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Recommended: Ethics and nursing
Although a career in nursing or Allied health is very satisfying, it has many challenges along the way. Many will face a countless amount of ethical dilemmas on a daily basis. An ethical dilemma is frequently a problem that has no right or wrong answer and every so often there is no solution to the problem. Three of the most common ethical issues i will discuss that I foresee occurring in my nursing profession in the future are Patient choice versus nurse control, Pro-choice versus Pro-life, Patient beliefs versus medical treatment. While these ethical dilemmas occur every day in the healthcare field, nearly all of the choices are up to the patients’ because they have the right to make the decisions when it comes to their own quality of life. …show more content…
It was hard for all of us to see how small she was and her denying her food but we can’t force her to eat the food as much as we want to. We know the results are bad when someone stops eating but that is the patient’s decision and all we can do is encourage them.
Pro-choice versus Pro-life for example, I am strongly against abortion but that is my personal belief and when it comes to my patients I have to be open to the choices they make and do my best to assist them with their wants and needs. We all have different beliefs and as a nurse, we are not there to decide the choices for them but to cater to their choices as best as I can. I have to be able to put my beliefs aside in this career field.
Patients beliefs versus medical treatment for example, Some religions are against taking medicine and believe that they will heal naturally but some diagnosis require medicine and that medicine could be what they need to survive. I could try to convince them, talk to the doctor about it and see if they can convince them or find an alternative for the medication. In the end they have the right to make these decisions for their
The first provision of the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) “Code of Ethics” states, “ The nurse, in all professional relationships, practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of health problems.” The second provision states, “The nurse’s primary commitment is the patient, whether the patient is an individual, family, group, or community” (Fowler, 2010). As nurses we need to respect the autonomy and allow for the patient to express their choices and concerns. We also need to provide them with support by giving them knowledge and understanding so they
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.
Every nurse will be faced with a decision making dilemma at some point in his or her career. Being familiar with the nursing code of ethics, what is ethically and morally expected in society and how to approach the situations can help make dilemmas less of a nightmare. “The purpose of nursing ethics is to inspire questions and examine what would be the ethically right action in health care situations demanding a choice between at least two undesirable alternatives” (Toren & Wagner, 2010, p. 394). There are many different ways one can approach a situation to reach a resolution, finding a method that works best with the situation at hand is ideal.
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.
Define a critical thinking task that your staff does frequently (Examples: treat high blood sugar, address low blood pressure, pain management, treating fever etc.). Create a concept map or flow chart of the critical thinking process nurses should take to determining the correct intervention. Include how much autonomy a nurse should have to apply personal wisdom to the process. If the critical thinking process was automated list two instances where a nurse may use “wisdom” to override the automated outcome suggested. Note the risks and benefits of using clinical decision making systems.
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.
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.
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.
The ethical situation in question is a culmination of intolerance, ignorance, cultural insensitivity, and failure to follow hospital protocols and procedures. The location of the facility in which the ethical dilemma took place is a small, rural hospital in the Midwest of the United States of America. A new male patient has been admitted and he is currently a practicing Muslim. The facility does not have a large Muslim population and does not have any cultural protocols in place to accommodate the Muslim religion.
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)
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).
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
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.
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