Ethical Considerations In Nursing

Ethical issues have always affected the role of the professional nurse. Efforts to enact this standard may cause conflict in health care settings in which the traditional roles of the nurse are delineated within a bureaucratic structure. Nurses have more direct contact with patients than one can even imagine, which plays a huge role in protecting the patients’ rights, and creating ethical issues for the nurses caring for the various patients they are assigned to. In this paper I will discuss some of the ethical and legal issues that nurses are faced with each and every day.

A1- Because of the increased unethical usage of social media within the discipline of nursing.

#1. According to Nursing Leadership and management ATI ethics is defined as an expected behavior of a certain group in relation to what is considered right or wrong. (Henery, McMichael, Johnson, DiStasi, Ball, & Holman, 2016) There are six ethical principles they are autonomy which is the ability of the client to make personal decisions, even when those decisions might not be in the client’s own best interest. The second principle is beneficence which is care in the best interest of the client. Third is fidelity which is keeping ones promise to the client about care that was offered. The next principle is justice which is fair treatment in matters related to physical and psychological care and use of resources. Then there is non-maleficence which is the nurse’s obligation to avoid causing harm to the client. The last principle is veracity which is the nurse’s duty to tell the truth. (Henery, McMichael, Johnson, DiStasi, Ball, & Holman, 2016)

This article claims that the Quiet Time program reduced the average nurses stress levels by seventy-two percent in only fifteen minutes. They rated their stress levels before and after using a Likert scale. In the rooms, the lights were dimmed and there was aromatherapy, bell sounds, and guided imagery. I believe it is possible that some of the nurses were unable to see as much of a difference in their stress levels because “program leaders had varying degrees of experience and skill in meditation.” In order to make the research more sound, they could have used only leaders that had the same experience.

Milliken et al. (2007) recommend by “Utilizing a program such as the Mind Body Institute’s Education Initiative with nurses may translate toward improved health and, consequently, fewer missed days of work, enhanced patient care, and improved relations within and among nurses, staff, and patients”. This program assists individuals when it comes to reducing stress by educating people about different methods to help cope with stress by obtaining a present focus, stretching, music therapy, nutrition, exercising and other ways. Methods like exercising helps release endorphins that help to promote positive feelings. By enforcing nurses to attend these programs allows for them to understand how important is to developing and using these techniques and explore methods without being distracted by unit activities. If programs like this were utilized nurse burnout (attributed to decreased retention of workers and increased mandatory overtime) can be decreased.

Ethics play a key role in most facets of life. In health care, every patient interaction can be judged based on an ethical code. Each and every workplace has their own version of a nursing code of ethics for their employees to follow. It is designed as a guide in all aspects of patient care. If, when treating a patient, a decision is made that goes against the established code, that decision needs to be revisited and adjusted to fall within the ethical code. Each individual facility bases their code of ethics off of the of the American Nurses Association (ANA) code. This paper will explore the ANA’s code of ethics and its nine provisions.

At any given time, in the clinical settings nurses faces a variety of ethical dilemmas. During this time, when making moral decisions, it is required to combine all the elements using an orderly, systematic and objective method. Therefore, methods such as The MORAL model are used to assist towards this crucial purpose (Guido, Sixth Edition). Tube feeding in many instances brings ethical dilemma depending on its use, the benefits and burdens that may affect the individual.

An ethical problem is not a routine decision with a predictable outcome. It is the opposite. Ethical problems may include differences in opinion, power struggles, and even intuition (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2014). The ethical problem from the case study is the struggle the nurse, Joanna, has with her peers to determine the cause of abdominal pain in her patient and the deadly outcome of her intuition. The dilemma Joanna faced was a frequent COPD patient, Mrs. Kelly, who began to complain of abdominal pain.

Nurse’s face ethical dilemmas every day in their nursing practice. No matter what specific role the nurse plays, these ethical dilemmas impact the nurses as well as the patients. Sometimes it’s no right solution to some of the dilemma we nurses face. First to describe what ethics is, it is the act of doing good by not causing harm to the individual involved.

Ethical dilemmas are a common issue in the health care setting. Since many sensitive topics have no clear right or wrong answer, it is important for nurses to properly understand how to approach these matters. Typically, nurses are the ones who get to know patients on a more personal level by developing a therapeutic relationship with them overtime. Therefore, nurses recognize these complex situations and are required to intervene when it’s necessary. Two principals within the ANA Code of Ethics that pertain to the ethical dilemma I saw are; “The nurse’s primary commitment is to the person, whether an individual or part of a family, group, or community.” and “The nurse promotes, advocates for, and strives to protect the health, safety, and rights of the person.” (American Nurses Association (ANA), 2008).

Nurses are faced with many ethical and legal issues, such as protecting and maintaining the patient privacy and confidentiality. “A dilemma can arise when confidential information is requested by family members or friends of the patient” (McGowan, 2012, p. 61). As nurses during our pinning ceremony we took the “the Nightingale Pledge promised to do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession, and hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affair” (McGowan, 2012, p. 61). Protecting and maintaining patient confidentiality is a serious matter and you can be fined and faced with federal charges, if you are found guilty.

The ethical dilemma is a situation by which it’s difficult to determine whether a situation is can be handled without disappointing both sides. Therefore, an ethical dilemma exists when the right thing to do is clear or when members of the healthcare team cannot agree on the right thing to do. Ethical dilemmas require negotiation of different points of view (potter, Perry, Stockert, & Hall 2011pg 78).

are made could have an impact to nurses, patients and families as well.” (Potter, 2014)

Nurses rely on personal knowledge and their professional skills to provide ethical care (Creasia & Friberg, 2011). In everyday practice, nurses must balance the needs of their patients against those of the organization, society and themselves. They strive to deliver the highest level of care for patients, but adjusting for limited organizational and personal resources often requires difficult decisions. This paper explores the following scenario suggested by Maville and Huerta: “You are a nurse providing home care to a mother, and you suspect child abuse after observing the mother’s reaction to her child” (as cited by Arizona State University, 2014). When faced with a moral dilemma, a competent nurse incorporates ethical, bioethical and legal considerations. In the proposed story, incorporating the nursing ethics of advocacy, beneficence, nonmaleficence and collaboration will guide the nurse towards an appropriate and legal course of action.

In the healthcare profession ethical dilemmas/problems are encountered every day by all of the healthcare professionals. As a registered nurse and throughout the years, I have encountered many problems of different magnitude; different situations that can affect physically and emotionally,