Six Step Process with an Ethical Dilemma

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Six Step Process with an Ethical Dilemma
Nurses face ethical dilemmas on a daily basis anywhere they practice. In nursing an ethical dilemma can be caught between conflicting duties and responsibilities to your patients, your employer, and to yourself. There is no right answer to an ethical dilemma. As a nurse when finding yourself in an ethical dilemma you ask yourself “are you supposed to do what is right by your employer, but is it right? Or did you help the patient?” As a nurse you want to help the patient in every situation. This is an ethical issue nurses have to deal with every day. Since every case is different you are not always able to help the patient in the way they want to be helped. Some patients think that you are their friend and you will do anything they ask. But you aren’t able to; you have to do what is required of your job.
Ethical decision making is a skill that can be learned, based on an understanding of underlying ethical principles, ethical theories or systems, a decision making model, and the Nursing Code of Ethics. The nurse is legally responsible for using their knowledge and skills to provide for the safety and comfort of their patients. The nurse is also ethically responsible for acting as a patient advocate to safeguard patients’ rights. Each situation has to be assessed; the nurse may use the Six-Step process in assessing their ethical dilemma. Ethical decisions making requires your thoughtful reflection and logical judgment even though the situation usually presents itself in a mumbo jumbo of partial facts and strong reactions (Doherty & Purtilo, 2011). According to Doherty & Purtilo, the following steps allow you to take the situation apart and look at in a more organized, coolheaded way while still acknowledging the intense emotions everyone may be experiencing about the situation and how these feelings factor into addressing

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