Ethics in perioperative practice--promoting health, welfare, and safety

Though often difficult, ethical decision making is necessary when caring for surgical patients. Perioperative nurses have to recognize ethical dilemmas and should be prepared to take action based on the ethical code outlined in the American Nurses Association's (ANA's) Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements. In this eighth of a nine-part series that is designed to help perioperative nurses relate the ANA code to their own area of practice, the author looks at the eighth statement, which emphasizes nurses' responsibility to promote the health, welfare, and safety of all people.