Essay On Ethical Issues In Nursing

Nurses around the world have struggled with ethical challenges in patient care, especially here in the Virgin Islands. We face an ethical dilemma in the healthcare field every day. During my freshman year in nursing school, I was taught about Florence Nightingales. Her greatest achievement was to transform nursing into a respectable profession for women (Florence-nightingale.co.uk, 2018). She reflected ethical duties of confidentiality, communication, and the importance of meeting patients ' needs. As nurses, we are bound to uphold the foundational moral virtues, duties, and principles central to the nursing profession. However, it has become difficult for nurses around the world to practice with integrity. The healthcare environment is demanding for nurses at a time when there is a critical shortage of staff to meet the multifaceted needs of patients. During the clinical experience at the hospital, I’ve overheard many nurses stating they don’t like being called in on their day off or when

The ethical principle that would apply to my ethical problem is privacy and confidentiality. Privacy belongs to each person and, as such, it cannot be taken away from that person unless he/she wishes to share it. Confidentiality, on the other hand, means that the information shared with other persons will not be spread abroad and will be used only for the purposes intended (Silva and Ludwick, 1999). In many hospitals especially The Virgin Islands hospitals, this ethical code has been broken many times. As nurses we are supposed to protect our patients but, in this community, we fail to do so. Another ethical dilemma that nurses face every day are decisions patients make regarding their religion. This may fall under autonomy. Patients have the right to make whatever decision they make without interference from others. Nurses may advocate for patients and inform them about the risk that comes with their