One day, Humphrey the rat, surfaced from his nest inside the small willow tree. He found himself bound at his neck by Freddy the cat. Humphrey pleaded with the Freddy to let him go, and Freddy finally let him go seeing that he just had a big meal. Weeks passed by and Freddy found himself trapped in a net that his owner left out. His owners would not return for some time so Freddy was there until he was freed. But here comes Humphrey out of his tree to see Freddy in the need of help, promptly he started gnawing through the net, which then set Freddy free. I know you are wondering what the purpose of this story is. Well the moral of the story is that there are times where you need to decide when to do the right thing despite what you desire to do. This paper will explore the some issues of ethics in the nursing field, the consequences of poor judgment when it comes to nursing, and it will compare the Nurse Practice Act of Florida and another state.
1. What is the ethical responsibility and accountability of a nurse?
Let’s begin by defining ethics. Webster defines ethics as “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation” (Webster, 2011). In life we encounter situations that we must make ethical decisions in order to resemble what society expects us to do.
One must take responsibility for their own mistakes but society should not blame that individual if they were not taught morals and ethics by their parents. Society should take into consideration that it is not the child’s fault if their parents failed to teach them how to live a just life. Our first teacher comes from the home and if our teachers are absent from our lives then we learn from substitutes. The best education comes from th...
... middle of paper ...
...ISTERED PROFESSIONAL NURSE PRACTICE ACT, 43-26-7. Requirements for licensure as registered professional nurse
http://sos.georgia.gov/acrobat/PLB/laws/38_RN_43-26.pdf
• http://language.southmountaincc.edu/NR/rdonlyres/B416157A-1AF2-431C-A92B-E38CC6AAA88F/4683/APASamplePaper093.pdf
• http://www.ehow.com/info_7913510_georgia-professional-nurse-practice-act.html
• Mable H. Smith, RN, JD, PhD, 2009. Legal Basics for Professional Nursing
• Brent, N. J. (2001). Nurses and the law: A guide to principles and applications (2nd Ed.). Philadelphia: Saunders.
• Lyon, C. (1998). Crime and punishment? Could you go to jail for a medication error? Retrieved March 3, 2006, from www.nurseweek.com/features/98-5/crime.html
• Jackson Hospital October 2004 JACKSON HOSPITAL
Code Of Conduct Retrieved from https://www.ssl-data.com/jh.nsf/Files/CodeofConduct/$file/CodeofConduct.pdf
Nurses practice in a complex environment. Providing the best patient care centers around moral, legal, and ethical values (Laureate Education, 2012). Ethical, moral, and legal principles must guide a nurse’s professional practice. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the conceptual frameworks, describe a dilemma in the workplace, analyze the moral, ethical, and legal implications, and finally, discuss the leadership affect of my particular leadership style on this dilemma.
As a nurse it is our primary job to protect and promote the well being of patients throughout the health care industry. Each nurse has the responsibility to practice faithfully and to uphold all ethical values. These values are outlined and regulated by two very important entities, The Nursing Practice Acts and the Texas Board of Nursing. Nursing Practice Acts, are specific laws in each state that define a nurse’s scope of practice. These acts were first established in 1909 with the purpose of protecting public health, safety, and welfare. Their purpose is to provide rules and regulations that will protect society from unsafe and unqualified nurses. Nursing professionalism is rooted in the ethics and ...
Through centuries nurses were given the title “Caregivers”. Unlike some doctors, nurses actually care for their patients, not necessarily saying doctors do not; they both just have a different way of caring. Yes, doctors cure illnesses, but nurses are just as important because they help with the healing process. Most nurses can have the same exact education or knowledge as a medical physician but the only thing individuals see is a name tag with either the acronym CNA, LPN, R.N. and PH.D. Of course PH.D will get all the credit, seeing as how nurses do not exactly diagnose patients. A nurse could just become a doctor but there are different aspects of each title. Nurses take instructions from a higher administrator, which is sometimes a doctor. What needs to be known is doctors are not the only ones that stress and have rules to abide by. Nurses have ethical codes, daily ethical dilemmas, morals, and ridiculous distress, but some of these examples differ with country, state, and hospital. If nurses are capable, then they should be given the opportunity to make medical decisions or diagnosis in critical situations.
Staunton, P., & Chiarella, M. (2012). Law for nurses and midwives (7th ed.): Elsevier Australia.
This paper will focus on two BNUR leaner outcomes (University of Calgary, 2013) relevant to my learned understanding of nurses as ethical decision makers. I will outline the ways that I have seen ethics used and not used in practice, what I learned about ethics and its use in my theory courses and throughout my practicums, and I will reflect on how this understanding will translate into my professional practice moving forward.
Barnett, Wilson J.(1986). Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing. Journal of Medical Ethics. Retrieved on 12th July 2010 from
Deontology is an ethical theory concerned with duties and rights. The founder of deontological ethics was a German philosopher named Immanuel Kant. Kant’s deontological perspective implies people are sensitive to moral duties that require or prohibit certain behaviors, irrespective of the consequences (Tanner, Medin, & Iliev, 2008). The main focus of deontology is duty: deontology is derived from the Greek word deon, meaning duty. A duty is morally mandated action, for instance, the duty never to lie and always to keep your word. Based on Kant, even when individuals do not want to act on duty they are ethically obligated to do so (Rich, 2008).
Davis, A. J. (1997). Ethical dilemmas and nursing practice (4th ed.). Stamford, Conn.: Appleton & Lange.
Burkhardt, M. A., & Nathaniel, A. K. (2014). Ethics & issues in contemporary nursing (4th ed.). Stephan Helbra.
Burkhardt, M. A., & Nathaniel, A. K. (2014). Ethics & issues in contemporary nursing (4th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
In conclusion, there are numerous legal and ethical issues apparent in the nursing practice. Nurses should study and be as informed as they can with ethics and legality within their field in order to ensure no mistakes occur. Ethical issues vary based on patient’s views, religion, and environment. Nurses are influenced by these same views, but most of the time they are not the same as the patients. As a nurse we must learn to put the care of our patients and their beliefs, rights, and wishes before our own personal
Potter, P., & Perry, A. (2009). Fundamentals of Nursing. Ethics and Values (7th ed.) St.
The four fundamental nursing responsibilities of promoting health, preventing illness, optimizing health and alleviating the ill are represented in the code of ethics. (Arnold & Boggs, 2016) One can say that the code of ethics are rules that a nurse needs to follow in order to effectively communicate and protect the patients. The American Nurse Association provided the code of ethics to guide nurses to ensure that patient’s care, safety, rights and health are well cared for and well managed. Models like Utilitarian, deontological, and the human rights-based all contribute in answering dilemmas that can arise with a patient. Thus, explaining what some of the code of ethics are, and how the code of ethics influence our responsibilities as a nurse will impact the overall care of the
The American Nurses Association created guidelines for the profession including, a set clear rules to be followed by individuals within the profession, Code of Ethics for Nurses. Written in 1893, by Lystra Gretter, and adopted by the ANA in 1926, The Code of Ethics for Nurses details the role metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics have within the field (ANA, 2015). Moral obligation for an individual differs within professions than it does within an individual’s personal life, so the code of ethics was written to establish rules within the profession. The moral obligation to provide quality care include the fundamental principles of respect for persons, integrity, autonomy, advocacy, accountability, beneficence, and non-maleficence. The document itself contains nine provisions with subtext, all of which cannot be addressed within this paper however, core principals related to the ethical responsibilities nurses have will be
In every nurse's career, he or she will face with legal and ethical dilemmas. One of the professional competencies for nursing states that nurses should "integrate knowledge of ethical and legal aspects of health care and professional values into nursing practice". It is important to know what types of dilemmas nurses may face