Module 1: Professional Accountability and Prescribing

Lesson 6

Introduction

To meet the ethical challenges of integrating the prescription of CDS drugs into practice, RNs and NPs must understand not only a range of ethical principles, but also how such principles translate into practice.

Ethics are standards of conduct and guiding principles that members of a given group are expected to follow. Ethics are underpinned by moral values. The source of moral values may be non-professional (e.g., family, religion) or professional (e.g., education, socialization).

Competence in ethics requires nurses to clarify our own values in relation to our professional practice and gain experience in applying ethical principles to every day practice.