Ethics in Nursing Practice

Book excerpt: The International Council of Nurses is an internationally recognised body that considers nursing issues in detail before putting forward best practice. .This publication from the ICN draws upon everyday ethical dilemmas in nursing practice and responds to the realities of nursing and health care in a changing society. It includes the ICN's reviewed Guidelines for Nursing Research and promotes international standards for individual nurses, regulatory bodies and National Boards. This new edition provides the background theory necessary to understand ethical decision making, focusing on the individual nurse's responsibilities - promoting health, preventing illness, restoring health and alleviating suffering - and looking at the wider issues in relation to patients, colleagues and society as a whole.