title: Ethics in critical care in nursing.
abstract: The ANA Code for Nurses requires ethical behavior from all practitioners of nursing. As such, it serves to safeguard the public from unethical nurses. However, the code cannot and does not give direction in all situations nurses encounter in practice. Nurses require more assistance to meet the ethical requirements of professional practice. Careful exploration of moral principles and theories affords the nurse a broad background and some specific insights into morality and moral decision making. However, even this knowledge does not allow any nurse to put her ethical self "on automatic" while she appeals to one or another of these principles to support what she decides to do. No moral theory or principle is absolute. None can be used exclusively to resolve the many ethical questions nurses face. A nurse must use the process of reflective equilibrium to balance her own moral convictions and her background beliefs with accepted moral theories and principles, in order to reach sound moral judgements.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: McCann
mesh_terms: D000575:American Nurses' Association; D026686:Beneficence; D026688:Bioethical Issues; D032781:Codes of Ethics; D003422:Critical Care; D026689:Ethical Analysis; D028663:Ethical Theory; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009014:Morals; D026706:Paternalism; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011364:Professional Practice / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States