The Importance Of Ethics In Nursing

Nursing is defined as simply caring for an ill or injured individual. It takes years of schooling to become a nurse, but patience, compassion and the ability to care are needed to be a good one. Although Nursing seems like an excellent profession, it is believed that “the ability of the health system to deliver consistent quality health care continues to be debated on a national level, and nursing’s moral obligation is not only to be a part of the debate, but also to advocate for communities and as individuals deserving quality health care” (Pope, B., Hough, M. C., & Chase, S. 2016). It is highly important that the professionals in the nursing field keep an ethical and moral perspective within the community. It also takes having respect for

An important goal of nursing is to “maximize benefit and minimize harm to patients” (Gadow, 1990). It is the nurse who understands the differences between beneficence and the knowledge that patients play a role in decision making. Beneficence is an obligation in the nursing field of ethics. It is the nurse’s duty to understand that decisions may not always be in the patient’s best interest. There are times when nurses are required to make decisions that go against the patient’s wishes, but need to be done for the patients’ well-being. Patients should always be treated with respect and feel like they have the ability to make their own decisions, but nurses should also have the overall well-being of the patient and community in mind. For example, public health programs that include childhood immunizations and vaccinations show goodwill on a community level. The programs weigh the pros and cons of immunizations and vaccinations, but also recognized that harm could be done to a few, but majority of people will benefit (Beauchamp & Childress, 2013). Nursing’s background stems from ethics because of its individual and community

For nursing to maintain its moral obligation in policy decisions, understanding that the community is autonomous and whole must be further understood (Watson, 1990). Values are needed to reflect all the individuals in a community and they can implement policies that boost community freedom. The difference between one on one healthcare and community healthcare is that the nurse needs to identify community health patterns instead of a single individual. Problems arise when technicalities like healthcare access come into play. A lot of people believe that we should all have equal access to healthcare. While it seems like a progressive idea, many forget how we should gather money to fund it. The United States is considered a liberty, meaning if someone has the resources to obtain insurance then they could expect to have their healthcare needs met (Rich, 2013; Beauchamp & Childress, 20). On the other hand, for someone who doesn’t have the financial means for insurance will not have access to healthcare unless they have a life-threatening emergency that would be covered under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) passed by the United States Congress in 1986 as part of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Act (COBRA). By 2009, the U.S. Census reported that over 50 million people in the U.S. did not have insurance. After the implementation of the Affordable Healthcare Act, access to healthcare became a