A nurse that cares enough about her patients to keep them from being embarrassed and not doing anything unethical to them. Such as find a male nurse to "handle" a male patients "intimate" problems, like working with catheters or pre op shaving.

Good luck with that. It will be pretty hard to find a nurse that will give you that kind of respect. Don't waste your time looking. I've never heard of a nurse that really cares about how her patient feels. It's just a job and a patient is just an obstacle.

" ETHICS DEFINED • Ethics is a study of good conduct, character, & motives & is concerned with determining what is good or valuable for all people. It goes beyond personal preferences to establish norms & standards upon which individuals, professions & societies agree. NURSING ETHICS • Within nursing, specific values & moral requirements are necessary to maintain the integrity of the profession. An ethical nurse will act & treat others in specific ways that are consistent with nursing norms & will be guided by more than personal preferences or values. NURSING ETHICS (cont’d) • To become mature professionals who are able to participate effectively in the ethical dimensions of their practice, nurses must continue to develop a strong sense of their moral identity, seek support from professional resources & expand their knowledge and skill in the area of ethics. NURSING ETHICS (cont’d) • A nurse assumes responsibility and accountability for nursing care provided. RESPONSIBILITY • Refers to the execution of duties associated with the nurse’s particular role. A nurse who acts in a responsible manner gains the trust of clients & other professionals. A responsible nurse remains competent in knowledge & skills & demonstrates a willingness to perform within the ethical guidelines of the profession. RESPONSIBILITY (example) • When administering medications, the nurse is responsible for assessing clients’ need for the drugs, giving them safely & correctly, and evaluating the responses. ACCOUNTABILITY • Being answerable for one’s own actions. A nurse is accountable to self, the client, the profession, the employer, and society ACCOUNTABILITY (example) • If a wrong dose of medication is given, the nurse is accountable to the client who received it, the physician who ordered it, the nursing service that set standards of expected performance, & society which demands professional excellence. ACCOUNTABILITY (example cont’d) • Thus, when an error is made, the nurse reports it and initiates care to prevent further injury. Accountability calls for an evaluation of a nurse’s effectiveness in practice. ACCOUNTABILITY PURPOSE • 1. To evaluate new professional practices & reassess existing ones. • 2. To maintain standards of health care. • 3. To facilitate personal reflection, ethical thought, & personal growth on the part of health care professionals. • 4. To provide a basis for ethical decision making. VARIABLES AFFECTING ETHICAL DECISIONS • Because ethical problems occur in situations involving people who have different approaches to “moral reasoning”, it is helpful if the nurse can sort through the various factors that influence a persons’ thinking. VARIABLES (cont’d) Emotions • Legal considerations • Cultural diversity • Religious/Spiritual convictions • Education level • Past life experiences • Developmental level • VARIABLES (cont’d) Societal changes • Race • Gender • Class • Economic level • Sexuality orientation • Current state of “health” • ETHICAL DECISION MAKING METHODS • Each ethical situation or dilemma will be different, but the nurse in any setting can use the following guidelines for ethical processing and decision making. METHODOLOGY (cont’d) Presume good will • • Identify all important persons Gather relevant information • • Identify important ethical principles • Propose alternative courses of action • Take action SENSITIVE ETHICAL SITUATIONS Bio-technology • Surrogate Pregnancy Contracts • • Adoption • Abortion • Substance Abuse AIDS/HIV • Death & Dying • • Living Wills/Health Care Surrogates • Organ Donations" Source and further information: http://www.slideshare.net/nhelzki/juris1-presentation 2) "The code also holds that "the nurse is responsible and accountable for individual nursing practice." Together with nursing's commitments to the patient's rights and well-being, this provision suggests that the ethical nurse does not simply acquiesce to others' views about how to treat the patient—even when one of those others is the treating physician. She does not make the final treatment decisions, to be sure, but the code would not support an abdication of her professional responsibility—and right—to voice her concerns. Further, by speaking up for the patient's interests and rights as she understands them, she acts consistently with another code provision by promoting a "healthcare environment . . . conducive to the provision of quality health care." " Source and further information: http://www.parkridgecenter.org/Page1955.html 3) Further information: - "The management of ethical situations in clinical nursing": http://nursing.yale.edu/Centers/International/EthicsConference/docs/8_Birkler.doc - "Take a "Time Out" to Remain an Ethical Nurse": http://blog.registerednursejobsindiana.com/blog/clarian-nursing/0/0/take-a-time-out-to-remain-an-ethical-nurse - "Handbook of Nursing Case Management By Dominick L. Flarey, Suzanne Smith Blancett": http://books.google.com/books?id=3ArOAow91GoC&pg=PA444&lpg=PA444&dq="ethical+nurse"+-"recruitment"&source=web&ots=-4xK7TYdRV&sig=TGhNkjPstag4BJlA-RhhGYnZ_Ko&hl=en&ei=mqyWSbjhL4Wk0AXSisy_Ag&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result - "Resolving ethical distress": http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3689/is_199902/ai_n8846136 - "Spirituality in Nursing By Barbara Stevens Barnum": http://books.google.com/books?id=CrMx9NR_SGMC&pg=PA188&lpg=PA188&dq="an+ethical+nurse"&source=web&ots=dt7FhVHwN4&sig=uzB1vlx71IbebMLzQ_7xci_cUcI&hl=en&ei=vK6WSeDOMYbo0AWe3PWuAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result

One would expect all nurses to be ethical but if this phrase was coined then it probably means a nurse who refuses to perform functions that violate her ethics. Like abortions, etc.

Ethical nurses don't exist. They're a fairy tale. They do what they want, no matter how immoral or unethical. Their patient's modesty, dignity and morality mean nothing to them. They seem to always find a reason to make their patients get naked and then don't show any respect to them at a time when they are very volnurable. Avoid all nurses if you can.