Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Ethical issue in nursing research essay
The importance of ethics in nursing
The importance of ethics in nursing
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Ethical issue in nursing research essay
There is a lot of important research going on in the nursing field. Most of the research is done by nurses who specialize in research and whose job is to focus on different parts of the field such as illnesses/diseases prevention/interventions, environment safety, and the constant search for new ways to effectively achieve and sustain health. Many of the studies done by this professionals help in numerous ways. They are helping discover better ways to provide health services, improve the quality of life for those with acute and chronic diseases, spreading the facts about the benefits of a good nutrition and lifestyle, making sure all patients will attain a safe environment in all settings, improve treatment and comfort for those in hospice care, and much more.
Nurse researchers seek for questions, create and manage scientific studies, analyze and gather obtained data, which are later reported. This data or knowledge is then
…show more content…
In the acute-care setting, healthcare workers often have to deal with ethical dilemmas that don’t have fixed solutions and that may cause moral distress in part of the nurse as a result. Part of the nursing research is to better balance the pros and cons of each patient in the wide range of situations. Frequently, nurses have to come up with decisions that don’t possess a right and wrong deed, but has to do more with the nature of the situation, such as to whether give prioritization to the autonomy of certain patients and not to others. This “freedom vs control” dilemma is not the major issue that raises open questions. There exists several others, such as patients religious beliefs that affect their treatment; “pro-choice vs pro-life” dilemma, where the nurses beliefs and values come into play; “truth telling vs deception” dilemma, where families struggle to tell loved ones about their prognosis; and the distribution of resources
During week 4, we became familiar with the application of ethics in the nursing practice settings. We learned about ethical theories and principles, which are crucial when practicing in any clinical settings during ethical decision-making and while facing one or multiple ethical dilemmas. Also, we were introduced to the MORAL model used in ethical decision – making progress. The MORAL model is the easiest model to use in the everyday clinical practice, for instance at bedside nursing. This model can be applyed in any clinical settings and its acronyms assist
Planning included reaching out to other health organizations, objectives, and goals of health fair were established. The implementation includes getting volunteers, set up for the health fair. The evaluation of the process occurred throughout the implementation and changes were made as needed. The evaluation will be completed by gathering information from health booth to determine the number of participants. Review vendor and participant evaluations about the health fair including how they heard about the health fair, ratings of booths and suggestions for improvements. Record everything to determine changes. Reflection on past experiences and what worked and did not work.
In the medical profession, doctors and nurses run into ethical dilemmas every day whether it be a mother who wants to abort her baby or a patient who has decided they want to stop cancer treatment. It is important for the nurse to know where they stand with their own moral code, but to make sure they are not being biased when educating the patient. Nurses are patient advocates, it is in the job description, so although the nurse may not agree with the patient on their decisions, the nurse to needs to advocate for the patient regardless.
Nurses everywhere face problems and challenges in practice. Most of the challenges occur due to a struggle with the use of ethical principles in patient care. Ethical principles are “basic and obvious moral truths that guide deliberation and action,” (Burkhardt, Nathaniel, 2014). Ethical principles that are used in nursing practice include autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, veracity, confidentiality, justice, and fidelity. These challenges not only affect them, but the quality of care they provide as well. According to the article, some of the most frequently occurring and most stressful ethical issues were protecting patient rights, autonomy and informed consent to treatment, staffing problems, advanced care planning, and surrogate decision making (Ulrich et. al, 2013). The ethical issue of inadequate staffing conflicts with the principle of non-maleficence.
Nursing research is a systematic enquiry that seeks to add new nursing knowledge to benefit patients, families and communities. It encompasses all aspects of health that are of interest to nursing, including promotion of health, prevention of illness, care of people of all ages during illness and recovery (or) towards a peaceful and dignified death (ICN 2009)
According to Orem, nursing science is a practical science, in that knowledge is developed for the direct purpose of nursing practice itself (Barbara, 2011). The goal of nursing science is to look for an understanding of the actual realities that are concerning to nurses and the nursing practice (Orem, 2001). We can do this through both research and producing scholarly articles. “Nursing science is the science of which knowledge is developed for the sake of the work to be done” (Barbara, 2011, p. 44). Without the nursing science as the backbone of nursing, the nursing practice would seize to exist, or at least have difficulty staying alive. Nursing science offers nurses the knowledge, skills and competency to develop order and direction in their nursing care (Malinowski, 2002). Models of case studies, rules and standards of practice along with the various
This study showed that nursing ethical values in patients, clients car are similar in many cases due to a common core in humanistic and spiritual approach of nursing profession, which is taking care of a human values such as human dignity, kindness and sympathy, altruism, responsibility and commitment, justice and honesty, personal, professional competency were similar in most of the cultures.
The frameworks are (a) utilitarian, (b) rights-based reasoning, (c) duty-based reasoning, and (d) intuitionist. The utilitarian framework infers that decisions should be for the greater good. In other words, the decision made should take into consideration the needs of a group versus that of an individual. Conversely, rights-based reasoning is more concerned with one person's rights. Duty-based reasoning focuses on the rights of the people and a caregiver’s duty to maintain these rights. Lastly, the intuitionist framework is based on the decision maker's feelings and instincts about a situation. It is the individual’s intuition that drives the decision. In addition to frameworks, there are ethical principles. The nursing profession is based on a group of ethical principles. As nurses, we strive to promote good (beneficence) and to do no harm (non-maleficence). Nurses support patient autonomy and self-determination. Society expects that nurses will be trustworthy, respectful and act with integrity (fidelity and veracity). Nurses have an obligation to tell the truth and treat patients fairly and equally; and, deal with them with respect and dignity (justice). These ethical principles, in addition to the ethical frameworks, help us, as leaders, to make the right decisions at the right time in all situations. The situations may be patient or staff-centered; ultimately, all healthcare
Ethical dilemmas in nursing happen daily therefore nurses must treat all patients with respect and integrity for the patients’ best interest and health. Nurses must be the advocators for their clients, in this case being an advocate for the patient helped in the resolution because the nurse made sure to speak for the patient with mediation error and no affect on the patient’s health. The decisions nurses make can affect the patient’s health and quality of life, hence making the right choice is critical in nursing. The decision making can be based on the nurses’ values, experiences, ethical principles and theories.
An ethical dilemma is defined as a mental state when the nurse has to make a choice between the options and choices that he or she has at her disposal. The choice is a crucial task as the opting of the step will subsequently determine the health status of the concerned patient, hence it requires a great deal of wisdom along with proper medical and health training before any such step is opted as it is a matter of life and death. Strong emphasis should therefore be on the acquisition of proper knowledge and skills so that nurses do posses the autonomy to interact with patients regarding ethical issues involved in health care affairs and address them efficiently. It is normally argued that nurses are not provided sufficient authority to consult and address their patients on a more communicative or interactive level as a result of which they are often trapped in predicaments where their treatments of action and their personal beliefs create a conflict with the health interests of the patient. (Timby, 2008)
For nursing, research has played a major role in the way clinical practice is done. Research has allowed nurses to provide appropriate care to patients. It allows them to perform their job by providing them the tools and information they need in order to make the decisions on the concerns for caring the patient (Polit & Beck, 2006). Moreover, research can also take focus on the workers themselves in order to improve the practice both on a professional and personal level. An example of a study conducted by King, Vidourek, and Schweibert of University of Cincinnati created a study to determine if there is a correlation between ...
The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses has five elements that pertain to the Principle of Autonomy. Each individual element applies to “respect individual persons” (Baillie, McGeehan, Garrett T, M., Garrett R. M., 2013, p.33). In Chapter 2 of the Health Care ethics: Principles and problems text, it discusses thouroghly the consent of an individual to make their own decisions regarding their health and future requests of care. As a nurse or within all heath care professions, we must treat each individual patient with care, respect, and to remain mindful to the patient regarding any aspect of their lives. In the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses, it explains ways of maintaining the empathy required in the health field. It further discusses that the respect for human dignity must be a priority, relationships to patients must remain neutral, the severity of the situation, the right to self-rule, and the professionalism that must be upheld by the nurse and their associates.
Another huge ethical topic is the patient’s right to choose autonomy in the refusal of life-saving medicine or treatment. This issue affects a nurse’s standards of care and code of ethics. “The nurse owes the patient a duty of care and must act in accordance with this duty at all times, by respecting and supporting the patient’s right to accept or decline treatment” (Volinsky). In order for a patient to be able make these types of decisions they must first be deemed competent. While the choice of patient’s to refuse life-saving treatment may go against nursing ethical codes and beliefs to attempt and coerce them to get treatment is trespass and would conclude in legal action. “….then refusal of these interventions may be regarded as inappropriate, but in the case of a patient with capacity, the patient must have the ultimate authority to decide” (Volinsky). While my values of the worth of life and importance of action may be different than others, as a nurse I have to learn to set that aside and follow all codes of ethics whether I have a dilemma with them or not. Sometimes with ethics there is no right or wrong, but as a nurse we have to figure out where to draw the line in some cases.
Research is a systematic method which is used in other to answer the certain questions or solve problems that leads to the development and expansion of knowledge. Clinical nursing research is designed to determine reliable evidence about issues relating to the nursing profession including education, practice, service, and administration. Due to the importance of evidence based practice in nursing practice development, research has become valuable source in nursing practice. (Polit and Beck, 2016)
In nursing, it is not uncommon to encounter situations where nurses are required make ethical decisions based on legal and ethical principles. These situations often are seen in pediatric nursing when there are conflicting views between the parents and their child. For example, Mike is a 15-year-old boy who has been diagnosed again with acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) and is to continue another taxing round of chemotherapy. Mike confides to his nurse that he would like to discontinue treatment. Meanwhile, his parents are adamant that treatment continues. The nurse must decide whether to terminate or continue with Mike’s chemotherapy.