Question

Research two different codes of ethics for any two groups of healthcare professionals. You can research groups, such as nurses, physicians, and allied health professionals. Compare and contrast the codes of ethics. What are the major similarities between the two codes and what are the major differences? Consider the issue of how to triage patients in times when hospitals are overwhelmed as a result of a disaster situation. Use the codes of ethics from each of your two selected groups to explain how the dilemma could be resolved while adhering to the group's codes of ethics.

Answer 1

Code of ethics

Code of ethics is a written document in which an organization or profession explains its value, morals and vision for its members to follow.

Here I am considering International code of Medical ethics and International Council for Nurses code of ethics  

Simillarities:

1. In both these professions their primary responsibility is patient care without any compromise

2. They are promised to maintain the confidentiality of the patient

3. Both the professions develop and maintain high standards of professional conduct/behaviour such as good professional knowledge,honesty, loyalty, sound judgement and decision making, kindness, integrity, respectfulness while dealing with patient.

4. They accept that the patient is the important person to take decision regarding his care and nurses and doctors are the facilitators to take the right decision.

5. Both these professions are working in good harmony with each other, for effective and efficient patient care with mutual respect and understanding.

Differences:

1. Nursing is individual oriented whereas medicine is disease oriented.

2.Nursing is regarding overall health of an individual whereas medicine is concerned about the cure of disease.

3. In nursing it is a continuous interactive care where as in medicine it is episodic visits

4. Nursing is focused on personal needs and difficulties of an individual wheres as medicine is focused on signs and symptoms of illness

5. In nursing the treatment tools are therapeutic touch and interpersonal relationship whereas in medicine tools are drugs and surgical procedures.

6. In medicine doctor plan the care and the nurses implement the plan.

Triage in diaster

It is the process of determining the treatment priority of patient based on the severity of injury or illness, in case of diaster where human and material resources are insufficient.

In hospital the first person who start triaging is the emergency room nurse. She divide the patient

1. Need emergency medical help/ person who will die without emergency medical support: in this case consider the patient who survive with medical help. Patient with profuse bleeding or with severe breathing difficulty.

2. Whose care can be delayed for a short period

3. Minor injuries: needs bandaging or sutures

4. Deceased patients

After the primary triage, the emergency room physician performe the internal triage and provide emergency medical help.

Australasian triage scale

level	description	should be seen by provider within
1	Resuscitation	0 minutes
2	Emergency	10 minutes
3	Urgent	30 minutes
4	Semi-urgent	60 minutes
5	Not urgent	120 minutes

Use of Code of ethics for triaging:

Code of ethics states to respect your colleguages and coworkers and safeguard the life of pattients. It also recommends to use your full knowledge and skills for patient care irrespective of any personal or sociocultural or economical differences. Code of ethics also recommend to deliver duties on humanitarien basis.

The process of triaging is a team work. So the nurse and doctor could be able to work hand in hand to reduce the mortality and morbidity rates. In this situation doctors and nurse uses their sound knowledge to sort the patient based on the vital signs, response and client condition and start the medical help with in no item. For this they have to develop a mutual respect and understanding. While giving care both these profession have to try their maximum irrespective of resources available and according to the needs so that the most needy can be served first and save lives of everyone involved in a diaster situation.