Ethical Principles in Nursing: Privacy, Confidentiality and Reporting Abuse

The purpose of this posting is to explain what privacy and confidentiality mean and then review the case study about the options of reporting abuse in a child and what principles of ethics are involved with it.

Out of all the duties of a nurse, one of the most important duties is how the nurse honors the trust of a patient by maintaining the patient’s privacy and safeguarding the patient’s information confidentially. Privacy is the ability of the patient to make the choices in how to handle information regarding him or herself that other individuals are not aware of. As an example, prior to releasing the patient’s private information, the nurse must notify the patient on how their information will be handled and get consent from the patient

The nurse is required by Ohio law to report the abuse of a minor ("Report child abuse and neglect," n.d.). The only options available are how to do the reporting. The nurse can keep the child in the office while contacting the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to report the abuse and to get the child removed from the environment right away. This can result with the child being placed into foster care or with other family members while it is determined if it is safe for the child to return with the biological father. The other option is to report the abuse anonymously and allow the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to follow up on the tip later. This option would allow the child to return to the abusive environment that can result in further injuries that may be life threatening. Technically, the only ethical option is to report the abuse right away and remove the child from the

To begin with, there is Autonomy with Lora wanting to make the choice on not having the abuse she encountered be reported. Secondly, Beneficence is present with the nurse wanting to do good by doing what is best for the patient, preventing further abuse, and getting Lora out of the environment she is in. Morally, the nurse wants to keep Lora’s abuse private and confidential per Lora’s wishes, but legally the nurse is required by law to report the abuse no matter what age the child is. Nonmaleficence is present in that the nurse must consider the pain in suffering the patient and family will encounter when this is reported resulting in Lora being removed from everything that is familiar to her with the end result of getting Lora out of the abuse and into a healthy environment. The nurse has to be truthful to Lora and explain why the nurse will report the abuse and what the process will be which pertains to the principle of Veracity. The nurse must keep the information that was given about the abuse confidential by only telling the appropriate agency or those in a need to know basis that will deal with the abuse. This is one of the few times that the nurse will go against the patient’s wishes of privacy due to the vulnerability principle. This occurs when there is a need for protection for