codes in nursing careNursing - Review article

Kristýna Toumová^*, Lucie Havierniková, Jana Kimmerová, Věra Hellerová, Valérie Tóthová, Ivana Chloubová

University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Institute of Nursing, Midwifery and Emergency Care, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

Introduction: The ethics of the nursing profession is formulated by the International Code of Ethics for Nurses, which is valid for all nurses around the world. The importance of this code is indisputable, especially in situations that require ethical conduct. However, as the current health care system evolves, so must the content of these codes. The stimuli for these updates can be provided by the nurses in practice.

Objective: The aim is to point out the importance and use of codes of ethics in contemporary nursing in various countries and the need to innovate the code of ethics in the Czech environment.

Methods: A literary search for keywords according to PICO was performed using Boolean operators. Professional resources were searched in scientific electronic databases (EBSCO, PubMed, ProQuest, WOS).

Results: A total of 252 sources were searched. 153 sources that met the required criteria were subsequently subjected to critical analysis. Of this number, 10 studies were used for the final analysis, which focused on the views of nurses on codes of ethics and ethical conflicts in the practice of nurses.

Conclusions: The studies examined show that nurses are aware of the importance of the code of ethics. However, whilst most nurses are generally aware of the code, many do not know the exact content and how it should help them in practice. During the provision of nursing care, nurses encounter many ethical dilemmas, especially in the area of differences in some values. Some studies have found that nurses sometimes perceive that patients' rights are higher priority than their own rights. It is therefore important that codes of ethics do not forget to promote the rights of nurses themselves.

Keywords: Code of Ethics; Nursing Practice; Opinions of Nurses on the Code of Ethics

Grants and funding:

This paper is related to the research project entitled “Selected ethical aspects in the provision of healthcare and emergency assistance in a culturally diverse society”, Reg. No. VEA2020- 01, which is conducted with the financial support of the Grant Agency of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice.

Received: January 27, 2021; Revised: April 12, 2021; Accepted: April 26, 2021; Prepublished online: April 28, 2021; Published: May 5, 2021  Show citation