Ethical Issues in Nursing Care - Essay Example

? Ethics in Nursing Nurses encounter moral dilemma in situation where they are supposed to adopt more than one moral obligation or action yet they cannot do both in the same circumstance. In order to comply with one ethical obligation, they will be forced to contravene the other obligation. This at times leads to one or more obligations being compromised. When a nurse cannot successfully determine the overriding obligation, then it leads to conflict of ethical issues and moral dilemma. Although nurses may recognize some of the principles of ethics that posses great public values, they sometimes have to priorities those that aim at protecting the general public against violent assaults. Introduction ETHICS IN NURSING A nurse should provide care that respect human right and is sensitive to the values, customs and beliefs of all people (S. Barnun, 2008). They should at all times provide information regarding ethical issues. Nurses should also provide their patients with all the necessary information to enable them have informed consent and have freedom to accept or decline to treatment. The information given to them should be recorded and stored in a confidential manner. Nurses should be sensitive to the importance of social activities in correct concern. Ethics in nursing affects all areas of health profession which include direct care of patients, allocation of resources and finances and staff utilization. Nurses need to first cross examine their values systems in order to determine best approach and procedures to use when dealing with a patient with different values. Nurses have the challenge of dealing with patients whose values differ with theirs. Nurses should protect patients’ rights and interest and they should therefore make decisions which are ethical in all manner. Understanding of these ethical principles enables a nurse to make appropriate decisions in line of duty, given that in their daily work they deal with issues of moral and ethical nature (Beucham, 2008). Nonmaleficence is always considered a basic task of all nurses. This involves willingness to cause no harm such as physiological, social and even spiritual to the patient. Through this principle a nurse is able to evaluate whether the treatment given will lead to more harm or whether it will help the patient. This enables them to decide on the best treatment approach. The treatment offered should not cause excessive pain, should not be expensive and should be convenient. During treatment the nurse is obliged to giving the patient enough information on consequences, side effects and overall cost of the treatment. The nurse should consider all the potential and benefits of treatment or research and they should work and act carefully, considering the likely risks. This principle carries more weight compared to beneficence as it’s expected that a nurse should be sure of not doing any harm before he can be justified to promote clients legitimate interests. The nurse way of defining harm may differ with that of patient or community and hence should reflect on many definitions and meaning of harm. Veracity Fromer (2010) argues that this is a moral principle that underlies the thought to confide in and fiduciary relationship. This involves being truthful in informing the patients in concern to their health needs and this therefore enables them to make a choice and increase their decision making. Veracity is regarded as a key principle to the existence of trust which is fundamental in advancing the relationship between the nurse and the patient. This furthermore makes the data –gathering procedure easier and reduces the likelihood of nurses giving holistic care which do not meet the nursing goals. To determine the amount of information to give to a patient, clinical judgment is required to avoid giving the patient more than necessary information. There is a great challenge in situations where veracity has some implication in attending to patients from backgrounds where he or she is not allowed to know how critical the condition is. Nurses are obliged to be truthful in issues that pertains the patients and themselves and to always show a moral stand in cases where unethical practices are known by them. Veracity can be in various forms and may include intentional lying, failure to disclose information to the patient or partial disclosure of information. Justice Justice involves fairness, in issues related to health it involves fair handling of individuals and proper allocation and distribution of resources. For health justice to prevail, benefits and burdens should be distributed equally advocates similar and equal treatment to all. It’s an ethical requirement that all people be treated equally except in situations where there is enough justification for unequal treatment. Justice advocates that resources be allocated according to need, individual effort and ones contribution to society and should be allocated equally. Nurses should not discriminate or treat with partiality and should not take advantage of the patient situation or even make false or defamatory remarks concerning patients (Walton B.N.2009). In situations where nurses have justify unequal treatment, then this principle becomes even more complex. Fidelity This is the foundation of nurse-client relationship and entails being faithful and ability and willingness to keep promises. Patients always have an ethical right and expect the nurse to perform in their best interest and act as an advocate for the patient. Nurses should in all times represent the patient health issues to concern health care personnel. They should also avoid their personal believes and values influence their treatment to patients. Nurses should in all times support personal decisions made by patients even in cases where these decisions are not in line with their preference choices Nurses should be royal and responsible so as to meet patients’ expectations and they should also be truthful to themselves also. They should also be client centered as this may help resolve some questions. . Autonomy This refers to ones right to choose and his ability to act in concern to this choice. When autonomy is observed then individuality of each person will be respected and this is a dominant value in nursing. Nurses should protect those patients who are not able to make a decision and also respect the decisions made by patients. Autonomy suggests every person has a right to choose his or her own line of action and the right is subject to patient competence and willingness to make that decision. To uphold the principle of autonomy, the nurse should accept the patients’ choice even in situations where he feels that’s the decisions made are not in patients’ best interest. Some of autonomous behaviors that can lead to improper treatment include patients who decide to go on smoking after having been diagnosed with lung cancer, patient refusing to take prescribed medication and also some patients may decline to receiving blood transfusion as a result of their religious beliefs. Beneficence This principle insinuates the duty to uphold good and avoid harm. There are two basic elements of beneficence, balancing harm and benefits and benefit provision. Paternalism is one of the negative outcomes of this ethical outcome and occurs when nurses decide what is “good” for the patients and persuade them and therefore making clients go against their preference (Curtis. J .B. 2007). It makes grown adults look as if they are children who require guarding. In most cases, this principle by nurses is considered unethical approach; however in some cases it may be advisable. This is when health-care personnel feel that prevention of injury is of priority and overrides the patient’s freedom. When incompetency limits the patient ability to make a choice, then nurses are justified whenever they use paternalism. Confidentiality This has for very long period been a key ethical principal in nursing training and concerns the duty to preserve the dignity of the patient. In past years, nurses have been anticipated to preserve this virtue and patients encouraged to see to it that principle is upheld. It demands that all the information obtained from the patient by the nurse be kept as secret even at times when it’s seen that the disclosure of such information is of public good. When disclosing personal or family information to health professions, patients have trust that such information will be kept secret. Also the nurses ought to protect information of patients which they obtain during their professional practice and such information should be disclosed only with consent or more when it’s a court order. Nurses have special duties to consider all information given by clients as secret irrespective of the information obtained. Conclusion In conclusion a nurse should always act entirely from a call of duty and not from feelings and inclinations. At times, a nurse may be forced to reveal to the spouse of a patient concerning a diseases that is communicable. This might be against the wish of the patient but it is of great public interest as it will avoid cross-infection to the spouse. The nurse has a duty to protect both the confidentiality of the patient and the public in general. In such a case the nurse ought to encourage the client to openly discuss the issue with his or her spouse. Moral dilemma can also occur in situations where there is a conflict between self-interest and moral requirements. A nurse who is able to determine the actions to do in a circumstance might still in doing so violate another moral obligation. References Beauchamp, T. C. (2008). Principles of biomedical ethics.7th edition. New York,NY: Oxford university Press. Fromer, M. (2010). Eyhical issues in nursing Care. St Louis: C.V.Mosby. Curtis.J., B. (2007). Ethics in nursing. United states UK: blackwell publishers ltd. Walton, B. N. (2009). Ethics and issues in contemporary Nursing. Berlin: Delmar Publications Barnum, B. (2008). Spirituality in Nursing. New York,NY: Springer Publisher. Read More