Overview/Preamble
All School of Goldfarb School of Nursing (GSON) faculty, staff and students are expected to adhere to the highest standards of professional behavior and ethics. Honesty, integrity, and ethical conduct are central to the practice of professional nursing. Students should conduct themselves according to the standards expected of members of the professional community to which they aspire. The Professional Standards and Behavior Code for Nursing Students (hereafter referred to as the Professional Standards and Behavior Code) applies to students whether on campus, in clinical, or in their personal life, as behaviors can significantly impact the School of Nursing program.
As a member of the GSON community, all GSON students must adhere to the School of Nursing Professional Standards and Behavior Code, The American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics for Nurses, all relevant HIPAA laws, and the standards set forth by clinical sites. As a professional nurse, individuals are held to the standards of behavior as expressed in the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses Interpretive Statements, 2015. The Code of Ethics for Nurses establishes the ethical standard for the nursing profession and provides a guide for nurses to use in ethical analysis and decision-making.
The values of integrity, compassion, advocacy, and a social commitment to improve the health of all are inherent to the field of nursing. The National League of Nursing (2016) “believes that diversity and healthcare are inseparable, and only together can they create pathways that lead to ending health disparities and impact the quality and safety of patient care, which includes how nursing students are socialized into the field of nursing and into the workforce”. Mutual respect and trustworthiness between faculty, staff, and students is necessary to promote optimal learning. For optimal learning to occur, students are expected to attend and actively participate in all classes, labs, simulations, and clinical.
Participation in the Professionals Standards and Behavior Code provides evidence to GSON, that the integrity of its members is unquestioned and accepted by those in the academic, clinical and research communities. The Professional Standards and Behavior Code sets the expectation that students take the responsibility to respect and protect the integrity of the GSON. It also demonstrates the School of Nursing’s commitment to create a learning environment that is safe, equitable, and intentionally diverse across gender, race, religion, age, sexual orientation, religion, and all other identity groups.
Therefore, unprofessional behavior towards faculty, staff, teaching assistants, peers, clinical partners, patients, family members or other professionals and the public are significant issues in the evaluation and progression of students enrolled in the Goldfarb nursing program. Inappropriate behavior may be grounds for failure to progress, dismissal, and/or denial of the degree in nursing.