Profile: American Association of Critical-Care Nurses-Greater Long Beach Orange Count

As AACN works to promote its mission and vision, it is guided by values that are rooted in, and arise from, the Association's history, traditions and culture. Therefore, AACN, its members, volunteers and staff will:

• Be accountable to uphold and consistently act in concert with ethical values and principles.
• Advocate for organizational decisions that are driven by the needs of patients and families.
• Act with integrity by communicating openly and honestly, keeping promises, honoring commitments and promoting loyalty in all relationships.
• Collaborate with all essential stakeholders by creating synergistic relationships to promote common interest and shared values.
• Provide leadership to transform thinking, structures and processes to address opportunities and challenges.
• Demonstrate stewardship through fair and responsible management of resources.
• Embrace life-long learning, inquiry and critical thinking to enable each to make optimal contributions.
• Commit to quality and excellence at all levels of the organization, meeting and exceeding standards and expectations.
• Promote innovation through creativity and calculated risk taking.
• Generate commitment and passion to the organization's causes and work.

AACN's mission, vision and values are framed within an ethic of care and ethical principles. An ethic of care is a moral orientation that acknowledges the interrelatedness and interdependence of individuals, systems and society. An ethic of care respects individual uniqueness, personal relationships, and the dynamic nature of life. Essential to an ethic of care are compassion, collaboration, accountability and trust. Within the context of interrelationships of individuals and circumstances, traditional ethical principles provide a basis for deliberation and decision making. These ethical principles include:

• Respect for Persons: a moral obligation to honor the intrinsic worth and uniqueness of each person; to respect self determination, diversity and privacy.
• Beneficence: a moral obligation to promote good and prevent or remove harm; to promote the welfare, health and safety of society and individuals in accordance with beliefs, values, preferences and life goals.
• Justice: a moral obligation to be fair and promote equity, nondiscrimination, and the distribution of benefits and burdens based on needs and resources available; to advocate on another's behalf when necessary.