Quality nursing care includes competent care provided by appropriately qualified individuals. Promotion of quality nursing care includes valuing continuing education as a means of maintaining and increasing knowledge and skills. Continuing education refers to all formal and informal opportunities for education. Standards of care are one measure of quality. Nurses implement procedures to evaluate nursing practice in order to raise standards of care, and to ensure that such standards are ethically defensible.
Research is necessary to the development of the profession of nursing.
Research should be conducted in a manner that is ethically defensible. Explanatory Statements 1. The nurse respects persons' rights to determine who will be provided with their personal information and in what detail. Exceptions may be necessary in circumstances where the life of the person or of other persons may be placed in danger if information is not disclosed. When personal information is required for teaching, research or quality assurance procedures, care must be taken to protect the person's anonymity and privacy.