Code of Conduct in Nursing Practice

CODE OF CONDUCT IN NURSING
PRACTICE
-PRESENTED BY:

INTRODUCTION:
The Standards of Professional Nursing
Practice form the ethical code of conduct of
the nursing profession.
The standard of practice are dynamic and are
subject to change depending upon clinical
circumstances.

BACKGROUND:
According to Burkhardt and Nathaniel (2013), nursing a decade ago was not treated as a
healthcare speciality.
Progress notes were not treated as authentic health records.
Nursing practice has evolved through the years with advancement in technology and higher
education.

MALPRACTICE:
The year 1975, marks the year of the landmark judgement when Nurses were recognised as professionals who
were worthy to be protected under the protection law (Zahedi et al. 2013)
Negligence claims against nursing professionals since the year 1975 were treated as malpractice (Burkhardt
and Nathaniel 2013)
Nurses were recognized as specialized care professionals who rendered treatment on the basis of nursing
practice.
Also, the physician’s opinion with regard to nurses were ruled out because it was affirmed that the nursing
professionals are a separate body of care professionals who have their special set of education, skills and
training.