Ethics for Nurses: Theory and Practice

Ethics underpin all aspects of nursing activity but the concepts can often seem remote or inaccessible. This refreshing new book will help nurses explore and explain key aspects of ethical nursing practice in a practical and engaging way. Using plentiful examples and case studies, this book focuses on showing readers how to apply ethical principles to everyday nursing practice and deliver excellent care as a result.The book explores and helps answer questions such as: What are rights?What is dignity?How are nurses accountable?How does the law relate to ethics?What is a dignified death? The authors have created a set of fictional characters who experience various healthcare dilemmas and scenarios, and appear throughout the book. These characters help illustrate different aspects of ethics in healthcare and bring ethical concepts and decision making to life. This book is essential reading for nurses preparing to qualify or those already qualified and doing further study. "This is an ideal introductory text for students of nursing and other allied health professions because it is written in an accessible style. The authors discuss key ethical theories and principles but make them meaningful by applying them to contemporary scenarios in healthcare. They encourage the reader to examine their own beliefs and values and consider how these can impact on their own professional judgment and decision making." Melanie Fisher LLM (Medical Law), Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, UK "This is a very readable textbook that deals with the fundamentals of healthcare ethics for nurses. Starting with an introduction to the issues underpinning ethical knowledge, such as values and beliefs, it then leads into ethical concepts such as rights, dignity and accountability and concludes with specific areas of practice, such as dignified death and research. As such it would be useful reading to support an undergraduate programme i