Something I have grown to recognize in my experience is there is always room for improvement. I have worked along side with some great nurses and for every great nurse there is another not so great. I truly believe it takes a special person to be a nurse. This is not a profession to enter into lightly. It is acceptable to enter into some career fields for the paycheck, but nursing is not one of them. This field can not be “just a job”. Over the years I have learned many do’s and do not’s. The different aspects of knowing have guided me along the way. A great nurse needs to be able to recognize what is known and what limitations, or unknowing exists. There are a couple aspects of knowing that have tipped the scale a little more than …show more content…
Ethical knowing played a large role in my LTC experience. I took care of an woman in her late 50’s, much to young to be in a LTC/SNF. She had oral cancer that involved her tongue. She fought the disease and won once, but when it came back it was vengeful. She was non-verbal due to her extensive disease, but was able to write and use a communication board.
Her disease became very painful and required hospice to assist with pain management. Even though she was non-verbal and not very responsive most of the time, it was not difficult to assess when she was in pain. She would grimace and tears would be present in her eyes. I used some personal knowing and assessment skills to come up with a pain management plan.
She appeared comfortable when medicated every 1-2 hours in correlation with ADL care. I communicated this plan to the rest of the staff. I came in one morning and she was miserable. The night shift nurse had not medicated her all night, because she personally felt it was ethically wrong to keep her sedated. I explained she was not being kept sedated, she was being kept comfortable, as she had requested when she was coherent. Ethical knowing played a role in this situation. I was able to recognize medicating this resident was more ethical than allowing her to be miserable in pain. This particular nurse felt she was hastening death, not preventing
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.
The ethical principle of nonmaleficence demands to first do no harm and in this case protect the patient from harm since she cannot protect. Nurses must be aware in situations such as this, that they are expected to advocate for patients in a right and reasonable way. The dilemma with nonmaleficence is that Mrs. Boswell has no chance of recovery because of her increasing debilitating mental incapability and the obvious harm that outweighs the intended benefits. If the decision were to continue treatment, suffering of the patient and family would be evident. Autonomy is the right to making own decisions and freedom to choose a plan of action. When making decisions regarding treatment of another person, it is important to respect the expressed wishes of the individual. John says that his mother would want to live as long as she could, but questions arise related to her quality of life and perception of prolonged suffering by prolonging the dying process. In BOOK states that quality of life changes throughout one’s life ...
... with the change is critical for accurate job performance. I have fulfillment in knowing the new nurses I precept, the companies that I have managed, the nursing assistant classes I have taught and the countless number of peer I come in contact with, understand the importance of spreading knowledge onto others to help them benefit along their way.
I presume the role transition from academic nursing student to Graduate Nurse will be challenging and rewarding. In their findings, the researchers Doody, Tuohy & Deasy (2012) stated that for a successful transition NGNs need to be competent in a range of domains: interpersonal skills, managing workloads, providing health information, communication, and prioritising care delivery. Although I believe I am competent in the above specified areas, I am still not confident that I would get sufficient support in the hospital environment in terms of knowledge sharing, moral support and being given constructive feedback. Constructive criticism increases confidence in the work role and reduces stress in an individual (Doody, Tuohy & Deasy, 2012). In my previous professional placements I have been able to demonstrate my competency to work in the healthcare environment. I have received positive feedback from placement educators, buddy nurses and patients. Despite being competent in a range of the above areas NGNs may still face transition shock.
In this essay the author will rationalize the relevance of professional, ethical and legal regulations in the practice of nursing. The author will discuss and analyze the chosen scenario and critically review the action taken in the expense of the patient and the care workers. In addition, the author will also evaluates the strength and limitations of the scenario in a broader issue with reasonable judgement supported by theories and principles of ethical and legal standards.
Paramedics deemed the patient competent and therefore Ms. Walker had the right to refuse treatment, which held paramedics legally and ethically bound to her decisions. Although negligent actions were identified which may have resulted in a substandard patient treatment, paramedics acted with intent to better the patient despite unforeseen future factors. There is no set structure paramedics can follow in an ethical and legal standpoint thus paramedics must tailor them to every given
Under the code of ethics for nurses this moral issue is also conflicting because you’re first and foremost obligation is to the patient. Now you also have your institution ethical code conduct that you also has to abide by. Provision 5. The nurse owes the same duties to self as to others, including the responsibility to preserve integrity and safety, to maintain competence, and to continue personal and professional growth (ANA, 2001, p.18). In this case the nurse owes it to herself in making the right moral decision to preserve integrity and safety of patient and
...rcise, social activity, and proper nutrition are important in keeping the patient healthy as well. Any steps toward producing a calm, safe, and well-structured environment may help the patient. Helping the patient and the family with the legal aspects, supporting the family through care giving, and assisting with decisions about long-term care placement are also crucial to help the patient.
Grasping on to the way of how nurses think and how I see nursing has changed quite a bit since starting the program back in August, 2015. It really is a lot harder than what some people who work in the field make it seem. There are so many different things to learn and do. For example, when it comes to thinking, the formation of it has changed it. It is not your everyday normal thinking anymore (Alfaro-Lefevre, 2013).
I started my Nursing career in India and then I came to the United States and became an RN. I entered Nursing with the thinking that Nursing is a profession that will always allow me to have a job and all my patients will get better. However, from my experiences I understood that Nursing is more than just giving medications, and it requires clinical competence, cultural sensitivity, ethics, caring for others, and life-long learning about others and the evolving field of medicine. Florence Nightingale once said:
In this career about there are approximately an average of 2600000 people employed. There is many duties in this field but the main achievement in this field is to maintain a stable and healthy life towards a patient. This is not always going to be a success one day you might have to deal with an unexpected health issue that can no longer be cured. You may pass by this situation quite frequently that doesn’t mean you’re a bad nurse.
This research has also found that other evidence-based studies have found that competency in nursing skills is still lacking (Evans, 2008). These skills are lacking by students and newly graduated nursing students who are in the first or second year of transition.
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
Nursing is a promising career that offers many rewards to caring individuals. It is more than just a job that one attends day to day. Nursing is a career that kind people get in to because they are passionate about life and everything is has to offer. They care for people they have never met before in such a way that makes the patient feel comfortable and able to relax. In a way that makes it possible for the patient to recover from whatever they have encountered. If I am going to spend valuable time and money on education, I want to a job that I absolutely love. I want to have the satisfaction of knowing that my job is safe even when times are rough. Interviewing Jennifer H, a Registered Nurse at a local Banner facility really helped me get insight on what the position has to offer. I have encountered many people who are not passionate about their job and just show up for a paycheck; choosing a job in the medical field provides people with the same check, but also offers job security, advancement opportunities and numerous benefits for the employee and their famil...
First, I would like to start by stating that my expectation of a nurse is that he or she must be a good communicator, emotionally strong, empathetic, patient and calm, pay attention to detail and have good physical endurance. I feel that I possess these qualities which would make me very successful as nurse in the future. I have dream about being a nurse since I was a little girl and as a young adult, I still have the desire to be a nurse so I can help others. My desire to become a nurse evolves from past experiences that have taken place in my life; for example, my father’s death, my illness, personal experience and interaction with the hospital staff, specifically, the nurses.