After reading the case study related to this assignment and other related articles and talking to co-workers, I realized there are many around us that ethical principle were somehow violated on them. Despite most nurses’ best efforts to make ethical decisions; they might not be able to make the right decision. As it was mentioned in the case study, nurses might feel their job will be jeopardized if they go against higher authorities’ will. If they lose their job, they cannot be useful for themselves or for other patients. This problem takes me back to the title of section three of doing the right thing, “if we know what is right, can we do it?... in properly ordered soul, reason will be on control and passion will be under control”(n.d.). It …show more content…
Question one: Which ethical principles are being violated in this scenario according to the ANA Ethics Definitions?
According to ANA, autonomy means “agreement to respect another 's right to self-determine a course of action; support of independent decision making” (Beauchamp & Childress, 2009). In this case autonomy of the first nurse was violated as he was not able to administer pain medication when he needed to. The autonomy of the second nurse was jeopardized as she was going to face serious consequences if she advocate for the patient. Also the autonomy of the second patient was jeopardized as she wanted to transfer to another hospital but was misled by false information.
Beneficence is defined as “compassion; taking positive action to help others; desire to do good; core principle of our patient advocacy” (Beauchamp & Childress, 2009). In this case, beneficence was violated as second nurse was not able to advocate for patient or she would lose her job if she was not loyal to the
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Their autonomy was violated, their loyalty was questioned, and they were threatened to either accept the situation or they will lose their job. Therefore, I believe provision six of the code of ethics is related to this situation the best. According to ANA, provision six describes “The nurse participates in establishing, maintaining, and improving healthcare environments and conditions of employment conducive to the provision of quality health care and consistent with the values of the profession through individual and collective action” (code of ethics, 2011). Nurses in this case study have to work in an environment that patients’ rights have been violated. Nurses are not able to advocate for their patients. Therefore, it is not a safe environment while even nurses’ attempt to fix it did not make any difference. “Acquiescing and accepting unsafe or inappropriate practices, even if the individual does not participate in the specific practice, is equivalent to condoning unsafe practice. Nurses should not remain employed in facilities that routinely violate patient rights or require nurses to severely and repeatedly compromise standards of practice or personal morality” (code of ethics, 2011). Since in this case nurses might have a hard time finding another hospital in their community, they should find another solution instead of quitting their job in this
Nurses are required to protect and support their patients if they are to be an efficient patient advocate. Ethically questionable situations are quite common for nurses that conflict with their professionals and personal morals. At times, the patient necessitates the nurse to speak out for them demonstrating
Nurses everywhere face problems and challenges in practice. Most of the challenges occur due to a struggle with the use of ethical principles in patient care. Ethical principles are “basic and obvious moral truths that guide deliberation and action,” (Burkhardt, Nathaniel, 2014). Ethical principles that are used in nursing practice include autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, veracity, confidentiality, justice, and fidelity. These challenges not only affect them, but the quality of care they provide as well. According to the article, some of the most frequently occurring and most stressful ethical issues were protecting patient rights, autonomy and informed consent to treatment, staffing problems, advanced care planning, and surrogate decision making (Ulrich et. al, 2013). The ethical issue of inadequate staffing conflicts with the principle of non-maleficence.
Deontology is an ethical theory concerned with duties and rights. The founder of deontological ethics was a German philosopher named Immanuel Kant. Kant’s deontological perspective implies people are sensitive to moral duties that require or prohibit certain behaviors, irrespective of the consequences (Tanner, Medin, & Iliev, 2008). The main focus of deontology is duty: deontology is derived from the Greek word deon, meaning duty. A duty is morally mandated action, for instance, the duty never to lie and always to keep your word. Based on Kant, even when individuals do not want to act on duty they are ethically obligated to do so (Rich, 2008).
Ethics has been a popular topic in nursing for a long time. Nurses are expected to demonstrate ethical decision-making as well as professionalism. I believe that in order to accomplish this, they need to use the ANA Code of Ethics as framework for their decision-making. It is also imperative for nurses to have a strong understanding of ethics, because they will be faced with many difficult ethical decisions that do not always have a straightforward solution.
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.
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.
Davis, A. J. (1997). Ethical dilemmas and nursing practice (4th ed.). Stamford, Conn.: Appleton & Lange.
Davis J. Anne Diane Marsha and Aroskar A. Mila (2010). Ethical Dilemmas and Nursing Practice. Pearson
Section 5.4, which is the preservation of integrity, suggests that nurses will inevitably have to deal with threats to their moral or professional integrity at some point in their careers. Nurses should do their best to maintain professional integrity when met with adversity, weather it be from uncooperative issuance companies, an unsound work environment, or from the patients themselves. When working in an unsound or unsafe work environment that violates law or the ANA code of ethics nurses must go through the proper channels to fix the problem. If a nurse feels that a procedure or treatment their patient is having conflicts with his or her own moral integrity and they cannot participate, the nurse must report they unwilling to tr...
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) .
Autonomy is a principle that allows a patient or authorizing agent to make decisions regarding healthcare decisions without any outside influence (Burkhardt & Nathanial, 2014, p.440) As the nurse, it is important to understand
The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses has five elements that pertain to the Principle of Autonomy. Each individual element applies to “respect individual persons” (Baillie, McGeehan, Garrett T, M., Garrett R. M., 2013, p.33). In Chapter 2 of the Health Care ethics: Principles and problems text, it discusses thouroghly the consent of an individual to make their own decisions regarding their health and future requests of care. As a nurse or within all heath care professions, we must treat each individual patient with care, respect, and to remain mindful to the patient regarding any aspect of their lives. In the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses, it explains ways of maintaining the empathy required in the health field. It further discusses that the respect for human dignity must be a priority, relationships to patients must remain neutral, the severity of the situation, the right to self-rule, and the professionalism that must be upheld by the nurse and their associates.
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
The four fundamental nursing responsibilities of promoting health, preventing illness, optimizing health and alleviating the ill are represented in the code of ethics. (Arnold & Boggs, 2016) One can say that the code of ethics are rules that a nurse needs to follow in order to effectively communicate and protect the patients. The American Nurse Association provided the code of ethics to guide nurses to ensure that patient’s care, safety, rights and health are well cared for and well managed. Models like Utilitarian, deontological, and the human rights-based all contribute in answering dilemmas that can arise with a patient. Thus, explaining what some of the code of ethics are, and how the code of ethics influence our responsibilities as a nurse will impact the overall care of the
In conclusion, there are numerous legal and ethical issues apparent in the nursing practice. Nurses should study and be as informed as they can with ethics and legality within their field in order to ensure no mistakes occur. Ethical issues vary based on patient’s views, religion, and environment. Nurses are influenced by these same views, but most of the time they are not the same as the patients. As a nurse we must learn to put the care of our patients and their beliefs, rights, and wishes before our own personal