A nurse is using a guide to provide moral standards for professional behavior in nursing. Which guide is the nurse using?

Choice A reason: The nursing process (assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, evaluation) guides the creation of a client’s care plan, providing a systematic, evidence-based framework. It ensures individualized, goal-oriented care, addressing client needs comprehensively, and is the cornerstone of clinical decision-making, per nursing practice standards.

Choice B reason: Nursing’s Social Policy Statement defines the profession’s role and societal obligations, not a practical guide for care planning. It provides a philosophical framework, not actionable steps like the nursing process, making it irrelevant for creating specific client care plans, per professional guidelines.

Choice C reason: The Nurse Practice Act regulates licensure and scope of practice, not care plan development. It ensures legal compliance but does not provide a clinical framework like the nursing process, which directly structures patient care, making this incorrect for care planning, per regulatory standards.

Choice D reason: ANA Standards of Nursing Practice outline professional expectations but are not a step-by-step guide like the nursing process. They support quality care but lack the specific, systematic approach needed for creating individualized care plans, per nursing practice and clinical guideline frameworks.

Choice A reason: Nurses’ health disparities, such as personal socioeconomic or medical challenges, are unrelated to assessing clients culturally. Cultural competence requires understanding the client’s beliefs and values, not the nurse’s personal health inequities. These disparities may affect nurse well-being but do not directly influence the ability to interpret clients’ cultural health practices or beliefs accurately.

Choice B reason: Nurses’ health history, including personal medical conditions, does not directly impact cultural assessments. Understanding clients’ cultural beliefs about health, influenced by traditions or social norms, requires self-awareness of the nurse’s own cultural biases. Personal health history may inform empathy but is irrelevant to recognizing cultural influences on client care preferences.

Choice C reason: Nurses’ educational level affects clinical knowledge but not cultural assessment directly. Cultural competence involves recognizing how the nurse’s cultural background shapes perceptions of client behaviors, like dietary preferences or treatment acceptance. Education enhances technical skills, but cultural orientation awareness is critical for avoiding biases in nurse-client interactions across diverse populations.

Choice D reason: Nurses must consider their own cultural orientation to avoid biases when assessing clients from other cultures. Cultural beliefs shape health perceptions, like attitudes toward pain or family roles in care. Self-awareness of personal cultural values, rooted in socialization, prevents misinterpretations and ensures culturally sensitive care, aligning with ethical nursing practice.