A draft model aggregated code of ethics for bioethicists.

Bioethicists function in an environment in which their peers--healthcare executives, lawyers, nurses, physicians--assert the integrity of their fields through codes of professional ethics. Is it time for bioethics to assert its integrity by developing a code of ethics? Answering in the affirmative, this paper lays out a case by reviewing the historical nature and function of professional codes of ethics. Arguing that professional codes are aggregative enterprises growing in response to a field's historical experiences, it asserts that bioethics now needs to assert its integrity and independence and has already developed a body of formal statements that could be aggregated to create a comprehensive code of ethics for bioethics.

Increasing nursing hours without increasing nurses: a natural experiment at an academic medical center.

The compensation plans at many hospitals do not encourage nurses to provide the maximum number or hours at the lowest possible costs. The authors discuss a compensation method that increased nursing hours while decreasing nursing costs. This effort was achieved with the support of the overwhelming majority of the nursing staff.