Similarities between Code of Ethics for Nurses and Physicians

Codes of ethics for nurses and physicians may consist of similar characteristics. In both systems, nurses and doctors must advance their studies to ensure they have the relevant skills to attend to patients. Nurses’ cord of ethics is majorly for taking good care of the patients. In contrast, the physician code of ethics ensures that patients are attended to and treated using the best approaches possible (Suresh, 2018). In the case of a disaster, the code of ethics for doctors and nurses allows them to prioritize those patients that require emergency attention. As a result, this approach solves the dilemma of whom to attend to first. It would be essential for one to understand the similarities between the codes of ethics for nurses and physicians in order to know their responsibilities and their daily routine.

Differences between the Code of Ethics for Nurses and Physicians

Codes of ethics for nurses and physicians have similarities but, at the same time, a variety of differences. All physicians are required to be dedicated to their work. They should ensure they provide competent medical care concerning human rights and dignity. Physicians are needed to uphold high standards of professionalism.  In their line of duty, physicians must respect and protect the rights of the healthcare sector’s stakeholders and advance their knowledge to ensure that relevant information is available to the public, colleagues, and patients (Mouton Dorey et al., 2018). Apart from emergency cases, where the physician chooses whom to attend to, they are expected to provide appropriate patient care to every individual. Physicians are mandated to support access to medical care for all persons. The primary responsibility of any nurse is a commitment to their patients without considering their background. Nurses are expected to protect the health, safety and rights of patients. Every nurse is accountable for her nursing practice and must provide optimum patient care. Nurses are expected to advance their knowledge in health care to ensure that they have the relevant information needed by the patient and other colleagues in this field. Both codes of ethics of the two professions ensure that patient’s rights are protected and the patients are attended to without discrimination. Nurses and physicians need to understand the differences in the codes of ethics in their professions.

Conclusion

Codes of ethics are principles intended to instruct professionals to act honestly, which benefits all stakeholders involved and outlines how nurses should behave ethically and decide when they encounter barriers preventing them from fulfilling their professional obligations. They provide a basis to meet the profession’s compliance requirements and a legal standard for the profession and also provide a common set of rules or standards for all professionals to adhere to, but at the same time, they are restricted to general and vague wordings; because of this limitation, they cannot apply directly to all situations. Some of the codes of ethics in nursing include beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, accountability, autonomy, fidelity, and veracity, which direct the nurses on what is expected of them. The codes of ethics between nurses are similar in various ways, for example, in both systems, nurses and doctors must advance their studies to ensure they have the relevant skills to attend to patients. Despite the similarities, the codes of ethics between nurses and physicians also differ. It would be appropriate for healthcare providers to understand the codes of ethics available in their professions, their importance, and the limitations of the codes of ethics.

References

Malach, J. (2020). Ethical codes in adult education as subjects of comparative analysis. European journal for research on the education and learning of adults, 11(2), 199-217.