Lessons from history offer insight into today’s professional practices. Nursing Standard, 26(46), 15. Retrieved from the CINAHL Plus database. Johnson, J.B. (2012). I am a critical care nurse.
Registered nurses are in a position to advocate for the rights of their patients and are often involved in ethical decision-making processes. Ethical decisions arise when the nurse is faced with a choice, in which he or she believes there is the potential for a bad or good outcome. In the case of Marianne the ethics committee will have to weigh the physician’s recommendation of surgery to remove the clot, her husband’s desire to “try everything” and her children’s belief that she would not want to have surgery only to live with a poor quality of life. In a malpractice case it is essential to remember the ANA Code of Ethics. 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).
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.
Anya Gugliemotto MBA 600: Business Ethics and Social Responsibility Barbara Barresi, Ph.D. July 21, 2011 Physician Aid-in-Dying Physician aid-in dying is a highly controversial issue that has many ethical concerns. I would like to present a summary of this issue, including its etymological history, background, and laws. Also, I will examine the arguments for and against physician aid-in dying. Finally, I will determine which views most accurately reflect my own and I will discuss why I chose to research the ethical issues surrounding this topic. “Physician aid-in-dying” (PAD) is the official term used under the Washington and Oregon Death with Dignity Acts (DwDA).
These dilemmas can be of great or minor magnitude, with a varying degree of moral, legal and ethical consequences. Treating adults in an intensive care unit, nurses may be confronted with ethical considerations that require immediate attention, as the intensive or critical care units include emergent and life threatening conditions. The following paper examines the issue of ethics in the nursing profession, specifically focusing on critical care units, by analysing a case study in which the patient and the nurse were faced with ethical dilemmas. In adherence with the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s guidance regarding maintaining confidentiality and anonymity in academic work (NMC, 2010), the details of the case were altered in order to maintain discretion. Literature Review and Case Study Ethics Commons and Baldwin (1997) make a distinction between values and ethics.
The importance of documentation and the ethical principles that will guide any nurse’s practice will be reviewed. West's Encyclopedia of American Law defines negligence “as the failure to use reasonable care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances.” When health care professional duties fail to meet this standard, negligence is the proven outcome. Medication administration not followed by a nurse as ordered, that result the patient's illness worsening or causes death, negligence may be proven. Nurse’s must know and adhere to the standards of care, maintain competency, state board regulations, and seek out further education, failure to do so may result in a charge of negligence. Gross negligence can be defined as a conscious and voluntary disregard of the need to use reasonable care, which is likely to cause foreseeable grave injury or harm to persons, property, or both (West, 1998).
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. In this situation, nurse faced an ethical dilemma. Take the decision for patient safety or keep patient's confidentiality is the choices in this situation. The purpose of this article is to explain the possible decisions taken by this author in the situation mentioned in the above article. Ethical Implications of a Breach of Confidentiality Confidentiality is the right of every patient.
People who argue against physician suicide argue about the sanctity of life. There argument believes by legalizing physician assisted suicide there is likelihood for corruption, professional dishonesty, and efficient flaw. Those who oppose for holy reasons argue, our lives are given to us by a supreme being and others lives are not ours to take, but a donation from God and to destroy the gift God gave us is a sin and therefore immoral. However, a morally wrong act can be made morally right if the process used in deciding to perform it and the way it is performed are kindhearted and usefully
For instance, a philosopher named Albert Campus states , “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide.” Furthermore, some commentator’s voice that physician assisted suicide is requested because of poor care, is simply wrong, only leads to a downhill path, and goes against the purpose of medical treatment. On the other hand, others argue that assisted suicide protects people from pain and is an unselfish act. However, according to the Hippocratic Oath medical professionals agree that they will not give patients lethal
A physician is supposed to do no harm. If they cannot prevent suffering and the person has a terminal illness with a low life expectancy how is it determined they are doing no harm by keeping them alive? The Hippocratic Oath has been rewritten many times to allow for different cultures but it still states the same. A physician will not do harm. Determining what is considered harm is the part of this debate that cannot be easily decided.