Nursing Case Study

As a future nurse, I agree to promote, advocate for, and protect the rights, health, and safety of the patient. However, I find some conflicting situations within this provision of the code of ethics for nurses very challenging to face. For incidence, I find myself asking for the appropriate balance between protecting the rights and safety of the patient as a nurse. For this matter, I interviewed a registered nurse who faced a situation where he needed to evaluate a balance between patient’s autonomy and role as a nurse.

The interviewee presented the issue that he had a patient whose diagnosis was terminal hepatic cancer that had metastasized. The patient had made his wish to be a do not resuscitate (DNR) patient. The patient’s adult son who

While this is very true, others can argue that nursing staff members respecting the patient’s DNR is practicing maleficence. In this situation, however, the nurses are limited to certain roles; witnessing patient’s request for a DNR, discussing medical information to those who are authorized, and not initiating lifesaving measures in the event that the patient becomes unconscious and unresponsive in this situation. I asked the interviewee how he justified the action of not initiating lifesaving measures as a nurse. The interviewee explained a valid point that clarified my consistent attempts to justify not initiating lifesaving measure. He explained, “As a nurse, situations such as this do play out frequently, and we have to be able to manage the situation carefully. Even though nurses primarily wish to protect patient’s safety and health, there are times when the patient’s decision comes first and our beliefs do not matter. Then, as nurses, all we can do is to respect the decision and show empathy for the patient and their family.” In essence, the patient’s will is what matters the most in some situations. As nurses, we do want to see people recover and lead healthy lives, but in the end, we also do not want them to suffer. Any patient should be at peace with his or her decision, and as much as we care about our patients, we need to let them make that choice especially regarding living