Ethics In Nursing Practice

between two sets of human values, both of which are judged to be “good” but neither of

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.

From a particular self-administered survey taken by over 1000 nurses in four different states and in four different census regions in the United States, over half appeared to “feel uncomfortable in addressing the ethical issues they encountered in patient care”. (Ulrich et al. 1). Also, from analysis of over 422 questionnaires, the top five most frequently occurring and trying ethical patient care issues were “protecting patients’ rights; autonomy and informed consent to treatment; staffing patterns; advanced care planning; and surrogate decision-making”. (Ulrich et al. 1). Although,

It is important to understand that when counselors practices in any setting with clients as they interact on regularly bases with other professional’s workers should always conduct themselves in an ethically and legally appropriate manner (Remley & Herlihy, 2014, p.317). Chapter 12 discuses counselors who are in training for private practice and the type of roles those counselors have with other mental health professionals that are supported in their community.

Oftentimes, I am asked the question of why I am a nurse, and truth be told, sometimes I don’t know the answer why I want to be a nurse. All I really know is that I have wanted to help those in need since I was a little girl. Time has really flown, I‘ve been a professional nurse for almost 26 years. When we discuss the topic of making ethical decisions today, I look to the very beginning of my nursing career. I was very happy to see my pediatric patients had been discharged home from their illness (e.g. fever, pneumonia, diarrhea, and infection disease etc) after we took good care of them. One day, the parents of a patient who was 2 year old boy with acute kidney

There are several dilemmas in the nursing field though nurses reactions to ethical dilemmas are based on their individual values and beliefs as well as ethical principles, professional codes and the climate of the healthcare setting. Nurses encounter ethical dilemmas when conflicting values and judgments are present regarding what is the best course of patient care. Ethical dilemmas are faced by nurses on a daily bases. I am choosing two of these dilemmas to address.

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).

Legally all competent patients in Australia have the right to refuse medical treatment as per the common law (Forrester & Griffiths, 2010, p 165). Once a patient has made the decision to refuse treatment this must be respected by the medical officers even if this is not in line with the medical team’s ethics, otherwise the medical team may be charged with battery. Ethics can be defined as a set of moral principles which are derived from an individual’s values and beliefs that govern the individual’s behaviour or the standards of a profession (Koutoukidis et al, 2013, p 34). Ethically the medical team must respect Mrs Hetherington right to refuse treatment. For the enrolled nurse this is also set out in the Code of Ethics, value statement 5 “Nurses value informed decision-making” (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia,

Аt firѕt, I could not ѕее аny good pointѕ in thiѕ ѕituаtion itѕеlf; howеvеr, looking bаck I cаn ѕее thаt it did hаvе itѕ poѕitivе ѕidе, in аѕ much аѕ аllowing mе to еxаminе myѕеlf аnd to ѕеаrch for my ѕhort fаllingѕ in rеlаtion to thе incidеnt. I fееl thаt if I wаѕ not а 1ѕt yеаr ѕtudеnt, I would hаvе hаd morе knowlеdgе or communicаtion ѕkillѕ on how to dеаl with аn incidеnt of thiѕ dеѕcription, I аlѕo think thаt bеcаuѕе thе ѕupport workеr wаѕ not а nurѕе, it mаdе it morе difficult for mе to mаkе а dеciѕion on whаt thе corrеct procеdurе ѕhould hаvе bееn.

In this case, the nurse who was supervising the hospital used her best judgment in maintaining the care for the ICU. All hospitals are licensed to provide appropriate nursing and medical care to a specific number of patients, with the understanding that a hospital will only admit those patients it has the resources, staff, equipment, and facilities needed to deliver said care. This license also directs hospitals and nursing staff to engage in practices which are unmistakably dangerous, irresponsible and unethical, and in many ways, are in direct violation of state and federal laws, HIPAA and JCAHO requirements, and the Department’s own regulations. Closing the unit by Dr. Bestknabe is not a solution; rather, it creates more

An ethical situation that I was part of was when I was working as a CNA. It was a normal busy afternoon; I was assisting with feeding, visiting with residents, bring residents to the restroom; when on resident came up to me and asked if he could have his Tylenol because he had pain. I told the resident that I would let their nurse know. When I notified his nurse of this resident’s request, the nurse responded by complaining about this individual. The nurse claimed this resident always wanted medication and always asked pointless questions that are a waste of the nurse’s time. I was in complete utter shock the way the nurse responded to me notifying her of the resident’s request. I responded by kindly suggesting to the nurse that it’s our

As a nurse, you may face challenges that impact your ability to provide safe, appropriate and ethical care to clients. In these situations, nurses use professional judgment, the ethical decision provides an opportunity for you to develop your own personalized program for continuing competence. Professional Practice course program promotes ongoing safe, ethical and competent practice, leadership, diversity and offers nurses opportunities to pursue and achieve professional growth throughout their careers. Professional Practice will guide the nursing student to recognize and respect the diversity of other health care roles, responsibilities, and competencies. “Practical Nurses must understand uphold and promote the ethical standards of the nursing

In addition, both national and international nursing associations have laid down the working guidelines and set parameters for code of ethics related to nursing profession .The concepts presented by the CNA, ANA, ICN and other health regulatory bodies also acknowledged giving the opportunities of their own decisions making promote autonomy and justice. I stand for the theme of all nursing associations and ethical principles of nurses for preserving the child rights as dignified human beings, who deserve respect irrespective of their age and competency, fair treatment (justice), and responsible citizen.

- Making choices that are best for the individual or society at certain times and in particular situations and then evaluating such choices and outcomes.

Ethics started in the Ancient Greek which is philosophical questioning about moral life.It deals of decision making concerning what is right or wrong. It is governed by individual, community and social values