Whistleblowing In Nursing Essay

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 prefer working in an environment where they feel appreciated in both their actions and decisions. In the event that they are ignored, they tend to experience subjection and they are likely to resist. At one time, our healthcare facility sought to implement the bedside shift reporting (BSR). This process would have required that nurses be informed and trained on the use of the documentation. However, this did not happen, on the start of the month each nurse received a formal letter form the chief nursing officer informing us that we would be reporting to a newly hired nurse educator who would evaluate our performance in implementing the BSR. This was met with anger and most of the nurses seemed to have decided that they would not accomplish

Several characteristics of advocacy and the responsibility to the nursing profession increases the possibility that at some point in time, all nurses as well as managers will be confronted with ethical dilemmas in their practices (Marquis & Huston, 2012).

Nursing is not an easy job and those who chose it as their profession are truly special people. Nurses are confronted with ethical decisions that need to be made on a daily basis. Often they know the right thing to do but because of circumstances like institutional structure and conflicts with others, obstacles are created and distress ensues (Jenner, 2001). It is during times like these that nurses must rely on the training that they have received as well as the code of ethics that has been set down for their profession in order to do the right thing.

The ANMC (2010, pp.6) state on the topic of confidentiality, that nurses must insure the information obtained in a professional setting remain private and that information received is not used by nurses to give them an advantage or power in any way. Education in the matter is one solution to guarantee the boundaries and to keep a professional position. These breaches can be classified as boundary crossings, boundary violations or sexual misconduct and can lead to violations of a nurse’s professional responsibility causing consequences to occur.

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

Whistleblowing in nursing typically involves reporting of poor and unsafe practices that is reported to both internal and external organizations (Jackson, et al., 2010). Whistleblowing in nursing has a high impact in the workplace. Nurses that whistle blow can face severe emotional and financial repercussion that can lead to victimization and abuse (Wilkes, Peters, Weaver, & Jackson, 2011). Whistleblowing in nursing involves a nurse to deal with ethical dilemmas. Nurses must weigh their decision carefully about whistleblowing when witnessing any wrongdoing by the organization. Nursing ethical dilemmas, not an easy issue to deal with as there is confidentially clauses, written policies that are expressed and agreed upon by employee and employer

Unfortunately, truth-telling in nursing has created serious ethical dilemmas because many times nurses tell patients one thing and do something else. To tell the truth or not to tell the truth is an ethical dilemma, which is a situation that result in a conflict of two or more

Reporting fraud or illegal activity in a healthcare setting can sometimes be known as whistle blowing. Whistle blowing can be referred to as someone alerting authorities when another person is engaging in illegal or prohibited activities in the workplace. Some illegal activities that would be associated with whistleblowing is a violation of a rule, law or regulation. There are different ways of reporting prohibited activities in the healthcare setting, it just depends on what the activity is that you are reporting. For example, how people report medicaid fraud.

The principle of raising concerns is an important feature in making sure appropriate action is taken in the interest of the public. The term “raising concerns” is described by the NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2015) as the “raising of concerns about a risk, danger or malpractice which could have a negative effect on others”. This concept is regarded as a moral obligation which gives health professionals, including nurses, an incentive to be honest, particularly when things go wrong. Raising concerns can also be referred to as “whistleblowing” which is defined as exposing healthcare professionals who are not acting appropriately in the workplace to the proper authorities, thereby preventing further harm to patients (Tippett, 2004). Another

Nurses continually strive to bring holistic, efficient, and safe care to their patients. However, if the safety and well-being of the nurses are threatened or compromised, it is difficult for nurses to work effectively and efficiently. Therefore, the position of the American Nurses Association (ANA) advocate that every nursing professional have the right to work in a healthy work environment free of abusive behavior such as bullying, hostility, lateral abuse and violence, sexual harassment, intimidation, abuse of authority and position and reprisal for speaking out against abuses (American Nurses Association, 2012).

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

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.

Bouville (2008) describes whistleblowing as an act for an employee of revealing what he believes to be unethical or described as an illegal behaviour to a higher management (internal whistleblowing) or to an external authority or the public (external whistleblowing). Whistle-blowers are often seen as traitors to an organisation as they are considered to have violated the loyalty terms of that organisation while some are described as heroes that defend the values and ethics of humanity rather than loyalty to their company. In the medical community, it is the duty of a practitioner aware of patient care being threatened to make it known to those in charge and for those in charge to address the issues and act on it. The General Medical

The combination of professionalism and ethics can be equated with an extraordinary nurse because they are core components in the nursing profession and crucial to patient trust, confidence and wellbeing. Having a degree in nursing is not what makes one a professional. Professionalism is