An Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) is educated at masters or post master level and can serve as a certified nurse midwife (CNM), certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), clinical nurse specialist (CNS) and as a nurse practitioner (NP). A nurse practitioner mainly specializes in pediatrics and family practice. They acquire master degree (MSN: Master of Science Degree in Nursing). Both the APRN and the NP are required to follow the code of ethics of the nurses as proposed by the American Nurses Association (ANA) (2015).

This assignment aims to discuss the role of APNR and NP in relation to the provision 3 for ANA code of ethics. ANA provision 3 promotes protection of health, safety and rights of the patients. This code of ethics is applicable to both the wings of the nursing profession (APRN and NP). Here rights of the patients include receiving optimal healthcare for fast recovery and safety mainly includes protection of health rights and confidentiality of the patients.  The ethical laws of protecting privacy and confidentiality of the patients govern both APRN and the NP. APRN and NP will only reveal the health and the personal information of the patient only under the informed consent of the patient (Hudgins et al., 2013). If the patient is minor, then the rights of informed consent are attributed to his or her parents. Unwanted breach in the privacy and the confidentiality concerns not only hampers the legal consequences of the therapy plan but also breaches the ethical principle of non-malfeasance. Hampering the privacy rights of the patients hampers mental health and well-being of the patient and thereby harming the patient and breaching the ethics of non-malfeasance (Hudgins et al., 2013). Both the APRN and the NP are required to follow the ethical principal of non-malfeasance as it their duty of observe health and safety (provision 5). Thus, it can be said that both the APRN and NP are governed by the same ethical principle.

References:

American Nurses Association (ANA) (2015). American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses. Access date: 14^th September 2018. Retrieved from: https://nursing.rutgers.edu/civility/ANA-Code-of-Ethics-for-Nurses.pdf

Hudgins, C., Rose, S., Fifield, P. Y., & Arnault, S. (2013). Navigating the legal and ethical foundations of informed consent and confidentiality in integrated primary care. Families, Systems, & Health, 31(1), 9.