Discussion Responses
Write a reply to these discussion responses.
Original question: Today’s health care environment gives nurses many reasons to be conflicted. Genetic testing, abortion, and end of life care are just some of the areas in which nurses may face ethical dilemmas. Consider how you feel about the following issues:
Respecting the wishes of a suffering client that he is permitted to die with dignity,
Respecting the health surrogate’s wishes regarding termination of life support,
Or even observing another nurse take two tablets of oxycodone as ordered but keeping one for herself.
Then give an example of an ethical dilemma you may have confronted in your own clinical experience or workplace. How did you come to the decision you made? What feelings did you experience while coming to that choice? (If you have not yet faced an ethical dilemma, research one and comment on it, answering the same questions.)
Make an initial post, and respond to at least two other students’ posts with substantial details that demonstrate an understanding of the concepts, and critical thinking.
Professional Ethics: What would you do?
An ethical dilemma in nursing is when the nurse is faced with a situation that requires her/him to make a decision based on their belief on whether something is right or wrong. According to The Code of Ethics of the ANA, the nurse practices with compassion and commitment to the patient and therefore regardless how his/her views on death should respect their client’s wishes to be permitted to die with dignity per their request. A health surrogate is someone who is legally responsible for making healthcare decisions for the person who chose to trust to make the correct decision regarding life support on that client, therefore again regardless of the nurse’s beliefs, they must respect and support the decision being made.
Observing another nurse taking a prescribed medication such as oxycodone is truly unethical, even though she is a fellow nurse she is violating the Code of Ethics to promote and protect the rights, health, and safety of the patient, and must be reported. (Haddad and Geiger).
Working in women’s health our clinic provides services to the very young and very old. For any healthcare professional who has worked in gyne, there is a fine line regarding treatment for STIs and contraception. I had a case where a 17-year-old client presented to the office with her mother for a consultation. She asked if her mother needed to come to the exam with her and I explained to her it depends on the reason for her visit. She did inform me that it was for contraceptive consultation and her mother does not know she is sexually active. She was given an STI test, a pregnancy test, and a 3-month sample of birth control. A few weeks later the mother came into the office with her insurance bill demanding to know why her daughter was given these exams and birth control samples without her consent. It was explained to the mother that no information could be disclosed regarding her daughter’s visit. She yelled at me, threw her itemized bill at the front desk staff and yelled she was not paying her bill to the physician, and stormed out of the office. I don’t necessarily agree with my decision to not speak truthfully with the mother regarding her daughter’s care, but I am an advocate for any client who is treated in our clinic. To this day it leaves me conflicted but as a nurse my commitment is to the patient.
References
Haddad and Greiger. (2022). Nursing ethical considerations. Received from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526054/
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Pa’Ris Tucker
19 hours ago, at 6:39 PM
A nurse’s job includes not only caring for patients, but also proper medication and proper attitude towards patients. However, coping with the patient’s desire to allow death and behaviors that may violate the caregiver’s moral and emotional values can be a major dilemma for the caregiver. As a nurse tech, it is simply impossible to allow all patients to die of their own accord. on what I observed a nurse is here to take care of people and not let them die. should be encouraged to talk about the positivity of The people with us, these colleagues, some are very rude to patients, others do not behave properly towards them. Even many of them have medications and no actual medications are given to patients.These are so prevalent these days that as nurses they are doing it .I remember last month when one of my patients had a burn on his face and some of the affected area was in despair. She was so worried about her own appearance and her parents’ marital problems that she didn’t want to live her own life. She wanted to end her life and didn’t want to take drugs.In this situation, the only hope that would push her to live a beautiful life was to feel the love of her parents. . Her parents’ needs that only she can meet. For days I tried my best to persuade her and encourage her. As a nurse tech, it is your ethical responsibility to deal with these types of issues with great calmness, and you should not make hasty decisions. On another occasion an ethical issues arise when a patient’s religious freedom and autonomy interfere with treatment and the physician’s duty to protect the patient from harm. increase. My moms god daughter ,A 15-year-old patient urgently needs a blood transfusion. But her parents would not accept a blood transfusion, even if it’s life-threatening for the child. It hindered the doctors’ ethical decision-making and there was no time for legal intervention to deal with her parents. Jehovah’s Witnesses oppose the medical practice of blood transfusions. Respect for the patient’s religious beliefs and autonomy must be resolved without endangering the patient’s life. These ethical issues can be resolved with alternative chemotherapy using ICS and PCS. When Jehovah’s treatment options conflict with our fundamental rights, we must take responsibility and draw conclusions about the best treatments to save the patient’s life.Respect the bioethical principles of compassion and harmlessness. , should professionally resolve conflicts with the best options.
Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://www.ccjm.org/content/ccjom/64/9/475.full.pdf
Edited by Pa’Ris Tucker on Apr 6, 2023, 8:25:30 PM
