The ethics committee may use the following two ethical principles to make the decision regarding Marianne’s proposed surgery. The first is to use the principle of autonomy. This principle, “the substituted judgment test professes to make the same decision the patient would, if he were capable.” (Austin, Brooke, & Glenn, 2004, p. 317) The second is the principle of beneficence or the best interest standard. This principle is to make the decision on “what's best for the patient, given his current circumstances.” (Austin, Brooke, & Glenn, 2004, p. 317) Critical Thinking Exercise A nurse by her professional code of ethics and licence standards is required to act as the patient advocate. When a nurse witnesses another health care provider “acting in a way that could endanger the health or safety of a patiet, they should make a report of what they witnessed.” (Austin, Brooke, & Glenn, 2004, p. 363 ) The concept of moral agency should guide the nurse when reporting witnessed or suspected malpractice.
Henry is not so convinced and as the procedure looms closer he asks his nurse to help him make a decision on whether or not to go ahead with the procedure. The conclusion will involve how the nurse negotiates with Henry and what outcomes will be possible for Henry and his daughter. It is the responsibility of the nurse and multi-disciplinary teams to identify and protect vulnerable patients. Defining what is vulnerable is very difficult; The Department of Health (DOH ) describe a vulnerable adult as “a person aged 18 years and over, who is in receipt of or may be
Implications of Law In the scenario, the patient appears to be fearful. We must also consider his decreased oxygen saturation of 88% and his pass diagnosis of being mildly developmentally delayed. It’s possible that the patient was having increased challenges with understanding why he should be placed on the ventilator. The nurse is an advocate for the patient and should ensure that an individual patient’s wishes are respected by those providing care and interventions. Oftentimes we have found it challenging to speak with the physician about patient’s wishes but it is the nurse’s responsibility to speak up for the patient.
Another difference between them is that the professional nursing organizations are run by its members (fellow nurses). Nursing Code Examples As a neonatal nurse and a member of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses, I not only follow the code ethics produced by the American Nurses Association, but the code of ethics by NANN as well. One example from the NANN website includes: “Neonatal nurses will respect family autonomy and strive to insure families have accurate, complete and understandable information in order to make informed decisions” (NANN, 2014). This is very important in the way that I practice because it is essential for the families of our tiny patients to understand what is going on with their child’s plan of care and current status. This allows them to feel involved in their child’s care, which in many ways is out of their control.
Healthcare professionals are committed to keeping their patient's information confidently. Confidentiality is one of the essential duties of health care practice as well as lawful right of the patient. Healthcare staff could not disclose patient's vital information without the proper consent of the patient. In some difficult situation, nurses may face breaking the patient's confidentiality. An article by Nathanson (2000) described the condition of the ethical problem when a nurse had to disrupt the confidentiality of patient information to a suitable person.
According to “Code of Ethics” (2007), the second provision states, “The nurse’s primary commitment is to the patient, whether an individual, family, group, or community” (ANA, 2001, p. 18). Therefore, as nurses we are obligated to tell the court what we had observed, when we had observed it and to whom we reported the incident to. References Chmielewski, C., (2004). The Importance of Values and Culture in Ethical Decision Making. Retrieved November 8, 2012 from NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources Web site:
When providing patient care in the healthcare field, as professionals, nurses need to be prepared for the challenges that might arise on the hospital setting. Being prepared can make challenges or situations in the nursing field less difficult or provide less resistance for decisions to make in delivering the best quality of care. Whether it is caring for a minor in labor or a same sex couple in the hospital being evaluated, special protocols must be implemented to provide the highest quality of care. As in the case of Rachel who is a minor unwed and in the early stages of labor admitted to the hospital, accompanied by her parents who has not been given meds or been seeing by the physician on duty who happens to be attending another emergency. Where clearly has brought a difficult situation to the healthcare team of the hospital raising ethical and legal issues in all aspects due to the fact that the parents of the pregnant teen have refused any assistance and the nurse assigned has complied silently.
Bi. How would you explain the term 'confidentiality' to Hannah? It is Hannah’s right to make decisions for herself and choose whether to take her medication or not. In this case from the information given it could be detrimental to her health as through Hannah not taking her prescribed medication she may be at risk of harm and therefore I would need to pass the information on to my Manager to ensure Hannah's wellbeing. It is Hannah’s choice who she shares information with and I would give her my assurance that the information would not be shared with her daughter.
Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing In nursing profession, The America Nursing Associate (ANA) Code of Ethic acts as a backbone to guide health care team to look deep into all different angle when making ethical decision. The Code of Ethic was created to assist nurses to preserve his or her professional principle of values, morals and ethical when caring for patients. Every nurses have a duty to protect and respect all patients' cultural belief, values, and dignity. Moral and ethical principles are the cord to direct any ethical decision making. It is a path to the open road for nurses to gain critical thinking, differ aspect of life.
It helps midwives provide the correct and safe care for women in their care. The process of record keeping is every bit as important as hands on clinical skills to helping maintain woman's safety. It is not only important for monitoring a woman's treatment and medical condition, it is also important for any legal issues that may arise (Wood 2010). A main point in the NMC 2009 guidelines for good record keeping states "you should record details of any assessment and reviews undertaken and provide clear evidence of the arrangements you have made for future and ongoing care. This should also include details of information given about care and treatment" (NMC 2009).