Principles of Professional Ethics for the Intelligence Community to Nursing Code of Ethics

Introduction

Code of ethics refers to principles that have been designed guide professionals and guide them practicing their affairs with honesty and integrity. In many times, the document of the code of ethics can outline the mission and vision of an organization, how the professionals should conduct themselves, the manner of handling problems, and the ethical principles as guided by the organization's values. Code of ethics is a form of legislation that binds an organization's employees or particular professionals, with specific sanctions for the violation of the codes. Without such sanctions, then the code of ethics is just a document of pieties.

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An ethical dilemma can be defined as an issue in decision making between two probable moral constraints. The common element of ethical dilemma is the confusion that arises out of a situational conflict whereby obeying one moral imperative can lead to transgressing another. The agent in this condition must decide about which course of action is the best. Therefore, meaning that there must be a choice to make. The second element is that there should be courses of action from which the agent will make a decision. The third element is that irrespective of what course of action is taken, there must be principles that are compromised. Hence, meaning that there is no perfect solution to an ethical dilemma.

Principles of Professional Ethics as Code of Ethics

The Principles of Professional Ethics as defined by Hudson are Code of Ethics. The main reason for this is that Hudson defines the principles as the set of rules that are based on situational ethics (Hudson, 2010). The Intelligence Community cannot have predetermined principles that guide them in the field because the circumstances are always fickle. However, still, the Professional Ethics acts as a framework that governs the professionals on how to make decisions. Hudson follows Immanuel Kant's ideology whereby a good consequence alone cannot constitute an ethical act (Hudson, 2010). An example of this is presented by Nussbaum (2007) whereby after the 9/11 event, the American government had to establish a team in counterterrorism. The practices carried by this group might sometimes go against what many people would consider unethical, but the primary aim of the team follows the concept of utilitarianism. Therefore, the Principles of Professional Ethics as highlighted by Houdon can be categorized as Code of Ethics. After all, the principles, which are essential, offer guidance on what values the Intelligence Community regard as more pressing than the others, hence helping them in making ethical decisions.

Code of Ethics in Nursing

https://www.vcuhealth.org/for-medical-professionals/nursing/about-nursing-at-vcu/ana-code-ethicsNurses are always confronted with multifaceted issues in their practice. The mentioned codes of ethics assist nurses in their complex roles as they continuously interact with patients through their education, research, and management of the healthcare systems (VCU Health). The codes provide the necessary elements for ethical conducts and empowering nurses in making correct ethical decisions while performing their duties as clinical nurses, researchers, managers, and policy-makers. The core elements in the ANA Code of Ethics is practicing with compassion and respect, highlighting the concept of the nurses' primary role in protecting and taking care of the patients, their families and the community in general (VCU Health). The ANA Code of Ethics also highlights that the nurses are held accountable and responsible for their practice and that while making decisions, they should make sure that it remains consistent with their obligation for promoting health and offering optimal care to everyone. The penalties for violating ANA Code of Ethics vary from suspension depending on the magnitude of the problem to revocation of the nursing license (Olson & Stokes, 2016). The penalties are often determined by Board of Nursing who work with Nurse Practice Acts to assess the severity of the damage caused by the nurse.

Comparison of the Most Important Aspects of the Principles of Professional Ethics for the Intelligence Community to Nursing Code of Ethics

The most significant aspect of the Principles of Professional Ethics for the Intelligent Community is a demonstration of integrity in conduct creating a positive reflection of the Intelligence Community. Integrity refers to having moral principles and honor. Integrity is also a critical aspect of the ANA Code of Ethics because it guides nurses on how to act with authority, accountability, and responsibility while protecting and taking care of the patients and community at large. Integrity as a Principle of Professional Ethics for the Intelligence Community is lacking because they are not entirely following the ethics established to guide them in their work. The role of this community is to serve the Americans through selfless dedication to the security of the country while seeking the truth and acting as stewards of the public trust. However, this is not the case as it is evident in the YouTube Video Collateral Damage where the US Soldiers shoot down two French Reuters journalists in Baghdad (sunshinepress, 2010). The video indicates lack of integrity in the Intelligence Community. It is because of this that Greenwald (2013), states that individuals should be held accountable for carrying orders out of orders from the right authorities. The difference between the ANA Code of Ethics and the Principles of Professional Ethics for the Intelligence Community is that with the Intelligence Community their codes are more flexible and allows them to make decisions that can threaten the safety of others as long as the Americans are safe.

References

Greenwald, G. (2013). XKeyscore: NSA tool collects 'nearly everything a user does on the internet'. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/31/nsa-top-secret-program-online-data

Hudson, W. (2010). The Ethical Spy: Towards Intelligence Community Rules of Professional Conduct (pp. 1415-1439).

Nussbaum, B. (2007). Protecting Global Cities: New York, London and the Internationalization of Municipal Policing for Counter Terrorism. Global Crime, 8(3), 213-232. doi: 10.1080/17440570701507745

Olson, L., & Stokes, F. (2016). The ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses With Interpretive Statements: Resource for Nursing Regulation. Journal Of Nursing Regulation, 7(2), 9-20. doi: 10.1016/s2155-8256(16)31073-0

sunshinepress. (2010). Collateral Murder - Wikileaks - Iraq [Video]. WikiLeaks: YouTube.

VCU Health. American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics - VCU Nursing - Virginia Commonwealth University Health System | VCU Health. Retrieved from https://www.vcuhealth.org/for-medical-professionals/nursing/about-nursing-at-vcu/ana-code-ethics