Social Contract Theory In Nursing

As a registered nurse practicing in the state of California I am responsible for practicing within my states legal regulations and nursing scope of practice. My concern for the welfare of the sick and injured allows me to practice ethical provisions of nursing. These are required if I am to carry out competent and effective nursing care. Nursing encompasses the prevention of illness, the alleviation of suffering, and the protection, promotion, and restoration of health in the care of individuals. Therefore, as health care professionals we must be familiar with the different philosophical forces, ethical principles, theories and values that influence nursing. At the same time, we must be respectful to our patient’s

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

Ethical practice is another component of the social contract of nursing which is a reflection of the values, beliefs and moral principles of the nursing profession. The American Nurses Association (ANA) has established the “Code of Ethics for Nurses” which serves as a “guideline” for the nursing profession in which clinical judgements and

The social contract of nursing is important because it reflects the nursing's code of ethics, which is to provide care to all who are in need, regardless of their cultural, social, or economic standing. The social contract exists because we rely on a guideline to continue to provide ethical care that is within our scope of practice. Unfortunately, in Rebecca Skloot’s (2010) book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” there were many ethical violations throughout the whole process about the Henrietta Lacks’ cells (HeLa). The author reveals the story about the life of Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman who was diagnosed with a fast-growing cervical cancer at a young age. The cells retrieved from her cervical tumor became the first immortal cell that could survive in the lab and replicate continuously without dying. Without the consent of Henrietta Lacks and her family, these cells later became key components to the development of many groundbreaking inventions such as the polio vaccine and in vitro fertilization. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the social covenant of nursing in relation to the ethical issues behind the use of the HeLa cells without the patient’s and her family’s consent.

Social contract makes the public have trust in the nursing and the healthcare profession. It is the contract between the public and the profession, in which the society allows doctors, nurses, and healthcare teams to perform their roles. It is a mutual agreement that the professional authority will act responsibly to maintain the trust between the patient and the healthcare professionals (American Nurse Association [ANA], 2010, p. 9-10). Therefore, it is a privilege that society has granted the healthcare professionals who serve the public. Once the social contract is broken, it can cause frustration, mistrust, and the relationship is no longer mendable. In The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks (2010), Rebecca Skloot has done extensive research about the broken social contract behind the discovery of the HeLa cells. The HeLa cells were taken from Henrietta Lacks without her knowledge in 1951 and have made a major medical contribution to cancer research for more than half a century. This paper will elaborate on the primacy of the patient and ethical practice violations of the social contract found in Skloot’s book, which have contributed to the transformation of today’s social covenant of nursing.

Humans often struggle to find the right answers in life. Knowing the difference between right and wrong is not always easy and one can be overwhelmed with the problems and ethical issues surrounding them. As a future healthcare professional, it is imperative to understand the role that ethics plays in nursing and how ethical dilemmas impact individuals. There are countless complex ethical issues that confront nurses during their careers and it is crucial they understand where their own values and beliefs lie. Euthanasia, DNR’s, end of life care, privacy, stem cell research and restraints are all great examples of some common ethical issues. “While there are many challenges facing nurses in the work environment (nursing short-age, mandated

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

I was eagerly waiting for my first placement to start because I knew very well that this is going to be a life changing experience for me both personally as well as a prominent stepping stone to my career as a nurse. I had many unforgettable experiences during this placement which provided me new knowledge and opportunities for self learning. But the experience described in this reflection was the most shocking and disappointing. This reflection is written on the basis of ethical values of maintaining commitments to clients and maintaining commitments to the nursing profession. The ethical value of maintaining commitments to clients is further explained by CNO (2009) as “,Nurses, as self-regulated professionals, implicitly promise to provide safe, effective and ethical care. Because of their commitment to clients, nurses try to act in the best interest of clients according to clients ’ wishes and the standards of practice. Nurses are obliged to refrain from abandoning, abusing or neglecting clients, and to provide empathic and knowledgeable care. The commitment to client also includes a commitment to respect family members and/or significant other(s), some of whose needs may conflict with those of clients.” CNO (2009) also suggest some behavioural directives to follow the value of maintaining commitments with client , such as putting needs and wishes of clients first ,advocating for maintaining quality client care and making all reasonable efforts to ensure that client safety and well-being is maintained during any job action.

According to the scenario given in example 2, the new nurse on the unit is facing an ethical dilemma by being asked to violate the code of ethics. This scenario regarding the preceptor telling the nurse to violate policy and chart that blood draws were done correctly is violating provision 3. Specifically, if the nurse interjects and decides to not draw the blood cultures too close together and from the same site, it upholds provision 3.5 Protection of patient health and safety by acting on questionable practice. The American Nurses Association code of ethics (2015) states, “Nurses must be alert to and must take appropriate action in all instances of incompetent, unethical, illegal, or impaired practice or actions

The influence of consequential ethics as an ethical framework (the greatest good for the greatest number) opposes the ethical principle of deontology (i.e., the rightness of an act itself determines what is right). Both of these impact the nursing profession. Modern social exchange theories are based on the principle of utility. Read the assumptions of social exchange theory and consider how these would affect the nurse-patient relationship, compared to how these impact the nurse within the health care environment. To what extent are all theories ethical? Is social exchange theory compatible with the values of the nursing profession?

Health care is an uprising issue today in the United States. I believe in order for health care or the medical field to succeed in the future that social contract should be enforced. By enforcing social contract, it will allow health care to be more efficient by allowing individuals to assume responsibility for their own healthy by having the ability to ensure health. According to The Enduring Democracy book, " from the philosophy of Jean- Jacques Rousseau, an agreement people make with one another to form a government and abide by its rules and laws, an in return the government promises to protect the people’s rights and welfare and promote their best interest"(Dautrich, 7). In other words, if people came to an agreement about health care

      My most prevailing goal during my college experience is to develop and improve my character so that I will be able to excel and succeed in my future career. I believe that my commitment to the common good these past few years has truly influenced my academic interest in pursuing a future career in Nursing. In college,

Cost of the end of life medical care is too expensive to continue at the rate it is going. The fiscal year 2016 saw 672.1 billion dollars spent on Medicare participants with just 5% using 49% of those monies ("NHE Fact Sheet," n.d., p. 1). The ANA provides a code of ethics that nurses should use to help guide them in clinical practice decision making. There are four fundamental responsibilities for nurses to adhere too they are: promote health, prevent illness, restore health and alleviate suffering. Ethical Principals for nurses are; respect & autonomy, beneficence, justice, veracity, and fidelity ("Code of Ethics for Nurses," 2012). Attempting to keep ethical responsibilities and principals in mind, while conducting a cost-benefit analysis to determine resource allocation for an aging population and end of life care causes many ethical dilemmas.

Abstract In this paper I will describe the evolution of my nursing philosophy. My nursing philosophy is dynamic and ever changing, dependent upon the person, environment nursing and the health of the person. Everyone is different. They come from different backgrounds, nationalities, genders, races and social statuses to name a few.

The following assignment will seek to address the professional values and behaviours associated within nursing from the perspective of a student nurse and the approaches that should be made in reference to the scenario. The underlying principles of forming an effective therapeutic relationship and communication strategies based on dignity and respect for human rights will also be highlighted in detail in accordance to the learning outcomes. Discussion will take place on the boundaries of the ethical and legal frameworks of nursing and the codes of conduct, demonstrating the understanding of a nurse’s role and the importance of patient engagement and collaborating with the health and social care team. Confidentiality will be maintained in accordance