Thank you, Anne.
I am a nurse, and I spent many years of my career taking care of end-of-life patients.
I will continue my presentation in English.
The Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses is a foundational document for nurses in Canada. To help me explain why it's important and how it helps nurses, I ask you to consider a scenario. An 85-year-old man is in the hospital after suffering a massive brain hemorrhage. He tells his daughter he's scared. He lies awake in his hospital bed throughout the night contemplating what will happen next. Is he going to die? When will he die? Will there be a lot of pain? These are big questions for anyone to face. As he lies there at 3 a.m. in the hospital bed, surrounded by strangers, one of the only people to turn to may well be the nurse.
Our code of ethics for registered nurses and the resources that CNA provides are to prepare nurses for those 3 a.m. discussions. The code is there to help nurses practise in a competent, compassionate, responsible, and ethical manner. It provides guidance on the person's right to refuse or withdraw consent. It also emphasizes the importance of recognizing power differentials between the care providers and the person in care, and what to do when care conflicts with conscience. The code provides practical steps on how a conscientious objection comes about: before employment, anticipating and planning for a conflict, and when one is involved in nursing care that is creating a conflict.
While nurses have their code to guide their nursing practice, they also need legislation, regulation, policies, and procedures. These structures will in turn help us as providers to ensure that Canadians have access to the care they deserve.