Summary

In study session VI you have learnt

• Ethics is derived from the Greek word ethos, meaning custom or character. Ethics can be defined as the branch of philosophy dealing with standards of conduct and moral judgment
• Moral is principles and rules of right conduct. It is private or personal. Commitment to principles and values are usually defended in daily life
• Types of Ethics include: descriptive, normative and analytical
• The major principles of health care ethics are: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice veracity fidelity and confidentiality
• Beneficence is doing or promoting good. This principle is the basis for all health care providers
• Nonmaleficence is the converse of beneficence. It means to avoid doing harm.
• Justice is fair, equitable and appropriate treatment. It is the basis for the obligation to treat all clients in an equal and fair way
• Veracity means telling the truth, which is essential to the integrity of the client-provider relationship
• Fidelity means being faithful to one's commitments and promises
• Confidentiality in the health care context is the requirement of health professionals to keep information obtained in the course of their work private
• Code of ethics is formal statement of a group's ideas and values that serve as a standards and guidelines for the groups' professional actions and informs the public of its commitment
• Code of Ethics for the certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist includes: responsibility to patients, responsibility to maintain competency in practice, responsibilities as a professional, responsibility to society, endorsement of products and services, research and business practices
• Patient's bill of rights include: the right to considerate and respect full care, a right to obtain from his physician complete current information, the right to refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law, the right to every consideration of his privacy, right to confidentiality , the right to expect that within its capacity a hospital must make reasonable response to the request of a patient for their services, a right to obtain information, the right to be advised if the hospital proposes to engage in or perform human experimentation, the right to expect reasonable continuity of care, right to examine and receive an explanation of his bill and the right to know what hospital rules and regulations apply to his conduct as a patient
• Ethical issues related to patient's rights include: right to truth, right to refuse treatment, informed consent, human experimentation and behaviour control
• Reporting is oral or written account of patient status; between members of health care team. Report should be clear, concise, and comprehensive.
• Documenting a patient record/chart provides written documentation of patient's status and treatment
• Purpose of documentation include continuity of care, legal document, research, statistics, education, audits
• Characteristics of documentation: brief, concise, comprehensive, factual, descriptive, objective, relevant/appropriate, legally prudent
• An incident report is an agency record of an accident or incident. Whenever a patient is injured or has a potential injury there exist a possibility of a lawsuit, such a report must be recorded.