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Nursing Ethics in Canada

Knowledge of nursing ethics is a requirement for nursing practice in Canada. A registered nurse is required to practice in a safe, competent, and ethical manner.

Ethical guidelines for the nursing profession are contained in the CNA Code of Ethics.

Knowledge about ethics provides members of the nursing profession with guidelines for making nursing practice decisions that seem to have no clearly defined right or wrong answer.

A registered nurse is required to act in the best interests of the client but sometimes the actions needed to fulfill that commitment are not clear.

Consider the findings from this nursing research completed in the United States on an oncology unit in 2000.
  • Registered nurses reported an average of 32 different types of ethical dilemmas within the past year on a daily basis.
  • The most frequently cited ethical dilemma was pain management for the oncology patient.
  • The nurses also struggled morally with decisions that needed to be made in the patient's best interest including issues with cost containment and quality of life.

The study concluded that ethical decision making was a significant source of stress for a registered nurse.

Raines, Marcia. (2000)Ethical Decision Making in Nurses: Relationships Among Moral Reasoning, Coping Style, and Ethics Stress.1(1), 29-45


The Influence of Personal Values on Ethical Decision Making

Decision making about what is right and wrong is based on values. Personal value formation is influenced by family, culture and other experiences in life.

Registered nurses are required to make decisions based on professional nursing values as established in the CNA ethical code

CNA Code of Ethics

The Canadian Nurses Association Code of Ethics contains the nursing ethics guidelines for Canadian nurses.

The Canadian Registered Nurse Exam

Selecting the correct answer on the Canadian Registered Nurse Exam might be a challenge if:

  • your basic nursing education did not provide a foundation in nursing ethics

  • you are not familiar with the values of the nursing profession in Canada

  • you are not familiar with the values of the Canadian society

As a registered nurse in Canada you will be required to act in a safe, competent, and ethical manner.

In the Professional Practice section of the entry level nursing competencies that form the basis for the blueprint for the Canadian Registered Nurse Exam there is a competency statement that references the nursing code of ethics for Canadian nurses.

Additionally there are many other competencies in that category that refer to values of fairness, autonomy, and equity which predominate in the Canadian culture.


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Here is a list of all the the pages on this website (including this one) that contain more specific information about ethics in nursing.

Nursing Ethics in Canada - an introduction to the regulations that require ethical nursing practice in Canada.

What is the Nursing Code of Ethics for nursing practice in Canada?

The What's and Why's of an Ethical Code for Nursing Practice

Ethical Theories - a brief explanation of the three classifications of ethical theories used most often by nurses

What is an Ethical Dilemma in Nursing Practice? - a description of the ethical principles used in moral reasoning in nursing practice.

Ethical Decision Making in Nursing Practice - the Influence of Personal and Professional Values

Ethical Issues in Nursing Practice in Canada - What are Some of the Current Ethical Issues in Nursing?

The requirement for Ethics in Nursing Curriculum in Canada



Current Nursing Shortage

Some provincial health authorities have decreased the number of nursing positions because of funding shortfalls. These are some of the political nuances of nursing in Canada.

The various career sections on health authority websites still show a wide variety of positions, but many of them are not entry level.

This is most likely a temporary situation and all predictions still forcast a nursing shortage for the future.

I will be monitoring this situation over the longer term.

A Canadian visitor says:

Bev:

I have read the pages on your site, and just thought you should know, that so far your website has been the most valuable information tool I have found. It is really hard to find the right information. I have just enrolled in a diploma program, RPN, and then I would like to follow through and get my degree.

Thank you again for your time, and for the great site, I am certainly going to pass it along.

Stephanie

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Copyright© 2009
This website is a private commercial enterprise and is owned and operated by Beverly Hansen OMalley.

It is not in any way affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by the government of Canada or any nursing regulatory organization in Canada.

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