The study of ethics, moral conduct and decision making regarding ethical issues in nursing is a vital component of nursing education. Nurses may be confronted almost on a daily basis with the need to make nursing decisions when there is no right or wrong answer. Nurses will at times feel caught in the middle (Pavlish et. al, 2011). This dilemma demonstrates how easily ones nursing practice can be significantly altered.
Ethics is very important in nursing practice and involves respect and advocacy for the needs of the patient. Both, ethics and honesty have major impact on patient safety. Another core value is autonomy. Autonomy is demonstrated when the nurse supports independent decision making and respects the patient`s right to self-determine the course of action. Human dignity is another core value in nursing practice.
Every nursing, in order to consider the profession must have an understanding of at least three of the five professional values, in my opinion. These values consist of altruism, autonomy, human dignity, integrity and social justice (Taylor 96). Beginning with the professional value of Altruism, the believe in or practice and self concern for the well-being of others (96). I believe that in order to be the best nurse you can be for your patients, you must understand the concept of altruism. As a nurse, your profession is to take care of people, if you do not know the professional value of altruism than you cannot possibly understand how important it is to care about the wellbeing of your patient.
Abandonment and Nursing The career of nursing is more than just healing the sick. Nursing often causes nurses to face moral and ethical dilemmas. “Ethics refers to principles of right and wrong behaviors, beliefs, and values (Zerwekh & Garneau, 2015, p. 420).” When new graduate nurses begin their careers the first twelve months are a great time to gain a better understanding of personal beliefs and how they can affect patient care.
Nurses are faced with ethical dilemmas related to clinical issues, and disease and treatment decisions daily (Kangasniemi,
The professional nursing values I believe are things you can be taught and some you cannot. Nurses are special individuals who ultimately want to care for and help others as much as they can. I agree with all of these values and believe some I will need to work on myself such as competence, illness prevention and patient education. Others I believe I have based on my experience I have already had while caring for others. Some of the qualities I believe I have include: caring, compassion, dependability, empathy, focusing on the patient- defining quality of life, having a holistic patient centered care, kindness, openness to learning, respect for others their dignity and worth and sensitivity.
These values were first inspired by my parents, my upbringing, my school life and my community life. I realised at an early age that being respectful to everyone and their emotions, beliefs and personal values were a simple way to avoid offending people. These values have developed as I have developed and are an essential part of my character and would be a fundamental element of my practice in becoming a culturally safe healthcare practitioner. This is evident in the Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia, where it states that the second code is that “Nurses value respect and kindness for self and others.” (Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council,
Rhetorical Analysis on an Exposia of Nursing Ethics In the essay “ Nursing’s Code of Ethics, Social Ethics, and Social Policy,” Marsha D. Fowler explains the history of Nursing ethics and what should be utilized in today’s society. Fowler explains to her readers what nurses should promote within the healthcare field. The purpose of her essay is to persuade her audience, whom are Nurses or someone who has background knowledge, into taking action. In order to explain the importance of ethics, Fowler uses two primary arguments emphasising, nurses need to have a stronger voice in policy making and they need to follow the code of ethics which was set for them.
Ethics serve as a guide for moral and ethical conduct and thus treat people with dignity, respect and uniqueness regardless of age, sex, color or religion. Also adhere to their job description and within the nation’s healthcare workforce. Surveys from several nursing specializations reported that there is no differences in
There are 5 professional values that are associated with the description of a nurse. The first professional value of nursing is altruism. Altruism can describe someone who is unselfish, concerned, and devoted to helping others in need. The beauty of being a nurse is that nurses are caregivers to all.
A nurse must keep up to date on education and new processes in health-care, so they can provide the best care. As a nurse, you have promised to give each of your patients the best care that can possibly be given. Nurses must follow a code of ethics, to act safely, provide ethical care no matter how they feel about the patient or the reason they are in your care. Following this code of ethics shows your commitment to caring for people and society, it is a guide of ethics and standards to follow to keep everyone safe. Nursing is also a wonderful opportunity to meet hundreds of people from almost every nationality and every walk of life.
All nurses should take positive actions to help their patients and to have the desire to do good. On the other hand, nonmaleficence is the core of the nursing ethics and it revolves around the idea that nurses have to remain competent in their field as to avoid causing injury or harm to patients. Nonmaleficence also requires all health care professionals to report any suspected abuse. The last ethical principle is justice. This ethical principle revolves around the idea that all patients must be treated equally and fairly.
Relevant legal and ethical considerations, focusing on the 4 main ethical principles and how each of these apply to this case using research evidence. Focusing on the ethical theory of Beauchamp and Childress, it is considered one of the most fundamental elements for beginning a discussion in the Not for resuscitation (NFR) debate. (Fornari, 2015). The four main ethical principles, autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence and justice hold the grounding block for issues of this nature. End of life care is an imperative characteristic of acute stroke nursing, as stroke mortality rates remain high, regardless of enhancements in the health care industry.
Utilitarianism and Deontology are two major ethical theories that influence nursing practice. Utilitarian principles of promoting the greatest good for the greatest amount of people parallels the nursing tenet of beneficence. Deontological principles of treating individuals with dignity, and promoting the well-being of the individual parallels the nursing tenet of non-maleficence. Utilitarian and Deontological principles can be utilized to resolve ethical dilemmas that arise in the nursing profession. The purpose of this paper is to define utilitarianism and deontology, discuss the similarities and differences between the two, and to address an ethical dilemma utilizing utilitarian and deontological principles.
Background and Significance of the Study Moral integrity is the key ingredients and navigator in professional nurses that lead to ultimate goal of nursing care. It has been recognized as a fundamental part of professional nurses’ practice (Ulrich et al, 2010; Pavlish et al, 2012). Professional nurses play the largest role to support the need for individualized treatment of the patient. The goals of the profession of nursing are related to ethical and involve protecting patients from harm while providing care that is the most benefit for the patient (Bosek, 2009; Kopala&Burkhart, 2005; Helft, 2011; Susan, 2013,). Nowadays, professional nurses have encountered to face and manage with moral problem that occur from complexity of patient health problems, advances in technology, inappropriate of health care system, policies and priorities that conflict with care needs, inadequate staffing and increased turnover, or lack of administrative support (Brazil et al. 2010; Eizenberg et al. 2009; Elpern et al. 2005;
