Course Work in Nursing: Analyzing an Ethical Decision

Various ethical issues are encountered by nurses on a daily basis, and when they are faced with situations, they will be subjected to stressful working conditions. In turn, the situations might impact on their work productivity (Buppert, 2004). Also, many studies have reported that health professionals nurses included face varied ethical challenges in their workplaces. Since they are required to provide an autonomous and collaborative care to people of all ages, they have an obligation to adhere to their ethical principles (Buppert, 2004).

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The article Ethical Issues Faced by Nurses during Nursing Practice in District Layyah, Pakistan provides a significant moral dilemma by the nurses in the District Hospital of Layyah. It specifically tries to address the ethical issues in the nursing practice by examining if the nurses at Layyah District Hospital follow the ethical principles when engaging in decision making (Saima et.al, 2016). The article reports that even though nurses were aware of the nursing moral principles, they were sometimes unable to practice them due to multiple constraints that could face them. The participants of the study were mainly from the District of Layyah Hospital. The issue of probing was conducted by the researcher where necessary (Saima et.al, 2016). The participants who were nurses argued that they have encountered ethical dilemma, especially where deciding whether to do a particular task or not. They reported that even though they are compelled by their instincts to do something to save a patient, such a thing might not be ethically accepted (Saima et.al, 2016). They thus leave such a patient to die.

The moral or ethical dilemmas facing the issue include the moral principle. It is an important ant principle that enables an individual to come up with an appropriate decision making (Ann-Renee & Megan, 2014). The principle provides the nurses with the moral framework to come up with a decision regarding a particular issue. Even though the nurse has the right to make his or her decision regarding a particular issue, such decisions cannot be made until the moral principle of ethics has been applied. The principle assumes that the nurse makes his or decisions only when being guided by the codes of professional conduct and honor.

The other ethical dilemma that the nurses faced in the case are the moral judgment and development principle. The principles require that judgments are made only with grounded evidence and that there are no personal opinions (Wood, 2015). It requires the nurses and other clinical practitioners to make their judgments regarding the particular issue in the healthcare based on the procedural process. Thus, the nurse is nor given an opportunity to make his or judgment to address a particular situation (Wood, 2015).

Comparatively, these ethical dilemmas differ from State Health Laws and Regulations in the State of Georgia in that those found in the state of Georgia provide an opportunity to the nurses to make their judgments and save a particular situation (Hamric et.al, 2014). According to the State Laws and Regulations, a nurse can make his or her personal decision to address a particular situation so long as those decisions are ethically correct and are aimed at saving a live of a patient (Iacobucci et. al, 2013).

The process of ethical diseases in addressing the dilemma include:

Gathering of the facts regarding the ethical issue

Engaging in definition of ethical issues

Identification of the parties affected which include the patients and stakeholders

Identifying the consequences of the ethical issue

Identification of the obligations which in this case include the rights, principles, and justice

Consideration of the integrity and care

Engaging in creative and critical thinking

Checking the gut and eventually deciding on the proper action regarding the ethical issue.

References

Ann-Renee Blais and Megan (2014). Thompson Resolving ethical dilemmas: Exploring the role of moral principles. Defence R&D Canada Toronto

Buppert, C. (2015). Resolving ethical dilemmas. In Nurse practitioners business practice and legal guide (5th ed.) (479 487). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett.

Buppert, C. (2004). Can NPs prescribe for family members or themselves? Medscape.Retrievedfromhttps://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/478418

Burkhardt, M. A., & Nathaniel, A. (2013). Ethics and issues in contemporary nursing. Cengage Learning.

Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine, & Institute of Medicine (2011). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health.Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/catalog/12956/the-future-of-nursing-leading-change-advancing-health

Hamric, A. B., Hanson, C. M., Tracy, M. F., & OGrady, E. T. (2014). Ethical decision-making. In Advanced practice nursing: An integrative approach (5th ed.) (328 354). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Saunders.

HEAT Inc., Health Education & Training. (2010, May 12). Ethical issues in nursing commitment: Patients, professionalism, and boundaries.

Iacobucci, T. A., Daly, B. J., Lindell, D., & Griffin, M. Q. (2013). Professional values, self-esteem, and ethical confidence of baccalaureate nursing students. Nursing Ethics, 20(4), 479-490.

Kaplan, C. (2008). Ethical dilemmas. Advance Healthcare Network.

Retrieved from https://nurse-practitioners-and-physician-assistants.advanceweb.com/Article/Ethical-Dilemmas-2.aspxMidlevelU: The Online Hub for Midlevels. (2013, January 14). Should providers treat their friends and family? [blog post].

Retrieved from https://midlevelu.com/blog/should-providers-treat-their-friends-and-familySaima, Hamid, Rabia Kanwal, Mohammad Hamza Bajwa, Sadaf Khalid, Henna Mubarak (2016). Ethical Issues Faced by Nurses during Nursing Practice in District Layyah, Pakistan.

Thomas, A. C., Crabtree, M. K., Delaney, K. R., Dumas, M. A., Kleinpell, R., Logsdon, C.,Nativio, D. G. (2012). Nurse practitioner core competencies.

Retrieved from https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.nonpf.org/resource/resmgr/competencies/npcorecompetenciesfinal2012.pdfRetrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtuanLybaZs.

Wood, D. (2015). Everyday ethics for nurses: Addressing ethical challenges Turning the Nurses Week theme into year-round ethical practice.Retrieved from https://www.nursezone.com/Nursing-News-Events/more-news/Everyday-Ethics-for-Nurses-Addressing-Ethical-Challenges_42485.aspx