Practical use of the nursing Code of Ethics: part II

The Code Provisions V through IX focus on a variety of responsibilities for the professional nurse. Provision V spotlights nurses' obligation to the same values and actions for themselves as are espoused in The Code for their patients. Provision VI addresses the responsibility of all nurses to maintain quality patient care, regardless of their roles in the health care system. Meeting professional obligations to maintain and forward the nursing profession can take a variety of forms, as indicated in Provision VII. Provision VIII reviews the macro level of professional nursing responsibility by centering on the issues of world hunger, pollution, and other violations of justice. Finally, Provision IX identifies the importance of involvement in professional associations and their efforts for social reform. The first two provisions of The Code address the boundaries of obligation and dependability (Lachman, 2009), and the last three address the duties outside individual patient experience.