Ethical Dilemma In Nursing

As a family nurse practitioner (FNP), we have the responsibility to provide the best care we can with the patient’s best interest at heart. On a daily basis we deal with the needs and wants of our patients, this alone provides an ethical dilemma. What we think is best and what our patients want could in fact create an ethical dilemma, however, when we have an ethical dilemma, it is our responsibility to get to a decision with caring, respect, an open mind and honesty to our patients (Parker, 2007). In making a decision regarding an ethical dilemma it is our responsibility to use a framework model to guide us in making an informed decision that is best for our patients. It may not always be the most popular decision but if it is in our patient’s best interest, then you are practicing as a good and prudent, NP.

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.

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.

Ethics, the rules and principles that guide right behaviors or conduct, are foundational to the field of bioethics, which focuses on ethical issues in healthcare (Mclennon, Uhrich, Lasiter, Chamnes, & Helft, 2013). Nurses are faced with ethical decision making principles daily when caring for their patients, some days more than others. According to Yoder-Wise (2011), ethics may be distinguished from the law because ethics is internal to an individual, looks to the ultimate “good” of an individual rather than society as a whole, and concerns the “why” of one’s actions (p. 91). In this particular situation, the nurse has to decide if she will respect the wishes of the patient’s family members or be upfront and honest with her patient and

Ethics are a set of moral principles that serve as a guiding philosophy for behavior. Consequently it is not a surprise that ethical dilemmas occur daily in the health care setting. Any nurse who refuses to provide care for a patient faces an ethical dilemma (Kuhn, 2012, pp. 412-418). The reasons given for refusal range anywhere from a conflict of personal values to fear of personal risk of injury. Nurses do have the right, at times, to refuse patient care assignments. The decision to accept or reject an assignment must be based upon a judgment by the nurse of the nurse 's ability to provide competent patient care. This paper aims to show both sides of the argument when it comes to nurses refusing a patient assignment. One side believes that nurses has the right to refuse patient assignment, as they must be true to themselves if they want to perform their best on the job. On the other hand, the other side believes that it is the nurse’s responsibility to care for all patients and, therefore nurses cannot simply refuse a patient.

#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)

It can be a very difficult task to put aside your own feelings regarding choices of a patient, especially when it feels that their choice is harming or not allowing us as health care providers to prevent further harm. What we must always remind ourselves is that attempting to force our personal morals, values, or convictions on a patient can cause harm as well. It is the duty of a nurse to always protect patients’ rights even when they conflict with our own.

Cost of the end of life medical care is too expensive to continue at the rate it is going. The fiscal year 2016 saw 672.1 billion dollars spent on Medicare participants with just 5% using 49% of those monies ("NHE Fact Sheet," n.d., p. 1). The ANA provides a code of ethics that nurses should use to help guide them in clinical practice decision making. There are four fundamental responsibilities for nurses to adhere too they are: promote health, prevent illness, restore health and alleviate suffering. Ethical Principals for nurses are; respect & autonomy, beneficence, justice, veracity, and fidelity ("Code of Ethics for Nurses," 2012). Attempting to keep ethical responsibilities and principals in mind, while conducting a cost-benefit analysis to determine resource allocation for an aging population and end of life care causes many ethical dilemmas.

This case is purely about the legal and ethical implications of nurse T.C and her nursing manager of telemetry unit, nurse F.J. This nurse T.C has worked in a highly stressful environment before but her behavior has only recently deteriorated and become emotional with the occasional outbursts and uncontrollable crying. Her behavior put the legal issue of non-maleficence at risk for her patients as it would cause emotional stress on them. However, the legal issue that really matters is her case is that of defamation of her character as well as disclosure of her private and confidential mental state information by F.J to other nurse managers not in the unit she worked and to even the subordinates.

Autonomy is the concept of making a rational decision that is informed and un-coerced. Respect for autonomy is whereby the patient is allowed to act in any way they would like. It means that the patient has the capacity to act in their own intention with their own understanding and without the control of any influences that would prevent them from taking a voluntary and free action ADDIN EN.CITE Hickman20081382(Hickman, Cartwright, & Young, 2008)1382138217Hickman, Susan E.Cartwright, Juliana C.Young, Heather M.Administrators' Perspectives on Ethical Issues in Long-Term Care ResearchJournal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics: An International JournalJournal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics: An International Journal69-78312008University of California Press15562646http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/jer.2008.3.1.69( HYPERLINK l "_ENREF_5" o "Hickman, 2008 #1382" Hickman, Cartwright, & Young, 2008). Its corresponding virtue is that of being respectful ADDIN EN.CITE Beauchamp20091384(Beauchamp & Childress, 2009)138413846Beauchamp, T.L.Childress, J.F.Principles of Biomedical Ethics2009New York, NYOxford University Press9780195143317http://books.google.com/books?id=_14H7MOw1o4C( HYPERLINK l "_ENREF_1" o "Beauchamp, 2009 #1384" Beauchamp & Childress, 2009).

The nurse has the right to excuse herself from the patient’s care if she believes her moral integrity is compromised and asks another nurse to step in and take over the patient’s care. Fidelity by keeping her promise, fairness, truthfulness, her advocacy, dedication, and loyalty to keep a commitment to the patient that his wishes would be honored. The wishes of the patient take precedence over the families wants. (2012, ANA) Justice for the patient’s right to the care he

Relaxation is a necessity in life. The way someone chooses to relax is up to that person. Some people run, some people exercise, some people read a book. Being in a hospital setting can be stressful and some outlets were not possible. A mediation room gives the nurses an outlet.

Ethical, Bioethical, and Legal Issues in Nursing Chio Thung Arizona State University  Ethical, Bioethical, and Legal Issues in Nursing Ethical, bioethical, and legal issues are all concerns that affect professional nursing practice. Nurses should be aware about why and how these issues affect their profession. A case scenario that questions these boundaries is a homeless person without any health care insurance being provided substandard care by a medical team (Maville & Huerta, 2008). There are many components that affect nursing such as ethical principles, bioethical dilemmas, moral values, and statutes, which I will discuss how they would influence my actions in this case scenario.

Ethical issues in nursing will always be an ongoing learning process. Nurses are taught in nursing school what should be done and how. Scenarios are given on tests with one right answer. However, there are situations that nurses may encounter that may have multiple answers and it is hard to choose one. “Ethical directives are not always clearly evident and people sometimes disagree about what is right and wrong” (Butts & Rich, 2016). When an ethical decision is made by a nurse, there must be a logical justification and not just emotions.

Ethical and legal dilemmas are issues that nurses face in their professional careers. Nurses are accountable for safe and appropriate administration of medication. With the growth in malpractice lawsuits it is important that nurses take certain precautions to limit the risk of lawsuits. “Nurses can limit the risk of liability through maintaining open communication with patients, expertise in practice, attention to details, and autonomy. (Burkhart &Nathanial, 2013).