Examples Of Ethical Issues In Nursing

The model of ethical decision making presented by Uustal provides steps to reach a morally acceptable solution in an ethical dilemma (Grand Canyon University, 2012). The first step is to recognize the problem. The problem in the above referenced case was the nurse was not sure if she should breach confidentiality by informing the parents their child had cervical cancer and informing the school of the same. The second step is to identify ones’ own personal values as they relate to the identified problem. The nurse wanted to respect the minor patients’ rights, but felt the parents needed to be informed to help the patient get

In clinical setting, nurses face ethical dilemmas everyday. There is no perfect answer to ethical dilemmas in clinical area. It is important to identify ethics related situation, work as a team to address these problems and provide support for patient and families. Dealing with dilemmas is not just a nursing issue. But the role and function of nurses could affect whole team member and their patients too. In the given scenario, two different views of parents for the sick child create dilemmas. Mother (biological parent) insists that no medical treatment for religious reasons but in the other hand father (biological parents) insist for medical treatment and consultation. This paper discusses the ethical dilemma of given scenario and the solution by using Uustal’s ethical decision making.

Ethics is the moral principle that governs an individual’s or group's behavior. Everyday nurses encounter challenging ethical dilemmas in providing care for their patients. Some of the challenging dilemmas include providing care that will prolong life but decrease quality of life, euthanasia, whether to break confidentiality to provide care for a patient, stem cell research, etc. Currently, ethical decisions in the nursing profession and health care are becoming more complex. Due to this change nurses today require advanced problem solving ability and critical thinking skills to deal with ethical issues.

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.

An ethical dilemma is defined as a mental state when the nurse has to make a choice between the options and choices that he or she has at her disposal. The choice is a crucial task as the opting of the step will subsequently determine the health status of the concerned patient, hence it requires a great deal of wisdom along with proper medical and health training before any such step is opted as it is a matter of life and death. Strong emphasis should therefore be on the acquisition of proper knowledge and skills so that nurses do posses the autonomy to interact with patients regarding ethical issues involved in health care affairs and address them efficiently. It is normally argued that nurses are not provided sufficient

Nurses often encountered various ethical dilemmas in the practice setting. Both virtue ethics and caring ethics support good ethical decision making for nurses (Park, 2012, p. 149) but these are inadequate to assist in solving an ethical dilemma (Park, 2012, p. 149). For that reason an ethical decision making tool is helpful for the nurses or clinicians to come up with an ethical decision (Kelly, 2012, p. 571) that allows them to gather information, identify any gap of understanding on the issue or the disagreements between the involved parties through a clear communication (Park, 2012, p. 140). Several authors presented an ethical decision making processes (Park, 2012, p. 141), here presented the two processes that can be applied in resolving an ethical dilemma. One example of ethical decision making process is the DECIDE model by Thompson, Melia & Boyd (Allen, Chapman, Francis, & O’Connor, 2008, p. 5) and the Integrated ethical decision-making model which was derived from the combination of the different ethical decision-making models strengths (Park, 2012, p. 140). These two ethical decision-making model steps are identical to each but differ on the detailed instruction on how the steps are to be done or used in actual case. By comparing the two models the integrated ethical decision-making model have a detailed instruction. The

Today nurses in all roles participate in ethical decision making arising from mortality, relationships, and conduct issues surrounding patient care and families. This is particularly the situation with ethical issues involving pediatrics and those unable to take their own decisions. While the patients’ interests should come first, there are many other factors that come into play when providing pediatric patient care: parents’ knowledge, cultural and religious practices, and the pediatric patient’s knowledge of their disease. Therefore, it is essential for nurses to follow the American Nurses Association (ANA) code of ethics to carry out nursing responsibilities in a manner consistent with quality in nursing care and the ethical obligations of the profession. In this paper I will discuss the ethical issues that deal with a fourteen year old boy with Cystic Fibrosis (C.F.). He has been faced with the proposition from his pulmonologist that he will not survive another acute respiratory distress attack and will have to intubated if his status deteriorated. However, he and his parents are not agreeing on whether or not he should be intubated if his status deteriorated with his next attack. This poses a huge ethical dilemma because as a nurse we are the patient’s advocate and need to do everything we can to make our patient comfortable as well as having the parents understand and accept the patient wants and desires.

The ethical dilemma that I have ever encountered was dealing with a DO NOT RESUSCITATE (DNR) situation at a previous place of employment. The 67 year-old male patient was admitted from the hospital on a DNR status, but there was no physician order for DNR or legal documents in the chart. As the shift went on, his medical condition had gotten worst and he coded. Now the question was whether or not to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) since the patient has a DNR status. Without the physician order for the DNR on file, I had to make a decision to active the code blue button and performed CPR with the other nurses and staff team members on the floor. The family was notified after the fact and the patient’s daughter was not happy. She

Healthcare professionals will be faced with ethical dilemmas throughout their career, particularly in the hospital environment. Having an education regarding professional healthcare ethics will provide some direction in how to best address these dilemmas at a time when either the patient or their family is in need of making decisions for themselves or their family member. It can be difficult for healthcare professionals to weigh professional protocol against their own personal beliefs and ethical understandings when determining critical care for their patient.

The author heard about this pediatric ethical dilemma in this way: My clinical instructor allowed me to attend the NICU. Upon arrival of this unit, I was paired off with a nurse who was taking care of two neonates. I shadowed the nurse and assisted her with caring for the infants, and became aware of this baby’s condition and plan of care.

The case of Baby Boy Doe is an ethical dilemma because it’s an occurrence where “decision makers are drawn in two directions by competing course of acting that are based of differing moral frameworks, varying or inconsistent elements of the organizations philosophy, conflicting duties or moral principles, or an ill-defined sense of right and wrong.” (Darr, K. 2011) There were many differing viewpoints as well as moral and ethical choices on this case, the parents, nurses, physicians and hospital as an organization. In regards to the respect for person’s principle, the hospital and physicians allowed the parents to be completely autonomous. The parents were given the

`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

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.

Nurses are faced with ethical dilemmas on a daily basis, each situation being unique and requiring the nurse to set aside their own values and beliefs in order to properly care for their patients. Situations requiring nurses to make an ethical decision are diverse and dynamic; the values set out by the College of Nurses of Ontario code of ethics remains the same. Therefore, all decision based on these vales regardless of the setting and circumstances ensure consistent solutions. The scenario involves a woman who was admitted to the NICU due to complications during her sixth month of pregnancy. The patient indicated that no extraordinary measures should be made to save her baby; she became further detached when the baby developed a bleed

Ethical decisions and issues in neonatal nursing deem conflicting amongst families and the healthcare team since it is unknown if an infant born severely premature, between 22-24 weeks in gestation at 450g, if survival is imminent. Many advancements in treatment, technology, and healthcare perceive feasible, but when a premature infant’s life is compromised, due to severe prematurity, finding the best possible solutions and treatment options may put the healthcare team, caring for the infant, in a conflicting situation. Survival rates amongst premature newborns and severely ill infants have skyrocketed due to the increased advancement and development in nursing, medicine, and treatment plans. Finding the best possible solutions