Accountability means:” being accountable for one’s own action”. The American Nursing Association (ANA) states in its code that the nurse will assume accountability for individual nursing judgments and actions. Professional nurses are accountable in several areas including accountability to the public, client, profession, employer, and self (Hood, 2010, p. 307). All professional nurses have the responsibility to work within their scope of practice to provide the best possible care to patients. Nurses’ should have a thorough knowledge about their accountability in specific areas of practice. The level of responsibility and accountability depends on professional levels. A nursing supervisor has more responsibility than a charge- nurse. A registered nurse (RN) is less responsible than a charge nurse because a charge nurse is capable of managing the whole unit and also works as a resource person for the nurses in his/her unit. Licensed Practice Nurse’s (LPN) job functions are monitored and supervised by RN, therefore RN’s responsibilities and accountabilities are higher than a LPN.
A professional nurse is accountable for the following when implementing changes in evidence based practice:
To the profession: Professional accountability allows nurses to work in a frame work of practice and to follow principles of conduct that maintains the patient’s trust in the individual nurse. These will in-turn support the nursing profession as a whole (Caulfield, 2005, p. 4). Nurses are responsible and accountable for their own actions and also for the colleagues. For example, when nurses from step down unit floats to intensive care unit charge nurses are responsible to delegate assignments to them. Charge nurses are then accountable for the outcom...
... middle of paper ...
...line Summary. Retrieved on January 22, 2011, from http://www.guideline.gov/content.aspx?id=13395&search=accountability+of+nursing+professionals
Berlandi, J. L. (2002, June). Ethics in perioperative practice: accountability and responsibility. AORN Journal/Find Articles at BNET. Retrieved on January 21, 2011 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FSL/is_6_75/ai_88575988/?tag=content;col1
Caulfield, H. (2005). Vital Notes for Nurses: Accountability. Retrieved on January 21, 2011 from http://books.google.com/books?id=ZjhRLQrRM1cC&pg=PA4&dq=professional+accountability+in+nurses&hl=en&ei=_RM5TcyLCouusAOWydD8Ag&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=professional%20accountability%20in%20nurses&f=false
Hood, L. J. (2010). Leddy and Pepper’s Conceptual Bases of Professional Nursing (7th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
The American Nurses association defines delegation as, ‘The transfer of responsibility for the performance of a task from one individual to another while retaining accountability for the outcome’ (Saccomano, 2010, p. 523). When delegating to staff or members of your team, it is important that it is used appropriately and within the proper guidelines. It is common to see RNs delegating in the hospital setting to the LVN or nursing assistant, however, the RN must know the limitations and what is within their scope of practice. Unfortunately, even if the nurse uses these guidelines, conflict can still occur with other staff making the process more difficult. Having the responsibility to delegate, especially as a new registered nurse, can be daunting,
Creasia, J., & Friberg, E. (2011). Conceptual foundations: The bridge to professional nursing practice. (5th ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Mosby.
Within this essay Evidence based Practice will be identified and the significant effect it has on the nursing profession, barriers will also be explored in the implementation of Evidence Based Practice.
The Code of Ethics for Nurses was created to be a guide for nurses to perform their duties in a way that is abiding with the ethical responsibilities of the nursing profession and quality in nursing care. The Code of Ethics has excellent guidelines for how nurses should behave, however; these parameters are not specific. They do not identify what is right and wrong, leaving nurses having to ultimately make that decision. Ethics in nursing involves individual interpretation based on personal morals and values. Nursing professionals have the ethical accountability to be altruistic, meaning a nurse who cares for patients without self-interest. This results in a nurse functioning as a patient advocate, making decisions that are in the best interest of the patient and practicing sound nursing ethics.
Hood, J. (2010). Conceptual bases of professional nursing. (7th ed. ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
The ethical responsibility of nurses. Provisions 3 & 4 of the Code of Ethics states that the nurse promotes, advocates for, and protects the rights, health, and safety of the patient; and the nurse has authority, accountability, and responsibility for nursing practice; makes decisions; and takes action consistent with the obligation to promote health and to provide optimal care. (American Nurses Association, 2015)
The American Nurses Association (ANA) developed a foundation for which all nurses are expected to perform their basic duties in order to meet the needs of the society we serve. The ANA “has long been instrumental in the development of three foundational documents for professional nursing; its code of ethics, its scope and standards of practice, ands statement of social policy.” (ANA, 2010, p. 87) The ANA defined nursing as “the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations” and used to create the scope and standards of nursing practice. (ANA, 2010, p. 1) These “outline the steps that nurses must take to meet client healthcare needs.” () The nursing process, for example, is one of the things I use daily. Other examples include communicating and collaborating with my patient, their families, and my peers, and being a lifelong learner. I continually research new diagnoses, medications, and treatments for my patients. As a nurse of ...
The Canadian Nurses Association’s Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses plays a key role in the life of many individuals in healthcare, whether it is the physician, the nurse, the patient, or other workers in the healthcare environment. The Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses serves as a guide in performing nursing responsibilities as well as the ethical obligations related to the profession, (Canadian Nurses Association, 2008). The purpose of this paper is to recognize the Code of Ethics and how it impacts the way in which healthcare workers carry out their practice. This can be examined through three key factors. The first factor involves providing safe, compassionate, competent care. The second factor regards helping nurses to be accountable
Personal and Professional Accountability Leadership and accountability go hand in hand. The American Nurses Association’ Code of Ethics defines accountability, “to be answerable to oneself and others for one’s own choices, decisions, and actions” (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2016, p. 38). In assessing her accountability, the author feels she actively seeks opportunities for personal growth and development. Furthermore, she would like to bring some of the tools from the Healthy Workplace Bill (Healthy Workplace Bill [HWB], 2016) to the nurse practice counsel, shared governance committees, and organizational leaders.
Michele will know when accountability is presence because she will see it on the floor. She will see the nurses practicing taking EBP and applying to their care. In a similar manner, Michele will also see accountability when they come to the follow-up quality improvement meetings and contribute on how the changes are going. In addition, depending on what EBP the unit decided to institutes Michele will be able to see data that backs up the nurses have been accountable.
There is a great importance and focus in modelling a contemporary nurse. The framework for improving this focus is accountability with three main areas: professional, ethical, legal. They all cross over and interlink with each other in many of the topics that are raised within the profession. The approach of the framework were inevitable to reduces to blame and defensive nursing attitude. This attitude can lead to nurses believing accountability is the same as blaming a professional however it is conversely nurses making decisions for individuals and engaging to improve better health outcomes. The topic around this contemporary approach is confidentiality and broken into the principles of the approach.
Thorne, S. (2010). Theoretical Foundation of Nursing Practice. In P.A, Potter, A.G. Perry, J.C, Ross-Kerr, & M.J. Wood (Eds.). Canadian fundamentals of nursing (Revised 4th ed.). (pp.63-73). Toronto, ON: Elsevier.
Nurses and practice- The nurse is responsible for continued education to maintain competence in nursing practice and delegation, and is responsible for maintaining personal health to ensure that care is not compromised.
McGee, Glenn and Arthur L. Caplan. "Medical Ethics." Microsoft® Encarta® 98 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1997: Microsoft Corporation. CD-ROM.
The American Nurses Association created guidelines for the profession including, a set clear rules to be followed by individuals within the profession, Code of Ethics for Nurses. Written in 1893, by Lystra Gretter, and adopted by the ANA in 1926, The Code of Ethics for Nurses details the role metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics have within the field (ANA, 2015). Moral obligation for an individual differs within professions than it does within an individual’s personal life, so the code of ethics was written to establish rules within the profession. The moral obligation to provide quality care include the fundamental principles of respect for persons, integrity, autonomy, advocacy, accountability, beneficence, and non-maleficence. The document itself contains nine provisions with subtext, all of which cannot be addressed within this paper however, core principals related to the ethical responsibilities nurses have will be