[Bioethics and nursing praxis]

Bioethics is a discipline that has gained great relevance in today's world Changes in health care, advances in technology and science are giving hope to life, however they are also causing ethic conflicts. Patients are at risk of loosing their own right to live or die. Healthcare professionals are meant to deliver care, but also to protect the rights and the quality of life of the patients. As more and more people have recognized the importance of bioethics, ethic committees have sprung up in many healthcare settings. Continuing education programs on ethical principles and ethical decision/making models are critical. Nurses play an important role, they bridge the gap between the needs of individual patients and the healthcare system. They have a very close contact with the patients. Nurses have the ability to recognize moral problems as actual or potential conflicts in rights, duties or principles, and to take appropriate action to resolve the ethical issue.