Theoretical Framework

“Be the one who nurtures and builds. Be the one who has an understanding and forgiving heart one who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them.” Nursing is more than just doing assessments and giving medications; it is going beyond that to know what is right or wrong, what can and cannot be done, and what is considered harming the patients rather than doing them good. In nursing, there is a fine line between what is considered to be negligence and beneficence. According to Marquis (2017), “Ethics is the systemic study of what a person’s conduct and actions should be with regard to self, others human beings, and the environment (pg. 83), on the other hand, it does not necessarily mean that their

When people think about nurses, many ideas come to mind. They think of the hideous old starched, white uniforms, a doctor’s handmaiden, the sexy or naughty nurse, or a torturer. The media and society have manipulated the identity and role of nurses. None of these ideas truly portray nurses and what they do. Nurses are with the patients more than the doctors. People do not realize how little they will encounter the doctor in the hospital until they are actually in the hospital. People quickly realize how important nurses are. Because nurses interact with their patients constantly, nurses are the ones who know the patients best.

When working with a Staff Nurse on something outside of my training, they will take the lead and instruct me in the task. The same can be said for when assisting doctors, physiotherapists and all other professionals. Each has their own role and it is important that they work within the

A nurse is given an opportunity to help patients, either if its by helping them through a very serious sickness or just helping a patient get to the bathroom on time, or a time when happiness is overfilling the room and a child is being born. Registered nurses provide a wide variety of patient care services (Mitchell, p.12). A Nurse must always know where to begin and where to stop, as any other career in the health field there is always something that cannot be done by everyone but only the certified person, a nurse must always remain inside her scope of practice to prevent any misunderstandings. A nurse must also follow a code of ethics , the code of ethics of the American Association of Medical Assistants states that a nurse should at all times render service with full respect and dignity of humanity, respect confidential information obtained by a patients file, uphold the honor and high principles the profession and accept its discipline, and last but not least always want to improve her services to better serve the health and well being of the community. (Mitchell, p.65).

I currently work at The Queen's Medical Center - Punchbowl Campus, working the night shift as a Medical/Surgical/Telemetry RN with the Float Pool. After being out of school and currently practicing as a bedside RN for over 12 years (and as a retired Army Nurse), I've decided to go back to school to broaden my knowledge in nursing (theory and research). Upon completion of this program, I hope that it'll help open up other nursing career opportunities that were not available to me as an Associate Degree RN. While waiting for this program to start, I've also completed several courses in Healthcare Administration; hopefully, the combination of these two programs/degree may also open up other opportunities in the administrative portion of the healthcare industry.

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

and welfare of the public” (ANA, NCSBN). If the FNP, in her nursing judgment, feels

When discussing the principles and definitions of ethics, the terms beneficence, fidelity, and justice are demonstrated within this particular scenario. Beneficence is described as the will to do good for the sake of the patient as well demonstrating compassion (American Nurses Association, n.d.). The nurse can practice beneficence by looking out for the

In 1960, Virginia Avenel Henderson a nurse and a theorist in the same time, defined nursing, “the unique function of the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well, in the performance of those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or to a peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength, will or knowledge. And to do this in such a way as to help him gain independence as rapidly as possible”. It is a noble function and to be fulfilled at the highest levels, it takes time, patience and the devotion. When the number of people given this care is much lower than that of people who must receive the care, then a crisis occurs. The phenomenon is acute not only in America but all around the world. Even if the nursing is considered a meaningful work, the country is facing a nursing shortage that grows more with each passing year. Nursing shortages in America affect all parts of the health care delivery system.

Bekemeier and Butterfield’s article “Unreconciled Inconsistencies: A Critical Review of the Concept of Social Justice in 3 National Nursing Documents,’ highlighted multiple literary discrepancies on the subject of social justice in nursing. These fundamental nursing documents are: Nursing's Social Policy Statement, Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, and the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements. I find myself agreeing with the viewpoints of Bekemeier and Butterfield. They bring to light many entries where nursing care is focused more in response to an injury or disease process, rather than providing nursing on a larger scale with a preventative connotation. The verbiage in many areas of

Nursing Ethics, like medical ethics is framed by the principle of “first do no harm”. Ethics then provides us with the framework for making decisions based on what is right for our patients and what is wrong for our patients. (Marquis, pg.69) The ethical principle best served by our policy proposal is the principle of beneficence, which urges us to do the most good for the most people. (Marquis, pg. 74) Justification for our policy’s ethical position is proved by Aiken’s 2014 paper which demonstrated that staffing ratios in the acute care hospital settings have been shown to decrease mortality by 7% for each fewer patient added to a nurse’s workload within 30 days of admission (Aiken, 2014). Achievement of

First is the principal of beneficence which “requires nurses to act in ways that benefit patients” (Burkhardt, 2014, p.69). This principle tells us that one should promote good, prevent harm and remove evil or harm.

I recently became certified as a psychiatric and mental health nurse. I serve on our unit practice council helping to find solutions to unit specific issues. I have also served on the hospital wide nurse’s week committee, and a fall prevention committee.

Practicing beneficence involves a moral obligation to act for the benefit of others by helping them to further their important and legitimate interests, often by preventing or removing possible harms. Nursing is a healthcare profession where beneficence is often displayed. During the entire patient interaction, nurses must advocate for their patients. For instance, if a patient doesn’t have an order for pain medication or their current order isn’t sufficient, nurses must advocate for the patient by contacting the physician. By doing this, nurses are working for the good of the patient that may unable to verbally express their pain and perspective.

Beneficence is important in nursing because it gives guidelines on taking care of patients in the best possible way. It ensures that the patient’s welfare is fast considered before any action is taken by a nurse. This is in line with the first concept of do no harm. In the concept the nurse is expected to ensure that no harm occurs to the patient in the process of carrying out her activities. There the first concept is more compelling as compared to all the other concepts of beneficence.