132 5.4 Professional Practice

Ethical Practice

The Canadian Nurses Association^[1] describes nursing values & ethical responsibilities.

This includes the following:

• Providing safe, compassionate, competent ethical care
• Promoting health and well-being
• Promoting and respecting informed decision-making
• Honoring dignity
• Maintaining privacy and confidentiality
• Promoting justice
• Being accountable
• Four main principles of nursing ethics:
• Autonomy
• Beneficence
• Justice
• Non-maleficence^[2][3]

Communities of Practice

Communities of Practice (CoPs) are promoted in the healthcare sector as a means of generating &  sharing knowledge and improving organizational performance.  CoPs address the internal interests and needs of members while attending to the external concerns of the organization which contributes to healthcare improvement. CoPs contribute to all four health domains of education, practice, research and leadership.^[4]