Ethical Dilemmas In Healthcare

As a registered nurse practicing in the state of California I am responsible for practicing within my states legal regulations and nursing scope of practice. My concern for the welfare of the sick and injured allows me to practice ethical provisions of nursing. These are required if I am to carry out competent and effective nursing care. Nursing encompasses the prevention of illness, the alleviation of suffering, and the protection, promotion, and restoration of health in the care of individuals. Therefore, as health care professionals we must be familiar with the different philosophical forces, ethical principles, theories and values that influence nursing. At the same time, we must be respectful to our patient’s

As a professional health care worker, it is part of my responsibilities to treat all service users equality and never allow my personal beliefs affect my role. This is not acceptable in the healthcare practice and would be against the standard codes of practice, and organisational policies.

Working in healthcare requires an overall ethical compass to keep the law and order. As a healthcare professional, I rely on Consequential ethics, Normative ethics, and Applied ethics to influence my morality. Consequential ethics, one of the theories that center around achieving the greatest good for most of those involved states that the overall benefits should outweigh the risks. Healthcare is an industry that is patient centered. Organizations such as The Joint Commission apply these ethical standards when surveying facilities and hospitals to give accreditation or penalty. The importance of this theory stems from the principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence or do no harm. If a facility is understaffed and has poorly educated workers

Healthcare professionals have an ethical obligation to respect patient’s wishes. Consequently, many legal and ethical dilemmas arise in healthcare in response to clinical decisions related to the needs, beliefs, and preferences of patients and families. Other dilemmas result over concerns about the integrity, competence, or actions of other healthcare professionals. Preserving human dignity, relieving suffering, equality, integrity, and accountability are essential nursing values (Kangasniemi, Pakkanen, & Korhonen, 2015). Nurse leaders have an

I think when it comes to dealing with values and beliefs it’s very important not to change your values or beliefs just because you are a nurse but to know where you stand on your own. I think as a nurse you need to know and understand your own beliefs with the understanding that other people are going to have different beliefs than you do. So as the books states if you’re a person who doesn’t agree with abortion regardless of circumstances it is best to be in an area of nursing that doesn’t require abortion. Such as maybe working in a nursing home this way it will reduce the conflict of your beliefs and theirs. I think what I will do when I encounter a patient care situation in which decisions are made that go against my values and beliefs is to not take it personal. I know working with many different people everyone is going to

The American Nurses Association (ANA) has the Code of Ethics which holds Nurses to the codes or provisions of these documents. I summarized Provision 1 of the ANA 's Code of Ethics. I give a scenario where this provision is broken by the nursing staff and consequences of doing so. Provision 1: Provision 1 reads as follows “The nurse, in all professional relationships, practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of health problems” (American Nurses Association 2001). Provision 1 is divided into five subdivisions. Provision 1.1 is titled “Respect for human dignity"(ANA 2001). The nurse always needs to place value on their patient as a unique individual. Provision 1.2 is titled “Relationships to patients” (ANA 2001). As a nurse you need to leave all prejudice, personal beliefs, and convictions out of the care of your patient. The patient’s self-worth and value is not defined by their religious choice, culture, lifestyle, hygiene, financial status, sex, and race. The nurse needs to form or follow an individual treatment plan that fits your patient’s personal preferences, religious beliefs, and requests. Provision 1.3 reads as follows “The nature of health problems” (ANA 2001). A nurse is not to judge or look down upon a patient by their "The disease, disability, or functional status “(ANA 2001).The nurse needs

A nurse’s character can be defined within the provisions of the Code of Ethics created by the ANA. The two provisions that pertain to my nursing career the most are provisions three and four. Provision three states “The nurse promotes, advocates for, and protects the rights, health, and safety of the patient.” (Hegge-Chair, et al., 2015) Advocating for my patients, is one of the most important parts of my job. There are often times when a physician will look at a patient or patient’s case with a biased point of view. This effects their level of health care provided. By

Nurses are constantly challenged by changes which occur in their practice environment and are under the influence of internal or external factors. Due to the increased complexity of the health system, nowadays nurses are faced with ethical and legal decisions and often come across dilemmas regarding patient care. From this perspective a good question to be raised would be whether or not nurses have the necessary background, knowledge and skills to make appropriate legal and ethical decisions. Even though most nursing programs cover the ethical and moral issues in health care, it is questionable if new nurses have the depth of knowledge and understanding of these issues and apply them in their practice

As a care worker we need to ensure that we do not refuse to give the residents the treatment or care they need no matter what we think of them or who they are, the residents are relying on you and so are their families so we need to make sure they get the correct treatment and care they need. In our care home we want to ensure that all the residents receive the same amount of care and they all receive the treatment they need so they are in less pain as possible and helping them get better. For example, denying a resident lifesaving treatment because they are at an older age and may not have long left, this would be wrong because we want to ensure that the residents in the care home get the treatment they need no

Any member within the healthcare environment may be conflicted with some ethical decisions that have to be made. Ethics committees have been developed, and are required due to the number of ethical issues that present daily within hospitals and other health institutions. These committees are comprised of persons who assist patients, their families, and healthcare personnel in identifying, understanding, and quickly resolving ethical issues. Policies, procedures, and ethic codes are formulated around moral principles of beneficence, autonomy, non-maleficence, and justice.

Whenever two obligations are at conflict it presents what is known as an ethical dilemma (Chaloner, 2012). It is nearly impossible to make once choice without sacrificing another. Examples of such dilemmas in healthcare may include decisions such as prolonging life for a terminal ill patient through artificial means or saving a mother via a risky surgery that may jeopardize the life of an unborn child. Healthcare practitioners must always exercise caution when ethical issues arise and find a way to balance societal norms, personal philosophies and values and religious beliefs (Arnold & Boggs, 2007). Personal ethics may guide reactions and initial choices, but the needs and rights of the patient should always serve as guideposts for ethical communication and behavior in administering healthcare services (Reiter-Theil, 2012).

It is important that we act in a way that is ethical, legal, and commendable. Medical professionals struggle with healthcare dilemmas that are not experienced by the general public. Medical-ethical decisions have become increasingly complicated with the advancement of medical science and technology. (Fremgen) Just like the government has laws for citizens, not having laws in healthcare would allow people to do anything they want. It is important that we study the ethics and laws of healthcare, because if we were put in a situation it is essential that we know the difference between right and wrong. In the article I found, it talks about a nurse who refuses to give CPR to an older woman who collapsed in a senior residence where she works. This article has many more ethical issues than legal issues.

Everyday, healthcare professionals are faced with ethical dilemmas in their workplace. These ethical dilemmas need to be addressed in order to provide the best care for the patient. Healthcare professionals have to weigh their own personal beliefs, professional beliefs, ethical understandings, and several other factors to decide what the best care for their patient might be. This is illustrated in Mrs. Smith’s case. Mrs. Smith is an 85 year old who has suffered from a large stroke that extends to both of her brains hemispheres which has left her unconscious. She only has some brain stem reflexes and requires a ventilator for support. She is unable to communicate how she wishes to proceed with her healthcare. Mrs. Smith’s children, Sara and Frank have different views regarding their mother’s plan of care. The decision that needs to be made is whether to prolong Mrs. Smith’s life, as Sara would like to do, or stop all treatments and care, as Frank feels his mother would want. In the healthcare field, there are situations similar to this case that happen daily where moral and ethical judgment is necessary to guide the decision that would be best for the patient. The purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss, compare and contrast the personal and professional values, ethical principles, and legal issues regarding Mrs. Smith’s quality of life and further plan of care.

During my first day of the second rotation, I witnessed a major dilemma related t patient right. A cancer patient stopped taking medications and chemotherapy. He wanted to be discharged, go home and enjoy the remaining days of his life taking only painkillers, specifically morphine. The family wanted him to stay on his treatment. The dilemma for the nurse was whether to stop (as per patient ) or continue (as per his family) his treatment. In this situation, provision 1.4 of the code of ethics underscored the right of the patient to self-determination/autonomy (Winland-Brown, Lachman & Swanson, (2015).The patient has the right to refuse treatment. Fundamentals of Nursing, page 85 stated that “Nurses must honor patients' autonomy, even when

Health care professionals practice in an environment that is complex. There are many regulations, laws and standards of practice that healthcare workers must abide by. An ethical issue can occur when a doctor performs an abortion that is legal but may not be considered ethical by other health care professionals or members of the public at large. Other ethical dilemmas arise at the end of life, when a decision must be made to turn off life-support machines and allow death to occur (Greenwood, 2015). There are more ethical issues that a health care professional might face on an