Code of ethics: assistance with a lie choice?

Abstract

Nurses are often confronted with clinical situations demanding a decision to respond either by telling the truth or by deceiving. Nurses are not unique in this regard. However, nurses are expected to act within an ethos of care cognisant of duty, the right and the good. In order to be guided through such a dilemma nurses may reasonably ask for some clear and helpful statements to assist with that practice. This paper examines the Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia for some such statements.