Nursing Program-Ethical Dilemma - Research Paper Example

Nursing Program-Ethical Dilemma Within the health care provision, there is the nursing profession that deals with the care that is provided to the individuals, communities, and families in a bid to make them attain, recover, and maintain a quality life with optimal health. There is, however, a clear differentiation of nursing from other health care providers through several criteria that revolve around their approach to the patient in providing care, practice, scope as well as the training (Guido 62). It will be appreciated that most of the nurses only provide care with the directive of the physician, and this is probably why nursing profession is referred to as care providers. The assignments undertaken by nurses are challenging, and they usually strive to offer the best out of their capacity. Despite this, they encounter a challenging and ethical dilemma and meet varied reaction from the parties involved. In this regard, there have been cases that nurses made decision which were not welcoming to a selected group of persons. This paper seeks to present an analysis of the ethical dilemmas nurses find themselves in when carrying out their assignment, and argue that their decision should be acknowledged just as is the case in other professional fields. Nevertheless, nurses are also allowed to independently practice and make jurisdictions based on their level of training. Due to the technological advancement in various fields, nursing has faced several evolutions and is diverting rapidly to accommodate areas that traditionally were not observed to be valuable. According to the American Nursing Association (ANA), nursing is referred to as a profession that takes the responsibility of providing protection, optimizing health, promoting those skills that will enhance a healthy living and alleviating suffering inflicted through unrelenting diagnosis and treatment (Bishop and Scudder 54). They are also believed to be the advocates for the families, communities, population and individuals so that the latter can embrace a healthy living life. With reference to this, it is unfortunate that nurses are faced with several issues during the discharge of their duties, and this is impairing their abilities to take full responsibilities in the work that they should do. Nurses are also faced with a plethora of ethical dilemmas that need to be adequately addresses to allow them have courage and take charge for their duties. When encountered by an ethical dilemma, the decision one makes may have severe consequences, which may be beyond his/her capacity. In this regard, several nurses have been charged for action that they have done while providing care for the patients, and this has attracted a divided opinion on the same. In this regard, careful consideration of all aspects of an activity should be done to ensure that the right course of action is taken. Nurses have the responsibility of providing the best service to their clients (patient), in a bid to ensure that their recovery is quick. Despite this, it is also agreed that the recovery of a patient is to some extent beyond the capabilities of nurses. There are the proponents of the opinion that nurses have to be charged in case of deteriorating health of the patient which can be attributed to them. On the same breath, there are those who believe that nurses are supposed to be cushioned by the law under such circumstance that a dilemma arises and not be liable for any prosecution in a given case. The opponents of the nurses’ prosecution believe that there is no justification to file a suit for a nurse who is discharging a mandate, and resolving a dilemma, opt for a course that dissatisfies other parties. They propose that in the case of a dilemma, the nurse should remain supreme and be insulated against any form of prosecution. Moreover, no matter how direct the solution to a problem appear, any decision made meet mixed reactions, and thus it is impossible to meet the expectation of all persons. In this regard, provided that the decision made is rational, then nurses should be cautioned from people who may tend to harass them. This debate has been in the public domain for some time and is being carefully considered so that nurses can also be given a reason to work without fear because, certainly, they are faced with several issues on a daily basis, and they have to take a position on every situation. In the case of a dilemma, all parties involved cannot be safe and as such the best solution out of the situation is picked. The action should be looked into from a professional point of view rather than from personal point of view, as the latter is responsible for the apportioning of blame to the nurses, despite them being considered to have discharged their mandate professionally. In this regard, it is appropriate the we acclimatize to some of the dilemmas that face nurses every single time they discharge their duties so that it can be a appreciated that the fix they do is critical and there is no way all sides can be satisfied. Pro-Choice Vs. Pro-life This is a dilemma that is largely influenced by the professional beliefs from the nurses. For example, should a nurse who is professionally trained to believe that abortion is murder facilitate it for a patient? The question that every other person should ask is, should the nurses succumb to the autonomy factor of the patients and facilitate abortion when they are clear in their minds that the practice is illegal? (Cowen and Moorhead 39) Telling truth Vs. Deceiving This is another controversial question that nurses have to strike a balance when dealing with as it is always manifested when the family members want their patient not be told the truth about her medical status. In this case, the nurse is required to conceal the information no matter how the patient insists. Under such circumstances, the approach to handle such a situation ethically and professionally is very challenging to the nurses. Dilemma in the Distribution of Available Resources In this dilemma, there is controversy over who should be allocated limited resources amongst the patients; a typical case is a patient who has shown futility medically using a life supporting machine and he/she is bound to die, but the family members have also insisted that the machine has to be used on the patient. On the other hand, there are those whose life can be saved by the machine, but they are inadequate, and the nurse has to make a choice how best the machine can be used. Dilemma of Empirical Knowledge Vs. Personal Beliefs In this sort of dilemma, there are conflicting interest between the beliefs of the nurse and his/her empirical knowledge. For instance, when a patient is rushed to the hospital and is supposed to be transfused with blood without which the patient is bound to die, should a nurse who does not hold transfusion as ethical by belief allow the process to continue even with the consent of the family members, who are ready to donate blood? Freedom Vs. Control Freedom of choice and control to the nurse manifest a dilemma situation which requires decision-making. A case in point is a patient who insists on making a choice of what to eat, but according to the nurse, consumption of the product will be detrimental to the health of the patient and will aggravate his/her health condition. In such a case, what are the options that are open to the nurse so that blame will not be apportioned to him (Cowen and Veatch 48)? These are just but a few examples of the dilemmas that present themselves to the nurses while on their duties. It will be appreciated that nurses find themselves in scenarios that are difficult to come out of without ruffling some feathers. In either situations, there has to be something unfair done, and it will be appreciated that they have to make a decision, good or bad; this situation makes me give nurses a reason not to be prosecuted for not doing what other think to be right. It has to be appreciated that nurses are trained to offer care services to the patient and that in their decision, they incorporate many aspects before they reach a resolution about what to do. Among other things they consider are the professional ethics as per their training (Thompson 75). When all are looked into carefully, they have to make a professional decision, which according to my observations, should be respected. The reason behind my argument is that courts are presided over by the judges, who have professional training on how to handle dispute through understanding the chronology of the case, considering them against the basic understanding of the law and making a decision. A nurse, on the other side, can be argued to be a trained judge on how to make decisions regarding the patient and what is best in every situation. Subjecting nurses to the scrutiny of the courts is therefore undermining the institution of nursing exhibiting lack of faith in them; this is the only reasonable argument that one can reach. This is so because, for example, the courts also reach a decision that is contestable by the patient or the relatives, where else would the case be heard given that a matter that has been determined before courts cannot be taken for another hearing? There has to be the respect for all the independent institutions, especially in cases that present dilemmas to those in practice in delicate areas that relate to health, like the nursing. The union of nurses in this regard should come up with association that stipulates their grievances so that the controversies can be solved legally, after involving the legitimate stakeholders and policy makers to recognize the dilemma that affects the performance of the nurses. Every decision has it shortcomings, but the nursing field is observed to be critical in that decision made revolves around life and death. If we consider the role of the nurses in keeping the patient alive or advancing the course of their lives, we can begin to appreciate nurses and hence negate the fact that they can be liable for any misfortune that can befall a patient. In logical and sound consideration of nurses, they are only giving their input to sustain the lives of the patients. They are not under any obligation to ensure that the physiological system of the patients be normalized. Filling a suit against this person for negligence that also has no proof is simply being overtly demanding. Therefore, it is my strong conviction that nurses deserve a reason to be cushioned by the law so that they can have a relaxed environment to conduct their professional work without fears, and other obstacles that make them wary for no reason. Probably, too much caution that is taken by the nurses is what accounts for the deteriorating status of the patients in most cases today. There should be space for work given to the nurses to avoid the rush for legal solution whenever a patient or the family members conspire to believe that nurses are irresponsible without substantial evidence. This position is not to mean that nurses are not liable for any negligence; in fact, there is a myriad of such cases too in the hospital, and they should not be treated the same. The point here is that a lot of caution should be taken before nurses are arraigned in courts to answer for supposed negligence cases; there should be a reasonable ground to suggest deliberate negligence that can also be attributed to the harm that has been sustained by the patient, that is, when the claim can be justified and appropriate measures taken against such nurses for not adhering to the principle of duty of care. In conclusion, nursing is a very important cog in the society, given that they are the ambassadors of healthy living in the community, families, and persons that make up the whole population. It is only fair that they are treated as part of the family without a selective stigma, and when there are moments of sorrow, they should instead be appreciated for ensuring that the patients were able to breathe and see extra days that probably would not have been possible without them rather than be blamed for their endeavors to keep the patient alive. Works Cited Bishop, Anne H., and John R. Scudder. Nursing ethics: holistic caring practice. 2nd ed. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett, 2001. Print. Cowen, Perle Slavik, and Sue Moorhead. Current issues in nursing. 8th ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby Elsevier, 2011. Print. Cowen, Perle Slavik, and Sue M. Veatch. Case studies in nursing ethics. 3rd ed. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2006. Print. Guido, Ginny Wacker. Legal and ethical issues in nursing. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006. Print. Thompson, Ian E.. Nursing ethics. 5th ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2006. Print. Read More