Leadership Ethics and the Disruptive Resident
My ethical dilemma occurs daily in the long term care environment (LTC). When residents behaviors are disruptive to staff and other residents in the facility, the solution is to give medications to quiet them down. Is this the right thing to do?
Ethics, as defined by Merriam Webster’s online dictionary (n.d.), is a branch of philosophy dealing with what is morally right or wrong. The Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements (ANA, 2001) is a guiding framework for ethical decision making. In the current LTC environment, ethical decisions often come down from the top seemingly without concern for the rights of the resident. Nurse leaders need to incorporate a process for ethical decision making that involves the resident, family and caregivers so solutions are guided by morals and professional guidelines.
Key Strategies Pertinent to Ethical Issue
Quantum leadership establishes an open culture that embraces collaboration and values individual’s thoughts and ideas making communication important in understanding ethical problems and seeking solutions (Lazaridou, & Fris, 2008). In moral case deliberation, caretakers collaborate with their peers on moral issues to come up with solutions harmonious with quantum thought (Dam, Abma, Kardol, & Widdershoven, 2012).
More importantly than communication, caregivers need to develop an awareness to recognize and identify ethical issues. External factors like workplace culture, lack of time and resources may interfere with a caregiver’s ability to “see” ethical problems (Dam et al., 2012; Solum, Slettebø, & Hauge, 2008).
Finally, after ethical issues have been identified and the communication processes has been sta...
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...hics for nurses with interpretive statements. New York: Author.
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Lazaridou, A., & Fris, J. (2008). Slipping the yoke of heroic paradigm: Looking for quantum leadership. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ940819.pdf
Solum, E., Slettebø, A., & Hauge, S. (2008). Prevention of unethical actions in nursing homes. Nursing Ethics, 15(4), 536-548. doi:10.1177/0969733008090524
the father of the patient safety movement. In 2012, Leape and colleagues identified a broad range of disrespectful conduct, suggesting 6 categories for classifying disrespectful behavior in the healthcare setting: disruptive behavior; humiliating, demeaning treatment of nurses, residents, and students; passive-aggressive behavior; passive disrespect; dismissive treatment of patients; and systemic disrespect (Gould, 2014). Leape encourages us to recognize these behaviors and work to identify strategies