Whistleblowing

Patient advocacy is one of the most important part of a nurse’s role. Given that nurses have the most direct interaction with patients, they are ideally placed to be instrumental in initiating change on the patient’s behalf.

Nurses are required to adhere to the International Council of Nurses ‘Code of Ethics for Nurses’ to uphold patients’ rights and act within their best interests. Advocacy can take many forms ranging from direct patient care, patient safety to organisational issues such as staffing shortages, conflict and many other workplace concerns. These issues can directly and indirectly impact patient care.

Nurses can be faced with practical and ethical dilemmas that can challenge their decision-making. On rare occasions, nurses may witness illegal or unethical practice. It will take courage to expose this wrongdoing by reporting to the appropriate authority. This action is known as ‘Whistleblowing’ and is considered a last resort when other avenues have been exhausted.

While nurses have a moral obligation to report wrongdoing, whistleblowing can be a daunting prospect as nurses contemplate the consequences of taking such an action. Nevertheless, it is imperative that the responsibility of patient advocacy is well understood and taken seriously, to protect patients well-being.

This module contains a number of resources looking at the nature of whistleblowing, associated dilemmas, potential repercussions and strategies to support nurses.