Introduction: Nursing strongly affects people's health and daily life. A nurse is responsible for their patients, co-workers, superiors, and other professionals, for the society, and herself. A nurse is ethically, professionally, and legally responsible for her work. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to define different responsibilities in nursing and to present some major research pieces about ethical and professional responsibilities in nursing. We wanted to identify essential differences between ethical and professional responsibility in nursing and present the characteristics of an ethical and professionally responsible nurse. Methods: In the thesis, we used a descriptive method with a systematic review of professional and science sources. We examined sources in Slovenian and English languages, and used the following keywords: nursing, nurse, nurses, responsible, responsibility, accountability, ethics, ethical, professional, and social. Results: We divided the discussion of sources at our disposal into chapters: the responsibility of a nurse towards the patients and their families, professional communication, self-responsibility of a nurse, responsibility of a nurse towards their co-workers, responsibility of a nurse for quality nursing, and responsibility of a nurse to society. Discussion and conclusion: Ethical and professional responsibility are included in the nurse's code of conduct, the national legislature and The Declaration of the World Health Organization. In order for a medical professional to execute her tasks professionally, it is essential that she develops a high level of ethical awareness. A responsible nurse meets appropriate criteria in terms of her education and qualification. She must develop cultural competence and be capable of professional communication with patients and co-workers. She must also be able to effectively work together with other team members, promote reflection and dialogue, and constantly improve her knowledge.
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