NURS 6053N 12 Taking A Stand

Nursing is defined as the promotion, protection and the prevention of illness and Injury, the treatment of a patient’s disease or diseases, the patient’s response to a disease, as well as one big thing that nurses are known for, and that is being a patient’s advocate nursing has been one of the fastest growing fields since the 1990’s (Mueller et al.,2012). Advocacy is defined as an action in which a person speaks out, argues a cause, supports and defends on the behalf of others. I believe that the role of being a patient advocate is one of the most important things a nurse can do because there are many patients that cannot speak on their behalf, I believe that it is up to the nurses to be those patients as well as all patient’s voices (Mueller et al., 2012).

The Service Users i deliver care to are all different in many ways.This can be along the dimensions of gender, age, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, physical abilities, political beliefs, religious beliefs or other ideologies. This means that i have to be aware of a person’s individuality and respect their choices. To be understanding and not show prejudice. Valuing the benefits of someone being different from ourselves, not making assumptions.

Nurses are facing many legal or ethical dilemmas in their career. Nurses should combine knowledge of ethical and legal aspects of health care and professional values into nursing practice. It is very essential to know what kind of dilemmas nurses may face during their profession and how they have been dealt with in the past.

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

The American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics provides many professional traits that can be incorporated to an interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals such as compassion and respect, advocacy, accountability for nursing practice and participation in advancement of the nursing career (Cherry, 2011). Compassion is a very important aspect of the nursing profession. It would be very difficult to be a nurse without being compassionate. Nurses demonstrate compassion and respect daily in their work by actively listening to patients’ and family members’ problems and concerns and by empathy when appropriate. Advocacy is a nursing trait constantly used by the entire interdisciplinary team. Nurses advocate for patients’ right of autonomy for decision making in regards to their care, treatments and procedures. Also, nurses are in the best position to serve as a bridge between the patient and the interdisciplinary team. Accountability is so essential in the nursing profession. Nurses are accountable for their own nursing practices and for our patients.

According to American Nurses Association (ANA), (2010) “the nurse promotes, advocates for and strives to protect the heath, safety and right of the patient” (p. 6). Nursing responsibilities should be acted at the highest standard and must be based on legal and ethical obligations.

The roles and responsibility of a nurse are that most nurses face moral problems similar to these faces by the physician as well as a moral problem uniquely related to their professional role thus nurse must sometimes choose between doing what they believe will promote patients well-being and the respecting the patient ’ self-determination. Lisa explained the role as a role, is a “norm-governed patterns of action that undertaken in accordance with the social expectations” (Lisa page 690). Thus, the ability to serve and work according to the

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.

After having the chance to review Dr. Suzanne Adair’s video on her Diversity Training Session, I couldn’t help but wonder how many of the dimensions I consider important to myself may come from cultural programming. Through cultural programing it is not just ways we may have been raised, but also things we may hear (Adair, n.d.). In looking at the dimensions of the Diversity chart, I would say the three significant aspects that are important to me come from each one of the dimensions levels. Those three aspects are Ethnicity, Religion, and Management Status.

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

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 subject to a plethora of legal, ethical, and professional duties which can be very challenging on a day to day basis. Some of these duties include respecting a patient 's confidentiality and autonomy, and to recognize the duty of care that is owed to all patients. As nurses our duties are always professional; however there are legal implications if these duties are breached. We also must consider when it is okay as nurses to breach these duties and therefore ethical issues arise. As nurses one of our main priorities is to advocate for our patients, without our own personal feelings on the matter taking over.

The American Nurses Association’s Code of Ethics for Nurses and Scope and Standards of Nursing Practice clearly delineate nurses’ principled and expert obligation for maintaining the well-being and privileges of their patients. To advocate for someone means using one’s position to encourage, defend, or declare the rights and interests of others. Nurses have asserted patient advocacy as essential to nursing practice. (Zolnierek, 2012, p. 1)

     Finally, the individual needs to be comfortable when dealing with the dynamics of diversity. This person will need to utilize a process framework in addressing diversity. This means take the time to understand both sides of the story before deciding who was wrong. Sometimes a saying may be interpreted wrong because it may be acceptable in one culture but not the other. A diversity mature individual will take the time to ask questions to better understand the situation, and then provide a solution to help both parties resolve the matter in a peaceful way. This technique will allow employees to regain focus and continue performing at peak levels.

As Florence Nightingale said “nurses are seen as advocates both when working to achieve desired patient outcomes and when patients are unable or unwilling to advocate for themselves” (Selanders). Advocating for patients allows nurses to have a deeper connection with patients and thus provide better care that is individualized. I think advocating for patients is vital in nursing because often we don’t see more than a disease and tend to make decisions for our patients about what is best for them, without actually hearing what the patient wants. The nurse can act as an objective patient advocate who expresses the patient wishes and has the best interest of the patient in mind. Nursing is about far more than treating someone and discharging them, “nursing was about restoration and promotion of health and it didn’t end with the patient” (Payne). It’s about seeing people as an individual beyond the disease, or situation. Nursing is providing patient education, and promoting wellness in everyone around