The Fellow Nurse 's Situation

In the Code of Ethics for Nurses provision 4 states “The nurse has authority, accountability, and responsibility for nursing practice; makes decisions; and takes action consistent with the obligation to promote health and to provide optimal care.” This was not done, there was no regard for human life. The patients in the hospital were treated as a burden. A meeting was held where the doctors agreed that

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

I learned that as a nurse it is my duty to always consider my own well being, along with my patient’s. I must keep a high moral character both in the workplace and in my personal life. I must continue to educate myself and keep myself up to date with all the latest nursing practices and research. I must subject myself to peer review and evaluation. I must never let my personal feelings about a patient’s lifestyle affect my care for them. When met with a tough choice that places me in an ethical crisis I must keep a good head on my shoulders and always have my patient’s best interests in mind. If I feel that a situation at work is in direct conflict with my personal values or my oath to be an ethical nurse I must go through the proper channels to work through the problem.

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

Nursing ethics shares many principles with medical ethics, such as beneficence, non-maleficence and respect for autonomy. It can be distinguished by its emphasis on relationships, human dignity and collaborative care. In the field of nursing we are often times faced with dilemmas that cause us to walk the fine line of ethical practice and safe judgment. As in any case what must be realized, calculated, and measured is the simple fact that what we do on a day to day basis is protecting that which matters the most. We are the guardians of what all people hold near and

The ethical issues experienced by nurses during their daily activities have received a limited amount of attention. Despite this, ethical problems and dilemmas are a part of nursing practices all over the world. Research indicates that 43% of nurses encounter ethical issues on a daily basis while 36% face the same problem on a weekly basis (Ulrich et.al. 2010). At the same time, nurses are required to uphold certain moral values, responsibilities and duties that are crucial to the nursing profession (Ulrich et.al. 2010). As a result, nurses face numerous ethical challenges. Furthermore, nurses encounter numerous factors that undermine their ability to practice in an ethical manner. When faced with ethical

Upon entering the hospital setting, a nurse must ruminate on his or her three obligations – client, peer, and society. While each of these three facets obtains a basis in the ANA Cold of Ethics, they retain diverse levels, types, and severity of obligations. In this case study, Sue, a staff nurse at Holy Christ Hospital, discovers herself in a dilemma between her obligations to a patient and her obligations to a colleague. Jessica, a colleague, miscalculated the insulin dosage of a patient and failed to check on their recovery, preceding the patient to become hypoglycemic. Sue remains conflicted on whether she should report the incident to the Doctor, or preserve her moral fidelity to her friend, as her friend requested that she does not

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.

Ethical principles are a crucial component of nursing care as they reflect a commitment to take the best decisions for the patient's recovery and wellbeing. Some of these aspects are autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, and fidelity, as well as the principles established by the ANA's code of ethics of advocacy, responsibility, accountability, and confidentiality (Potter, Perry & Stockert, 2016). In this sense, nurses are required to act by following and meeting the expectations of these behavioral standards. For example, it is important to inform the client about every risk and benefit that could be obtained from nursing interventions, and is the nurse's responsibility to make sure they understand before consenting. The nurse must

Ethical principals are the seed of which nursing flourishes from. Many ethical principals were involved and dishonored in this case such as, justice, autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, confidentiality and fidelity (Burkhardt et al., 2014). I believe justice was the main principal involved as the entire ethical predicament was revolved around unjust behavior and treatment of the residents. The residents were treated poorly and given unequal rights as a causation of their illnesses. Autonomy, an essential piece of human rights was also being violated in this ethical dilemma. The residents did not have any choice or independence in their care or how they were being treated. Beneficence and non-maleficence are significant dynamics of this ethical situation, as the health care providers needed to reflect on how they can have the maximum benefit while diminishing possible damage to the residents (Burkhardt et al., 2014). Our actions as nurses should always be beneficent and non maleficent, continuously being kind, compassionate and doing what is in their best interest as well a removing and preventing harm. Confidentiality is a key component of nursing and it was blatantly being violated as the health care

This includes the concepts of “honesty, integrity, and confidentiality” (Collier, 2012). The American Nurses Association’s (ANA) 12th standard of professional performance, “ethics”, explains this as well (Potter, Perry, Stockert & Hall, 2011, 213). A nurse should “maintain patient confidentiality”, “serve as a patient advocate”, maintain a “therapeutic and professional patient-nurse relationship”, deliver care that “preserves patient autonomy, dignity, and rights” and report “illegal, incompetent, or impaired practices” (Potter et al., 2011, 213). This means reporting a coworker if they are doing something they shouldn’t be. This means speaking up for your patient and being a person they can trust to help them while maintaining

If such a case were presented to the hospital ethics committee, my initial reaction would be talking to all parties involved,

I never expected to be in an ethical dilemma, but there I was and what do I do? Nursing school never prepared me for this, but somehow I in a situation that I never thought I will be in. Fresh out of school, I took a position at Buffalo General Hospital their step down unit. This unit was occupied with patient that no longer needed intensive care but was not quite ready for the floors. I was working the night shift, around 5 am. a season nurse, ask me to help clean up a patient. The patient was elderly and had dementia. He fought us the entire time we were cleaning him up. Out of nowhere the nurse I was helping smack the patient in the face and told him to behave. I was mortified; I could not believe what I just witness. I ask someone

The first duty of a nurse according to the nurses’ ethics and code of conduct is to the patient. It is therefore the moral obligation of a nurse to ensure the safety, protection and well-being of a patient under his/her care. According to Peternelji and Yonge (2003), a nurse assumes the position of power by virtue of the patient assuming a position of vulnerability in seeking help. Therefore, in light of this position, it is an ethical responsibility for the nurse to fully have the best interest of his/her client and this means reporting anything, anyone or any actions that may pose a risk to the safety, life or well-being of the client. Technically, when a nurse comes across a colleague who is unethical or incompetent, generally the most logic

There are two interesting stories I would like to mention before I start. The first one is called “Bisclavret” written by Marie de France. This is a story about a baron named Bisclavret who regularly turned into a werewolf, was betrayed by his wife, but finally regained all his status and honor back by showing loyalty to the king. The second story is a gothic literature named “The Old Nurse’s Story” written by Elizabeth Gaskell. This story is mainly about how the first person narrator Miss Hester and her little Rosamand strive to survive in the haunted mansion and how they get to know the secrets of the ghosts. In this writing I will compare the two different narration