The ANA Code of Ethics and AORN's Explications

The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses together with the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses' Explications for Perioperative Nursing prescribe the nonnegotiable ethical obligations of perioperative nurses. These two documents show perioperative nurses' ethical responsibility and accountability to patients, the profession, and other members of the health care team, and to society. This article provides examples of behaviors that explicate ethical obligations to help perioperative nurses better understand the Code of Ethics for Nurses.