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The Importance Of Ethics And Ethical Dilemma

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This paper will explore ethics, patient rights, cultural considerations and ethical dilemmas and how they are present or not in the case of J.M a 48-year-old male Navaho tribe member who was brought into the unit with suicidal ideation and has a diagnosis of alcohol abuse. This patient has refused the psychotropic medications prescribed to him on the unit. The psychiatrist told the nurse to hide the medicine in his food. The evening nurse hid the medication in the food. When he noticed the pills, he turned the table over and was put in restraints. This case is an example of an ethical dilemma where the nurse wanted to follow orders but it contradicted with the patient’s cultural beliefs with healthcare it also has a violation of ethics, violation of patient rights and a violation of the law.
Ethics and Patient Rights
There are five basic principles of bioethics. The first is Beneficence this is the duty to act to promote the good for others (Halter, 2014). The example for this is if there is an order for a medication that is much higher than the normal dosage the nurse takes the time to call the doctor to check if the dosage is correct to keep the patient safe. Autonomy is respecting the rights of patients to make their own decisions (Halter, 2014). An example of this is the patient refuses to take their morning medication by choice. Justice is the duty to treat all patients the same regardless of personal attributes (Halter, 2014). An example of this is treating a

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