Veracity is absolutely essential to establishing and maintaining a relationship of trust between a nurse and patient. Patients are inherently vulnerable when seeking medical care. Likewise, nurses are privy to a significant amount of medical and personal information about patients as they complete admission documentation and assessments, access the patient’s medical record, and provide nursing care.
Patients depend on nurses to truthfully adhere to the ethical principles in the nursing code of ethics. This includes maintaining strict patient confidentiality and practicing veracity so patients can make informed decisions about their health care, decisions which may have a significant impact on patients’ lives.
Examples of Veracity in Nursing
There are many situations every day where nurses must choose to demonstrate veracity, even though it may be uncomfortable at times. Some examples include:
- Asking a nursing colleague for help due to a lack of experience with a particular task, skill, or procedure.
- Discovering and self-reporting a medication error or other nursing error.
- Telling a competent patient that they’re free to refuse or leave medical care, even when you fear they may suffer harm if they do so.
- Ensuring a patient has provided informed consent for all treatments and procedures before administering these to the patient.
- Explaining to a patient how they may be putting themselves at risk by discharging themselves from the hospital or medical care against medical advice (AMA).
- Telling your nursing supervisor or nurse manager that you don’t have the skills needed for a position you’re being transferred to fill or promoted to.
- Documenting and reporting accurately.
Will You Be Asked About Veracity on the NCLEX?
Yes, you could be asked about veracity on the NCLEX because “Beliefs about people and nursing underlie the NCLEX-RN Test Plan.” However, it’s more likely that you will have to answer questions that test your understanding of how to apply veracity in potential nursing situations rather than simply being asked a direct question about veracity.
For example, the NCLEX-RN test plan includes the subcategory of Management of Care under the Client Needs category of Safe and Effective Care Environment. As part of Management of Care, a person sitting the NCLEX-RN could be given test questions that test their ability to recognize and take action to rectify an ethical dilemma in nursing or practice in accordance with the nursing code of ethics.