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ABSTRACT
Though often difficult, ethical decision making is necessary when caring for surgical patients. Perioperative nurses have to recognize ethical dilemmas and should be prepared to take action based on the ethical code outlined in the American Nurses Association's (ANAs) Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements. In this seventh of a nine-part series that is designed to help perioperative nurses relate the ANA code to their own area of practice, the author looks at the seventh statement, which emphasizes commitment to the profession. AORN J 76 (Oct 2002) 654-656.
Editor's note: This is the seventh in a nine-part series that explores the effect the American Nurses Association's (ANA's) Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements has on perioperative nurses. Each article in this series will deal with one of the nine provisions outlined in the ANA code, along with interpretations and examples for perioperative nurses. At the conclusion of this series, perioperative explications of the ANA code will be included in AORN's 2003 Standards, Recommended Practices, and Guidelines.
Perioperative nurses often find ethical decisions difficult to make but necessary when caring for surgical patients in practice. Perioperative nurses need to be able to recognize ethical dilemmas and take appropriate action as warranted. They are responsible for nursing decisions that are not only clinically and technically sound but also morally appropriate and suitable for the specific problem of the patient undergoing treatment. The technical or medical aspects of nursing practice answer the question, "What can be done for the patient?" The moral component involves the patient's wishes and answers the question, "What ought to be done for the patient?"1
AORN's Ethics Task Force has detailed specific perioperative nursing explications that correspond to the nine provisions in the American Nurses Association's (ANA's) Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements.2 The ANA code expresses the moral commitment to uphold the goals, values, and distinct ethical obligations of all nurses. The code ". . . demonstrates accountability and responsibility to the public, other members of the health care (surgical) team, and the profession."' It articulates statements about the moral obligation of members of the nursing profession and addresses duties beyond individual nurse-patient relationships. In this way, professional standards are distinguished from standards imposed...