Nursing Ethics is the discipline of evaluating the merits, risks, and social concerns of activities in the field of nursing. These are many defined codes of ethics for nurses. Nursing ethics and health care ethics are closely linked, and contain such issues as beneficence and non-maleficence.
The vary nature of nursing provides daily encounters with ethical decisions. Our first priority is to not cause harm, and yet occasionally this occurs. When it does, the reality of all the breakdowns in a system come to light. It is rarely one mistake that causes an outcome such as this. It is typically a series of breakdowns that permit something to happen.
There are many issues that cause nurses and medical personnel to struggle with decisions we make. Are we doing what is best for the patient? What does the patient want/ What does the family want? These are issues that we manage often in the particular setting that I am involved with. End of life, or threat to life is real. Quality vs quantity is the consistent question. Each persons response to what they would do when faced with such difficult decisions is unique. We often use the phase "we make what is the most reasonable and responsible decision at the time". It may come to pass that days or even weeks later, the decision may not have been the best. Can we beat ourselves up as medical personnel and families/patients over decisions that were made? We shouldn't... but we do. The what if? How come? But what if we..? often linger for some time. Especially when we have to look our loved one sin the eyes, or even not be able to look them in the eyes, and ask such deep profound questions. End of life discussions, quality of life discussions, are ones that occur all too often.
The field of Nursing Ethics is so large that it reveals several pages of papers, resource people, standards, policies etc. when accessed via the web. It is obvious that there is a multitude of information out there, but does that make it any easier?
In Canada, each Provincial Association has an ethics committee, New Brunswick is no different. As a member of the association, we have access to resources at the provincial level to assist us when we need guidance. Each organization also has a Chief Nursing Officer, whose responsibility (among many) is to provide direction within the facility on such issues. An issue does not need to be complex to be ethical. Each decision we make has an ethical component to it. Some are just more apparent that others.
In staying abreast of updates, I encourage you to search Nursing Ethics, you will find a multitude of information. Go ahead- challenge yourself. 
