Nursing code of ethics: an international comparison

In her worldwide search for a code of ethics to provide guidelines for professional practice, Linda Sawyer found that the codes of health care professionals were disappointing, mainly because they did not provide thoughtful and provocative discussion of the bioethical issues faced by the practitioner. Many organizations deal with controversial issues through the informal mechanism of policy statements, rather than through the more formal, rigid, public and political process needed to amend a code of ethics. While other professional organizations focus on commercial aspects of practice or are silent on ethical issues. Below, an analysis of the codes of selected national nurses' associations.