Nursing Ethical Dilemma - Case Study Example

Nursing ethical dilemma Introduction Nurses encounter ethical dilemmas as they carry on with their everyday work, like dealing with patients is a complicated process. The ethical dilemmas nurses face while dealing with patients tend to have no specific answer, that is whether any action taken by the nurse was wrong or right. It is important to analyze ethical dilemmas, as they do not only affect nurses but also the patients, doctors and the relatives of such patients (Lundy & Janes, 2009). There are incidents whereby nurses have been taken to court because of the some of the actions they take when they are faced with ethical dilemmas. Such scenarios make it necessary to study the ethical dilemmas faced by nurses to avoiding getting in trouble. Nurses ought to have moral concepts that would ensure that they provide care that is correct, rational and good. Nurses are obliged to give their patients the chance to express their feeling and choose the way they want nurses to serve them. Decision-making and science are the rationales under which ethical nursing care is based on. The essay focuses on two moral dilemmas that are common with practicing nurses in their daily activities. The essay relates the two ethical dilemmas faced by nurses to a particular moral principle that nurses should possess. Nurses are guided by a set code of ethics, which are meant to guide nurses on their actions and help to help solve moral dilemmas. The second part of the essay after the introduction part deals with the first ethical dilemma and the moral principle that relates to the dilemma. The third part of the essay tackles the second dilemma and just like the second part, the section also discusses the ethical principle under which the dilemma falls under. Conclusion is the final part of the paper, and this is where the major points in the essay are put in a clearer perspective. Ethical dilemma 1 Nurses have reported cases of having to deal with patients who exercise their rights to say no to any directives given to them by nurses. Patients with Anorexia, an eating disorder that is becoming common refuse to take food given to them by nurses as the condition makes an individual detest eating. Patients suffering from the disease fail to eat any food provided to them by nurses and in the process, their body starts consuming itself damaging the patients health. Such an issue raises questions such as how nurses deal with patients who refuse to eat even if eating is imperative for them getting better. Another question on nurses’ mind is the motive behind such a patient’s decision of not eating. There are incidents whereby people want to commit suicide and use such a condition as one of the avenues of fulfilling their wish. Observers think that the dilemma poses the question if health practitioners such as nurses have the mandate to override the free choices patients make (Lundy & Janes, 2009).. This dilemma is related to the autonomy moral principle, which nurses ought to observe and practice. Autonomy suggests that a nurse at any given time ought to respect any choice made by the patient, provide privacy to the patient and enhance the choice of freedom for the patients. One code of ethics that guide nurses in such a scenario is the fact that a nurse’ primary commitment ought to be a patient. Another code of ethics that ought to guide the nurse in such a scenario is that a nurse is responsible for his or her own actions and thus should at all times promote integrity in his or her work. In a situation whereby a patient suffering from Anorexia, a nurse ought to consult with the doctor and explain to him or her the prevailing predicament. Ethical dilemma 2 The other incident that creates a dilemma to nurses is when the family members demand him or her to conceal to the medical condition to the patient. Family members may decide to hide from their loved one a terminal illness as they fear that, in the event, the patient knows he, or she is may become devastated on learning about the illness. The devastation leads to patients killing themselves or causing harm to those around them. A patient may be diagnosed with chronic addiction due to alcoholism. The reality is that the patient is likely to die in the near future as he or she is an addict and to reduce the patient’s suffering; the family might order the nurse not to tell him or her about the illness. The dilemma is related to the beneficence moral principle, which guides nurses on how to relate with patients (Butts & Rich, 2013). The principle states that a nurse needs to help the patient get the high well-being levels. The decision made by the parents to hide the disease the patient might be suffering from does not help such a patient. If the beneficence principle is to be applied in such a situation, the nurse ought to break the news to the patient where after he or she is supposed to help the patient deal with the problem. Popular nursing philosopher Florence Nightingale once said, “It may seem a strange principle to enunciate as the very first requirement in a hospital that it should do the sick no harm.” (Nightingale, 2010). The application of Florence’s quote is that the nurse ought to focus primarily on the patient and uphold the principle that hospital staff should ensure that they do not do the patient harm in any way. One code of ethics that guide nurses in such a situation is the fact that a nurse’ primary responsibility ought to be a patient. Another code of values that ought to guide the nurse in such a situation is that a nurse is responsible for his or her own actions and thus should at all times promote integrity in his or her work. It would be advisable for a nurse to inform the patient on the problem, as he or she is the key of helping overcome of mitigating the effects caused by the circumstances. Conclusion New dilemmas arise every day in the nursing profession, and the stakeholders are tasked with coming up with fair ways of dealing with them (Butts & Rich, 2013). Nurses, on the other hand, need to study wide issues related to ethical dilemmas and methods of best solving them. References Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2013). Nursing ethics: Across the curriculum and into practice. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Lundy, K. S., & Janes, S. (2009). Community health nursing: Caring for the publics health. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Nightingale, F. (2010). Notes on nursing. 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