What does Sue need to know about herself to determine how she will make decisions about providing care for indigent persons? Nurses use their personal values, professional values, nursing ethics, standards of practice, and the scope of nursing to care and advocate for their patients. Sue needs to recognize her own personal and professional value system when caring for indigent patients. Cherry and Jacob (2014) describe a value as a personal belief of how one feels, thinks, and actions to take when presented with difficult decisions (p. 171). It is crucial for nurses to recognize how they would act in a particular situation and clearly identify if this action would violate the nurses code of ethics or standards of practice. All healthcare specialists are faced with ethical dilemmas that put strain on professional and personal values but nurses should use the ethical and legislative framework to support their decisions (Inggs & Christensen, 2015, p. 20) In what phase of the policymaking process would Sue enter to initiate changes? Nurses play a vital role in policymaking that can impact the nursing society and public population for years to come. Hamer (2015) voiced her concerns stating “short-term decisions have long term consequences” such as government cutbacks on expenses and nursing staff (p. 11). Nursing shortages has a direct impact on quality of care and patient safety which emphasizes the need for more nurses to be involved in policymaking. Cherry and Jacob (2014)
CNA Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses (2008) provides guidance in dealing with cases like this by explaining the core nursing values and responsibilities involved which are: a) providing safe, compassionate, competent and ethical care; b) promoting health and well-being; c) promoting and respecting informed decision-making, and d) Preserving dignity; e) maintaining confidentiality, f) promoting justice and g) being accountable. The first nursing value is always expected to be upheld in any case because it is their duty to provide care using appropriate safety precautions and preventing/minimizing all forms of violence (CNA, 2008). The collaboration of the nurses between the physician and Mr. C’s family has been evident since then. This therefore calls Mr. C’s nurses to be more compassionate about his situation and try to recognize where he is coming from as they build a trust-worthy relationship before judging him or jumping into conclusions like he does not want to live anymore. Even if he decides to withdraw from these potentially life-sustaining treatments, health care providers are still obliged to give him the care he need the best way they can up until the end of his life. The second nursing value, just like the first one, still calls nurses to still aim to promote or at least maintain Mr. C’s health and well-being to the highest possible level regardless of the path he had chosen for his life. This can be achieved by continuing to collaborate well with other
Today more so than ever, nurses must not only advocate for themselves and their patients at the organizations and facilities that they work at, but they must now advocate on a much larger political stand. It is imperative that nurses stay up-to-date on what is happening locally, statewide, and nationwide as this has a direct impact on nurses, their organizations they serve, and the patients they passionately care for each day. Due to the sheer number of nurses, it is no wonder that this workforce can and could be a fierce force to be reckoned with. However, having large numbers is not all that is needed. According to Abood (2007), " Successful policy advocacy depends on having the power, the will, the
There are many different careers which entail much more than just a particular degree from some type of post-secondary education program. Typically, all careers have a specific code and level of ethics which are incorporated into the daily responsibilities one is expected to perform in their chosen field. For the basis of this paper, I have chosen to write about the nursing code of ethics. Nursing has a professional code along with the level/employee behavior usually being currently attainable, which means that the behavior expected is normally exhibited by individuals. (Manias 508). However, although nursing seems to require behavior that is “normally” exhibited and tends to be one of the most popular medical fields, there are numerous amounts of ethical issues which have emerged in this field of work since the few being noted in Florence Nightingale’s Notes on Nursing. (Ulrich et al. 2).
The two ethical theories that can be found in this case are utilitarism and deontology. If Jill follows the utilitarian perspective, she could decide to alter the documentation in a way that protects her and the facility from a potentially law suit, but if she decides to follow the deontological perspective by not altering the documentation, she would put the patients’ needs and rights first.
As young American adults turn eighteen, they are reminded that it is their civic duty and responsibility to register to vote, to be aware of the current policies and to make educated decisions in the voting booth. As some of these young adults become active in the nursing profession, they are taught that their ultimate responsibility is to advocate for their patients; they are to ensure their safety and well-being. That being said, does this responsibility stop at the bedside? Should nurses take an active role in the policy making that directly affects the healthcare of their patients? Conn and Armer (2012) stated that “nurses must be prepared to use multiple and varied strategies to influence public policy so that optimal health outcomes can be achieved” (p. 296). This statement alone implies that nursing’s responsibility extends beyond direct patient care.
Health policy is connected with the quality of care nurses provide to the patients. Nurses can help by getting involved in the making of the policies in this way they are assuming leadership roles and help advance the nation’s health, meeting the populations needs. By nurses being the vanguard of care delivery they are the best to protect the nation’s health and making sure that health care is accessible, safe, and of high quality (Huston, pg.363). They must gather information and get to know their patient to provide the best quality of care. A nurse is in the best position to participate in the making of policies as they have the deepest connection with the
As the nurse, I would be inclined to tell my patient the results. Being an adult, she is in charge of her own medical decisions, unless deemed unfit by a doctor. Since none of her children are the documented Medical Power of Attorney, and therefore do not have a legal say in her care, I would like my patient to have as much autonomy in her health care as possible. Even though the patient is aphasic, she is still mentally aware and conscious of what is happening around her. I would explain to the family that I understand their reasons and concerns, but legally their mother has a right to know. Withholding this information, would affect her decides to be medically treated, or not treated based on the test results. Although the family believes their decisions are beneficent for their mother, my job, as the nurse is to maintain focus and veracity on my patient’s best interest, ensuring she has all the information needed to make an informed decision on how she wants to move forward.
Why did I choose nursing? At the age of 43 I am back in school to further my education in the health field in nursing. Am I doing it to make a difference in the world or as a longstanding career? To be a nurse, it takes a special type of person that has extraordinary personal qualities and traits. A good nurse should have compassion, respect, and the need and want to help others. Therefore be sensitive, but passionate about their work. The experience that draws me to this area of work ; working in an emergency room for almost six years as a patient care technician and an emergency technician(EMT) has given me an inside view on nursing. Twenty years ago if you would have asked me to go visit someone in a hospital, I would have come up with some kind of an excuse not to go. I dreaded the place; seeing people sick, the smell, the hurting, and dying was the last thing I wanted to see. After taking care of my sick mom had given me that courage to face the unforeseeable future of working in the medical field. Following the passing of my mom, I became a Certified Nursing Assistant in a nursing home. In addition, I became a patient care technician, which led to a Certified Emergency Technician at an emergency room. I am currently still employed at the hospital, which has given an opportunity to be a part of a great emergency team of Physicians, Physician Assistants, and nurses. I am
While policies are supposed to improve healthcare delivery, sometimes they have unintended consequences. Over the years, I have collaborated with peers to overcome organizational level problems that were a direct result of healthcare reforms. Nurse participation in policy-related activities may help reduce or eliminate some of the unintended consequences that often accompany health care reforms and which negatively impact nursing care. Thus participation in policy develop may be the answer to many of our present challenges. As a nurse leader, I urge other nurses to reach out to legislators and keep them abreast of the impact policies have on patient care and health care delivery.
The call bells are ringing, the doctor is asking for laboratory results, and the patient is complaining of chest pain; all these are happening at the same time and handled by a single person—the nurse. In today’s society, nurses’ roles and responsibilities have drastically changed. Nurses are not only limited to a hospital setting where they are assessing patients, handing out medications or assisting doctors. Nurses are also a counselor, an agent of change and a patient’s advocate. Nurses can also be an educator in a classroom setting, during clinical practice of student nurses or through public presentations. In addition, nurses can also take up roles as part of the administration. Even though nurses’ workloads are constantly changing,
Both nurses and physicians are provided with a professional “code of ethics”. These codes are meant to provide professional guidance at all times, but most importantly at times of extreme moral dilemma. The physician’s code of ethics lists several steps in helping to guide the physician in acting as the patients advocate; the patient has the right to make their own decision, professional courtesy, continuous healthcare, and the right to receive adequate healthcare despite the inability to pay (Pierce & Randels, 2010). Within the nursing code of ethics this principle of patient advocacy is also emphasized. Other important provisions include: practicing with compassion that respects the inherent dignity of all persons, collaborating with other
Ethics talks about how right or wrong a human behaviour is. Ethical codes are a set of standards set up to be followed by a group of individuals to guide them professionally. Nursing as a profession has these set of rules and standards. there are mainly two types namely descriptive ethics which distinguishes what is good, right, bad and wrong and the other one is normative ethics which is how to act right, well, wrong or bad. Ethical codes have been in the system for a while now and although they are being practiced, there are some barriers to the adherence to these codes. Some of the stumbling blocks are the unavailability of resources, minimal support from higher managerial offices, conflict of value with other professionals in the hospital
To influence public policy, nurses must act as professionals with the ability and the responsibility to affect the current and future debate over the delivery of health care. This would seem natural enough as nursing is based on the principle that all people are of value and their health should be advanced throughout every socioeconomic tier of society (Brown,
The conceptual framework of ethics, moral and legal standards guide us in our daily practice as nurses. They help to influence some of the decisions we make during times of distress like moral indifference, uncertainty, and conflict (Marquis&Huston 2015). Ethics principles, on the other hand, guide us during decision making using autonomy, beneficence, Nonmaleficence, utility, justice, confidentiality (Marquis&Huston 2015). However, legal standards give us a path to walk through and treat everyone according to a standard. The legal decision is either following the role or not following (Dolan, 2017). As nurses, we all have our own ethical believe and practice that shapes our practice, which intends influences how we interact with the patient. In this paper, the writer will attempt to introduce the conceptual framework of ethics, moral, and legal standards that guide us as a nurse in our practice, an ethical dilemma that and how it was handled, and how our self-assessment influences our decisions.
It is crucial to remember a nurse’s role as a patient advocate but it is equally as important to not lose sight of the affect nurses can have on politics. Until this semester I personally had little interest vested in politics, I was unaware of the impact that an entity such as nursing could actually make. Currently nurses consist of the largest sector of the healthcare workforce. There are 3.1 million nurses in the United States, a large number that is often overlooked by the government because enough nurses are not advocating for political changes within the healthcare field. As we learned in class this has led to nurses being referred to as the sleeping giant. The number of employed nurses in this country is rather large and as such they