This paper explores the legal, ethical and moral issues of three healthcare colleagues by applying the D-E-C-I-D-E model as a foundation of decision making as found in Thompson, Melia, and Boyd (2006). Issues explored will be those of the actions of registered nurse (RN) John, his fiancé and also registered nurse (RN) Jane and the Director of Nursing (DON) Ms Day. Specific areas for discussion include the five moral frameworks, autonomy, beneficence, Non – maleficence, justice and veracity in relation with each person involved as supported by Arnold and Boggs (2013) and McPherson (2011). An identification and review of the breached code of ethics and the breached code of conduct in reference with the Nursing, Council, and Federation (2008) will be addressed. Lastly a brief discussion on how the three schools of thought deontology, teleology and virtue had effects on each colleague (McPherson, 2011) . Registered Nurse John, Registered Nurse Jane and Director of Nursing Ms Day are all entitled to self – determination and to be motivated by their own actions. The actions of John, Jane and Ms Day are their own undertakings even though nurses are not considered autonomous decision makers (Butts, 2013). Nurses are still required by law to follow the instructions given to them by physician authority and to refute this needs a strong case for argument (Arnold & Boggs, 2013). RN John displays a sense of duty of care to protect the weak and vulnerable. An impression of doing the greater good is conveyed by John in his actions of stealing medical supplies. He believes he is not doing any harm to those around him as the supplies were meant for the disposal unit anyway and are meant for a good cause (McPherson, 2011). Rn Jane wants to prot... ... middle of paper ... ...Council, M., & Federation, A. N. (2008). Codes of Professional Conduct & Ethics for Nurses & Midwives, 2008: Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council. Pergert, P., & Lützén, K. (2012). Balancing truth-telling in the preservation of hope: A relational ethics approach. Nursing ethics, 19(1), 21-29. Popp, W., Rasslan, O., Unahalekhaka, A., Brenner, P., Fischnaller, E., Fathy, M., . . . Gillespie, E. (2010). What is the use? An international look at reuse of single-use medical devices. International journal of hygiene and environmental health, 213(4), 302-307. Staunton, P., & Chiarella, M. (2012). Law for nurses and midwives (7th ed.): Elsevier Australia. Thompson, I. E., Melia, K. M., & Boyd, K. M. (2006). Nursing Ethics: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier. Togelius, J. (2011). A procedural critique of deontological reasoning. Paper presented at the Proceedings of DiGRA.
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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.
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NMC, 2008. The code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. [online] Available at: [Accessed 13 November 2013].
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Nursing and midwifery council (2008) The Code: standard of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. London: Nursing and Midwifery council
Nursing & Midwifery Council (2008) Code of professional conduct: Standards for conduct, performance and ethics. London: NMC
Ethics is defined as moral principles that govern a persons or a group’s behavior, ethical principles apply to both personal and professional relationships (Webster, 2015). The field of nursing is a profession that has been highly regarded and respected in society. Most nurses enter the profession in order to utilize their clinical skills to help others in their time of need. Those in failing health rely on nurses to care for them in their most vulnerable states, and expect a level of compassion and humanity while receiving care. Nurses have an ethical responsibility to their patients, clients, and their community. Compassion, empathy, and integrity are staple characteristics that nurses possess that allow them to successfully perform their