Overview Nursing Ethical Practice Paper Example

Overview Nursing Ethical Practice

Nurses are guided by the code of ethics in their daily activities. The codes of ethics were developed to assist nursing professionals in carrying out their responsibilities in an appropriate manner with the aim of delivering quality healthcare to patients. They help nurses to act ethically in their practice by providing guidance on the expected responsibilities, and at the same time help in overcoming ethical challenges that might arise in the course of their duties. Nurses should have good leadership skills and understand all the ethical codes that affect their profession. This paper will discuss nursing ethic practice in relation to good leadership skills.

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Ethical practice in nursing occurs into two major parts; part one and part two. Part one covers the ethical values and responsibilities expected from a nurse while at work. They determine the outcome of patients care as well as that of the healthcare sectors as a whole. These codes occur in form of statements that guide interaction of the nurse with the society or the people they are giving nursing care. The statements demand a safe, compassionate, competent and ethical care delivery. The second part of ethical practice demands the promotion of health and wellbeing. A nurse should work with the good intention of helping their patients, as well as the larger society, stay healthy life. They should provide care to those in need of their services without discrimination and at the same time work cohesively with other care providers for appropriate outcome of the treatment of their patients (Porter, 2014).

Overview of Ethical Practice in Nursing Process

Ethical codes demands respect for informed consent. The nurse should inform the patient on the mode of treatment and care they are receiving. In case the patient information is going to be used in research, they should be aware, and have given consent for their information to be used. Another statement advocates for preserving the dignity and integrity of the patients. This requirement calls for effective communication skills and maintenance of professional boundary between the nurse and the patients as well as other care providers. The privacy and confidentiality of the patient should also be respected, and sensitive information should not disclose to a third party. Privacy of the patient's records should be respected and protected using various forms (Mallari & Tariman, 2017).

Ethical codes demands for the promotion of justice. Nurses should show ideal leadership skills while dispensing their services to the patients. Patients should never be discriminated on their backgrounds, gender, race or any human aspect. The last code demands accountability while at work. Nurses should act for the good and ideal treatment outcome. They should take the responsibility of protecting patient's safety. If anything goes wrong such as an occurrence of a medical error, the nurse should show good leadership skills and take responsibility for the actions by collecting their mistakes to improve the patient's condition (Porter, 2014). In case of conflicts, a nurse should show good leadership skills to resolve the conflict in a dignified manner that leaves everyone satisfied.

The second part of the ethical requirement in nursing practice advocates for ethical endeavors to address social inequalities. Nurses should work towards providing equal care to all members of society. Another requirement on the second part directly touches in nursing leadership skills. Their professional input in development policies and programs in the health centre falls under this requirement. Such programs include health promotion among other avenues (Porter, 2014). Nurses should give their input for the benefits of the entire society.

Besides ethical codes developed to guide nursing professional, there are several ethical principles and theories guiding practice in nursing. One of these requirements requires respect for autonomy which refers to the respect of freedom of others as a distinct entity. This requirement was documented in the 1990 act of parliament in the United States. The act states that individuals should be given freedom to self-determine the course of action in regards what they want to be done. Such aspects include respect of advance directives and end of life experience. Another principle is called beneficence. This principle advocates for compassion, and taking positive actions for the benefit of the patient. The principle of beneficence is the core principle guiding nursing practice, and in many cases, it has been used to rule out other ethical codes, principles or theories. The requirement to relieve or reduce patient's suffering falls under this code (Cheraghi, Manookian & Nikbakht, 2015). For example, when a patient presents to the hospital with a physical injury such as broken limbs, pain reliever medication should be given as the first intervention before the patient is forwarded to the imaging section. Another ethical principle is called nonmaleficence which advocates for avoidance or inflicting harm to the patient. This requirement forms part of the nursing oath. Finally, the principle of fidelity emphasizes the requirement of truthfulness, fairness, advocacy and loyalty to dedicating nursing services for the best outcome of the patient's treatment.

Specific Examples on the Application of Ethical Practice to Nursing Practice

The ethical codes, principles as well as other ethical principles in nursing practice interact with each other while other conflicts. In some cases, the nurse should apply good leadership skills to decide on the course of action to take during the challenging scenarios. One of the most challenging examples of ethical conflicts occurs in advance directives involving "do not resuscitate order" (DNR) which states that in case the heart stops beating, the patient should be left to undergo natural death without resuscitating to bring them back to life. The order has been associated with ethical dilemmas that require good leadership skills to solve. For example, when a patient is undergoing surgery, it is customary for the DNR to be cancelled. The evidence-based practice has shown that cardiopulmonary resuscitation has a better outcome for patients. Even when the patient has documented DNR, the nurse should be able to assess the situation to decide whether to resuscitate and save the person's life and at the same time become accused of failure to respect patient's autonomy or whether to follow the patient's directive orders and allow the person to die. One of the best ways to assess the order is to keenly check the document to for prior establishment of whether the patient had appointed a person to act on their behalf and consult the family members who are present during the treatment procedure instead of making a forced decision. Another ethical dilemma that requires good nursing leadership skills occurs when a patient was attempting to commit suicide and requires CPR or ventilation procedures. In such cases, the principle of beneficence comes before autonomy. The principle of beneficence advocates for appropriate nurse's action for the better outcome of the patient. In this case, the benefits will be the patient's recovery as the expected outcome (Hebert & Selby, 2014; Thompson, 2015).

Conclusion

Ethical practice in nursing is guided by various codes, principles and theories. These aspects are used by nurses to enhance their leadership skills and deliver the appropriate care to the patients. All the ethical requirements have one goal of delivering quality care to the patients. In some instances, a nurse will encounter ethical dilemmas, and in such cases, a nurse should be wise and use their leadership skills to decide on the best intervention without affecting the outcome of the patient. Every party including the patient and other care providers should be left satisfied.

References

Cheraghi, M. A., Manookian, A., & Nikbakht N. A. (2015). Patients' lived experiences regarding maintaining dignity. Journal of medical ethics and history of medicine, 8(6), 1-7.

Hebert, P. C., & Selby, D. (2014). Should a reversible, but lethal, incident not be treated when a patient has a do-not-resuscitate order?. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 186 (7), 528-30.

Mallari, M.G., & Tariman, J.D. (2017). Ethical Frameworks for Decision-Making in Nursing Practice and Research: An Integrative Literature Review. Journal of nursing practice applications & reviews of research, 7 (1), 50-57.

Porter, R.B. (2014). The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics: It Is More than Skin Deep. Dermatology Nurses' Association, 5(1), 31-34.

Thompson, A.E. (2015). Advance Directives. Journal of the American Medical Association, 313 (8), 868.