Understanding Informed Consent

It is the responsibility of nurses to keep it confidential or disclose only the relevant information when required by law or if the person is at risk or a child is involved. It incorporates the fact that the nurses should not be taking advantage of the vulnerable health consumers such as children, older, frail and mentally ill people. It is the duty of nurses to encourage the health consumers to advocate for themselves when they are not happy about the care being delivered. It is also the duty of the nurses to create awareness about the professional relationship of health consumers with health practitioners. It guides nurses, not to get over-involved in therapeutic relationship, control emotions and reduce negligence.

If need be, the nurse should assist Mike attain information about the Mature Minor Doctrine and other relevant information about pediatric patient’s rights. Conclusion When an ethical dilemma arises, a nurse has to consider the outcomes of each choice. In a pediatric situation, it is pertinent to remember that the parents are considered as patients too.

This is reserved for the doctor alone. However, as a nurse that has developed a relationship with her patient it would be very difficult to not answer her question honestly. In addition, the patient might feel more comforted hearing the diagnosis from her nurse rather than the doctor as the nurse has been caring for her and they have developed a therapeutic relationship. Ethics are recognized globally as an essential part of being a nurse (Kangasniemi, 2014).

Allowing parents interaction with their child can be challenging but also very rewarding. Nurses see parents enter a world with their infants that they know nothing about. They are unaware of the condition of their child, nor the immense care that they need. This is when nurses have to come in and give instruction to parents in order to allow them to safely interact with their child. One nurse says in a quote, “A big part of our workday consists of parental guidance.

Informed consent is defined as the knowledgeable and voluntary agreement given by a patient. Informed consent protects patient autonomy and endorses trust between the medical community and the patient. If a patient knows that they are lied to, or not told the entire truth, the patient will lose confidence in the medical community as a whole (Eval, 2011). If this non-education does happen, then the patient will not be able to make choices about the end of their life, medially or financially (Piper, nd). Personal integrity is gained when informed consent is used, as the person is making their own choices, not having their family or others make choices on their behalf, when the patient is excluded for the education of the disease (Eval, 2011).

This assignment is a reflection of ethical dilemmas in nursing practice as a registered nurse; this paper is based on the group assignment which was completed for NURS3004. This reflection will include an explanation of the role that I portrayed in the group, the preparation that I did for the role, what could have been done differently, how this group assignment has impacted me in terms of working in a team and finally explain how this assignment will assist me in my future clinical practice as a newly registered nurse. The role that I played in the group was a patient who has a mental health disorder and I didn’t want his mother to know about the illness, as a front it seemed as though we had a close relationship. When my mother leaves the room I asked the nurse to keep my illness confidential as she does not really understand it.

According to people/superiors, nurses can use the right substantive arguments on behalf of a patient’s interests or needs. They accept that this expertise is important for patients because it is related to the quality of

The four core ethical principles that are called into question in the movie “Miss Evers’ Boys” are autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. Autonomy refers to the right of the patient to function independently and the ability to self-direct. This means that patients are entitled to decide what will happen to them, and if deemed competent, they have the right to either consent to or refuse treatment. All nurses and healthcare personal would be required to respect the patient’s wishes, even if they do not agree with them. Beneficence is the core principle that refers to the act of ‘doing good’ and advocating for the patient.

Provision one, a provision in the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses, entails that nurses should pursue their nursing career with empathy and respect towards all patients. In other words, patients should be viewed as separate individuals with separate values and beliefs. Nurses and other healthcare professionals should respect their individual decisions, whether they agree with them or not. This code of ethics provision relates to the ethical dilemma of a patient refusing medical treatment. Although nurses are trained to do all that they are capable of doing to save patients’ lives, sometimes nurses reach a dilemma that puts a strain on their practice.

An important point here is that after the confrontation Dr. Frederick admitted his mistake and for future decisions respect patients and verify that the informed consent is completed and the patient understands the risks they are exposed to, along with that the patient is in his right to change his mind, and if necessary notify it and complete a new consent for the benefit of all, but especially for a patient who is ultimately the one that suffers the physical and emotional damage and for the institution to avoid legal claims. As nurses is our responsibility to monitor the safety of the patient and the informed consent is an aspect which monitors the Joint Commission and a legal claim is the first aspect to be evaluated. Not only procedures

In the health care field, the concept of informed consent allows patients to make their own decisions regarding their health care. A patient and physician have a discussion about the details of a medical process. They must discuss risks, alternatives and outcome of treatment. If a patient agrees to the terms of treatment then they are allowing or giving consent to the physician. Patient education and communication are vital during this process. Often doctors will try to act in beneficence but it is critical that they respect a patient’s autonomy. They have a duty to no do harm which can make it difficult if doctors and patients cannot come to an agreement on treatments. If a physician acts without consent then it can result in battery or negligence.

Informed consent is the process by which the treating health care provider discloses appropriate information to a competent patient so that the patient may make a voluntary choice to accept or refuse treatment. (Appelbaum, 2007)1 It originates from the legal and ethical right the patient has to direct what happens to her body and from the ethical duty of the physician to involve the patient in her health care. In order for the consent to be valid, the patient must be competent to take the particular decision; have received sufficient information to make a decision; and not be acting under stress.2,3

Ethical Issues in Healthcare There are many ethical issues facing health care at any time and it is impossible to say definitively which is the most pressing or the most important. Health care professionals are expected to base their practice on a set of ethical principles, including truthfulness, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, and confidentiality. Ethical issues can arise, however, when a l professional is called upon to act in opposition to personal values or in cases where the values of patient, health care worker, and sponsoring institution conflict. The following issues are presented in no order. Neonatal Ethics Neonates are babies within their first twenty-eight days of life.

Nurse Advocacy Student nurses and nurses spend majority of their time dedicating themselves to patient safety and quality of care. They do patient education, administer medications, perform head to toe assessments, but most importantly, they possess effective communication skills by listening to their patients. This is important because it allows the nurse to understand the concerns of their patients and advocate for their rights. According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), advocacy is when one uses his or her position to protect, support, or speak out for the rights and interests of another.” (Sanford, 2012).

By Jonas Wilson, Ing. Med. Patient Informed Consent and Anesthesiology Informed consent may be defined as the process whereby a patient has the right to reject or accept therapy after being provided with information about the benefits and risks of that therapy. In more direct terms, informed consent is formulated on the legal and moral grounds of patient autonomy.