The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) offers initiatives and resources aimed at supporting nursing boards in their functions as regulators of nursing practices. The NCSBN (2016) suggests that nurses should work in ways that protect the health, welfare, and safety of their patients. This directive reveals the NCSBN’s key role in advancing the ethics of nursing practices. The following is a further discussion of some of these ethics, otherwise dubbed as the guiding principles.
First, the NCSBN (2016) directs that nurses should act in ways that protect the interest of the public. Here, the principle targets the promotion of societal-centeredness as a priority in nursing practice. A huge proportion of this principle is the protection of societal interests, including privacy and freedom from harm, during practice.
Second, nurses should exhibit competence as per the board’s regulations. That is, they have a responsibility to uphold licensure requirements as evidence of competence. This section considers that nurses should respect the need for quality service delivery by adhering to rules and regulations guiding practice (NCSBN, 2016).
Third, nurses should follow the due process and the respect for ethics in decision-making. In this case, the board places them accountable for their personal conduct as viewed through ethical and professional requirements. For instance, ideal nurses not only respect the nursing process acknowledge their mistakes in the wake of a legal process ((NCSBN, 2016).
Fourth, nurses have a shared accountability to enhance safety during patient care. This ethical principle points to the fact that safety enhances patient health outcomes. The principle also reveals the nurse’s respect for the patient as a being. Finally, the NCSBN also teaches that nurses should appreciate their colleagues through strategic collaboration. However, the need for collaboration expands to individuals and organizations that promote the interest of patients (NCSBN, 2016).
Reference
NCSBN. (2016). About Board of Nursing: Guiding Principles. Retrieved from National Council of State Boards of Nursing : https://www.ncsbn.org/1325.htm
