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.
Winland-Brown, J. L. (2015). The New "Code of Ethics for Nursing With Interpretive Statements". Practical Clinical Applications Part I. MEDSURG Nursing 24(4),
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
NMC (2008) Code of Professional Conduct: Standards for Conduct, Performance and Ethics, Nursing and Midwifery Council.
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.
NMC, 2008. The code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. [online] Available at: [Accessed 13 November 2013].
Furthermore, nursing action guided by the theory and principles of moral and legal rights complements excellent nursing care. Nurse’s awareness of moral and legal codes helps them control the complicated scenarios encountered and direct the nurses in the best possible action answerable by law (Lachman, 2006). 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 at the expense of the patient and the care workers. In addition, the author will also evaluate the strength and limitations of the scenario in a broader issue with reasonable judgement supported by theories and principles of ethical and legal standards.
Burkhardt, M. A., & Nathaniel, A. K. (2014). Ethics & issues in contemporary nursing (4th ed.). Stephan Helbra.
1. Legal, ethical and professional principle frameworks underpin all fields of nursing, and it is a requirement for all Registered Nurses to be competent and knowledgeable, act with integrity and maintain professional standards set out by Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2015). Working with multidisciplinary teams within our profession, it is important to acknowledge and recognise the way in which all the professionals are guided by law and their independent regulatory bodies. The needs of the individual patient is to be considered by doctors and nurses alike, who share professional values and are set out in the respective codes of practice, The Code (NMC, 2015) and GMC (2013).
Nursing and Midwifery Board 2010a, Code of Ethics for Nursing in Australia, viewed 6 March 2011,
The classical term for the word ethics is, moral philosophies that rule an individual’s or group behavior or action. The American Nurses Association used ethics to write the Code of Ethics for Nurses with these values and visions in mind: “(1) As a statement of the ethical obligations and duties of every person who chooses to enter the profession of nursing. (2) To act as the nonnegotiable standard of ethics. (3) To serve as an expression of the understanding on nursing’s commitment to society.” (Nurses Code of Ethics, 2015). With our ever-changing society and healthcare, also comes changes to the American Nurses Association’s
NMC, 2010. The code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. [online] Available at: [Accessed 13 November 2013]
(9) United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Visiting. (UKCC) (1992). Primary Health Care, Code of professional conduct for the nurse, midwife and health visitor. London: UKCC.8 (2)
American Nurses Association. (2015, January 2015). Code of Ethics for Nurses With Interpretive Statements, 1-76. Retrieved from
Nursing and midwifery council (2008) The Code: standard of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. London: Nursing and Midwifery council
The American Nurses Association created guidelines for the profession including, a set clear rules to be followed by individuals within the profession, Code of Ethics for Nurses. Written in 1893, by Lystra Gretter, and adopted by the ANA in 1926, The Code of Ethics for Nurses details the role metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics have within the field (ANA, 2015). Moral obligation for an individual differs within professions than it does within an individual’s personal life, so the code of ethics was written to establish rules within the profession. The moral obligation to provide quality care include the fundamental principles of respect for persons, integrity, autonomy, advocacy, accountability, beneficence, and non-maleficence. The document itself contains nine provisions with subtext, all of which cannot be addressed within this paper however, core principals related to the ethical responsibilities nurses have will be