Ethical Principle Application Paper Example

Every professional should adhere to ethical principles and guidelines in their practice. Ethics or ethical principles are the guiding moral ideologies that guide an individual's course of action. It is imperative to ensure that one's conduct does not affect others' ability to conduct their activities or live their lives comfortably. Nurses and medical practitioners are also subject to ethical conduct. When carrying out their professional activities, nurses should adhere to the moral standards applicable to their professional fields (Morrison & Furlong, 2018). With this information in mind, this paper will conduct an analysis of Mr. Newcomb's scenario in a bid to determine the ethical course of action. The analysis will be conducted using the principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice.

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Mr. Newcomb, who is suffering from a terminal illness, has requested to see his mistress for one last time before his death. The relationship between Mr. Newcomb and the nurse has become fonder over the past few weeks and it would be understandable if the nurse felt obligated to help his friend. However, considering that Mr. Newcomb is a married man, it feels wrong to allow him to meet his mistress even if he is on his deathbed. However, as a nurse, it is not my obligation to judge the morality of my patient's life choices. This statement means that I should allow the patients to live their lives as they wish. My main responsibility is to ensure that the patients receive the highest quality services in an effort to promote their health and wellbeing.

Moreover, a nurse or a medical practitioner should always try to serve the best interests of the patients and their families or other people close to the patients. Referring to Mr. Newcomb's request, it is evident that I am in a moral dilemma as his nurse. Mr. Newcomb is about to leave his family and this makes my role considerably important as I should ensure that they enjoy the best quality time before the patient's death. Therefore, I should not do anything that is likely to compromise their happiness. Consequently, if I decide to help Mr. Newcomb, I am obligated to keep it a secret. Considering the argument above, I will help Mr. Newcomb since I believe that every human being should die in peace, and if this will allow my patient to achieve his peace of mind, it is a worthy course.

In my decision above, I have applied four ethical principles which include beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice. Under beneficence, nurses and doctors should provide services with the intention of doing well for their patients. Therefore, it is evident that doctors or any other person involved in the provision of healthcare services should not engage in any activity that will harm the wellbeing of their patients (Morrison & Furlong, 2018). I applied this principle in the sense that I sought to maintain and achieve my patient's peace of mind before his death. Besides, I also applied the principle of non-maleficence. This proposition argues that any medical procedure or service should not cause any harm to the patients or any member of the society. In my decision, I took the relevant steps to ensure that all parties involved did not experience any harm (Morrison & Furlong, 2018). By keeping it a secret, I played a crucial role in ensuring that Mr. Newcomb's wife did not experience any emotional or psychological harm.

Also, my decision applied the autonomy postulate. Under this guideline, medical practitioners are required to ensure that patients have their independence of intention, thought, and action about any medical procedures or services (Morrison & Furlong, 2018). By allowing Mr. Newcomb to see his mistress, I allowed him to exercise his own free will assuming that he had the full knowledge of the potential consequences of his actions. Finally, I exercised the justice assumption when I made the decision to allow Mr. Newcomb to see his mistress. Under this principle, medical service providers should always ensure that any services provided uphold the existing laws and maintain fairness for all the parties involved in the provision of the service (Morrison & Furlong, 2018). The objectives of this principle were achieved in my decision by ensuring that all parties enjoyed the maximum possible benefit, and bore the least burden.

People tend to be subjective when making decisions on situations that pose ethical dilemmas. People will tend to make ethical decisions in line with their moral standards. Consequently, these courses of action are not necessarily appropriate considering that different people have different moral standards. Subsequently, my personal beliefs influenced my course of action. This statement means that some people may not approve of my decision and some people may deem it completely inappropriate. More so, people should mind their wellbeing by adhering to various self-care strategies.

One of the most crucial self-care strategies is physical exercise. Everyone should select an activity they like and develop a routine to ensure that they maintain their health status at an optimal level. Besides, keeping mindfulness is another strategy which can facilitate self-care. By engaging in activities such as meditation and yoga, people can promote their overall health status. Additionally, individuals should maintain strong social bonds with family and friends as an approach to self-care. These social bonds are critical to relieving mental stress and maintaining a person's emotional health.

References

Morrison, E. E., & Furlong, E. (2018). Health care ethics: Critical issues for the 21st century. Burlington, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning.