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This article suggests that nurse prescribers require an awareness of key concepts in ethics, such as deontology and utilitarianism to reflect on current debates and contribute to them. The principles of biomedical ethics have also been influential in the development of professional codes of conduct. Attention is drawn to the importance of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry's code of practice for the pharmaceutical industry in regulating marketing aimed at prescribers.
Keywords
Codes of conduct, ethics, nurse prescribing
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ALTHOUGH THETERMS'ethics' and 'morals' tend to be used interchangeably, they have different roots in the ancient worlds of Greece and Rome. Ethics originally referred to the accepted standards of conduct in a particular setting, while morals were held to be absolute standards of right and wrong (Vardy and Grosch 1999). Both words have relevance for the nurse prescriber. Our society lays down the standards to which it expects prescribers to adhere through the codes of practice of a range of organisations from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). Prescribing can sometimes involve important moral judgements. In this article, the term 'ethics' will be used to include both these dimensions.
While it would be much simpler if there was one agreed framework in our society for ethical decision making, the reality is that there are several. We may all agree that murder is wrong, but diametrically opposed opinions are held about the ethical status of, for example, abortion or physician-assisted suicide. So it is necessary for the nurse prescriber to have an awareness of the range of perspectives that can be used to illuminate ethical issues, and those expecting an understanding of ethics to provide clear-cut answers to clinical dilemmas are likely to be disappointed.
Ethics should be regarded as an aid to the process of reflection on clinical practice rather than a formula for guaranteeing the 'right' answer (Rumbold 1999)....