Ethical Issues Nurses Are Faced With Today

Ethical dilemmas are the main common challenges faced by nurses, during practice almost on daily basis. These dilemmas can erupt amongst nurses themselves, or nurses and doctors and the worst between nurses and patients.

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.

Nurses are faced with ethical dilemmas or ethical distress every day, each situation being unique and requiring nurses to set aside their own values and beliefs in order to provide proper care for their patients (Ramos, Brehmer, Vargas, Trombetta, Silveira, & Drago, 2015). Ethical dilemmas allow nurses to learn more about themselves and help shape their morals and values (Potter & Perry, 2014). An ethical dilemma arises in a situation in which no solution seems completely satisfactory (Drumwright, 2012).

Humans often struggle to find the right answers in life. Knowing the difference between right and wrong is not always easy and one can be overwhelmed with the problems and ethical issues surrounding them. As a future healthcare professional, it is imperative to understand the role that ethics plays in nursing and how ethical dilemmas impact individuals. There are countless complex ethical issues that confront nurses during their careers and it is crucial they understand where their own values and beliefs lie. Euthanasia, DNR’s, end of life care, privacy, stem cell research and restraints are all great examples of some common ethical issues. “While there are many challenges facing nurses in the work environment (nursing short-age, mandated

"Ethical" is used to refer to reasons for decisions about how one ought to act, using the above mentioned approaches. In general, the word "moral" overlaps with "ethical" but is more aligned with personal belief and cultural values. Statements that describe activities and attributes of nurses in this Code of Ethics are to be understood as normative or prescriptive statements expressing expectations of ethical behavior (2).

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

While the nursing profession is fulfilling, it is not without challenges. Nurses are faced with a multitude of ethical dilemmas in clinical practice on a daily basis. According to Fant (2012) no matter where nurses function in their diverse roles, they are faced with ethical decisions that can impact them and their patients. Some examples of moral issues that nurses encounter in contemporary nursing practice and research include but not limited to: refusal of treatment, scarcity of resources, disagreement with caregivers, treating patients with impaired decision-making, futile treatment decisions for cancer patients, end-of-life decisions, advanced treatment directives, and euthanasia (Leuter, Petrucci, Mattei, Tabassi, & Lancia, 2013).

A moral distress involves two components. It is when a person has emotional and physical stress when one knows the right action to take but are unable to do the action. A moral distress also occur when a person acts in a way regardless of their values and moral beliefs “which undermines your integrity” (American Association of Critical Care Nurses [AACCN], 2004)..

I think that my personal values, my knowledge and my nursing experience as well as our very cooperative team who help individuals get well being from their illness and needs inspire and keep me in motion. Values are the language that has evolved to identify intrinsic things a person, group, or society holds dear. (Purtilo, R, & Doherty, R. 2012. P5). Ethics are defined as the governing rules which guide nurses to act in the right direction during their nursing practice. I can able to provide the best care to my patients with the help of these ethics. Morals in nursing are defined as the rules that help nurses distinguish between right and wrong and at the same time decide on the plan of action. Sometimes, my personal values, philosophy and worldview may conflict with my obligation to medical practice, creating an ethical dilemma. For example, I took care of a patient who had Caesarean section(C/S). She wanted to eat potato chips, but due to her having just taken medication to relax her bowels and a history of intestinal complications, she was ordered by the doctor to not eat the chips. As a person, I wanted to let her eat the chips, but as a nurse, I was obligated to not let her. I then explained to her the reasons as to why she could not eat the chips. She then complied and was discharged shortly after with no

Because of the complex nature of nursing there are plenty of opportunities to question ethical, moral, and legal standards. Marquis and Huston (2015a) described these opportunities as results of the expectation of nurses to meet the needs of patients, physicians, and the organizations they serve while still maintaining the values and morals the nurses have established for themselves (Marquis & Huston, 2015a). Teleological frameworks that focus on the overall benefit of those involved and deontological frameworks like duty-based reasoning, rights-based reasoning, and institutionist framework play a part in decision-making in nursing. Marquis and Huston also described some recent frameworks including ethical relativism, where decision makers involve what they perceive as right, and ethical universalism, which represented the concepts that are the foundation of the ANA Code of Ethics and Professional Standards (Marquis & Huston, 2015a).

`Ethics' is defined as ."..the basis on which people...decide that certain actions are right or wrong and whether one ought to do something or has a right to something"(Rumbold, 1986). In relating `ethics' to nursing care, "Nursing decisions affect people... nurses have the power to good or harm to their patients" (Bandman et al, 2002). In this essay, the author will also identify the most important ethical principles and concepts of Evan's case, will outline the different stages of one's approach to ethical decision-making by utilising the "DECIDE Model for Ethical Decision-Making" founded by Thompson et al (2000) and will make a decision on the best course of action to take as a nurse in this

The role of ethics in organizational behavior is the underlying factor to the success and longevity of any organization. A set of rules and guidelines focusing on promoting safety, trust, and responsible practice within the workplace must be established internally. Organizations develop code of ethics that center upon the promotion of good. Ethics are vital in developing trusting relationships between employees and administration within.

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.

Ethics and Morals play an important role in the nursing profession; nurses are confronted with choices to make every day, and some of them more challenging than others. Ethics are affirmations between what it can be right or erroneous. For our society ethics is presented as a complex system of principles and beliefs. This system serves as an approach with the purpose of ensuring the protection of each individual within the society. On the other hand, morals are basic standards between what is right or wrong; each individual learns to identify these standards during the early stages of human development (Catalano, 2009). A person with morals is usually somebody who recognizes how to respond to the needs of another individual by giving care and keeping a level of responsibility while giving this care (Catalano, 2009).

Everyday nurses make many clinical judgements, nursing school and orientation educate nurses on disease processes, medication, and physical interventions, all in the best interest of returning the patient to optimal health. What happens then when decisions are made or orders placed that that nurse disagrees with ethically? How does a nurse react when a painful, unnecessary test is done on a patient? What long term impact will the nurse suffer from remaining silent when a family chooses to withhold care from a patient with a good chance of survival due to financial considerations? Moral distress leading to moral residue can be a side effect of modern healthcare. Moral distress and moral residue have a negative impact on nursing practice. This impact can be minimized by understanding what moral distress and moral residue are, the impact they have on nursing and strategies for mitigation of moral distress and residue.