Ethical Issues In Nursing Case Study

George is an adult male who has chronic renal failure as well as the co-morbidities of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) and diabetes. As George is indigenous and lives on social assistance, these determinants have likely contributed to the development of his co-morbidities and chronic renal failure. Additionally, George has been on dialysis three times a week for 15 years but has lately been missing his dialysis appointments and calling the clinic the next day calling to be dialyzed as he is having respiratory complications. This issue is becoming more prominent and has developed into an ethical issue relevant to the practice of those working in the clinic, particularly the nurses. In particular, by having George call for a last
First, Bev, one of the dialysis nurses has vocalized her frustration with George requesting urgent care as she believes that by missing his dialysis appointment, he has brought his respiratory complications on himself. From this, it is also apparent that Bev values commitment, responsibility, and autonomy, as she is upset that George requests this immediate care when he does not maintain his commitment to treatment nor his responsibility to manage his health. Second, it is evident that Michael the dialysis manager values effective and efficient care, in addition to his staff and their morale. Although he is concerned about the safety of George’s health, he knows that this decrease in the above aspects is as a result of this behaviour, which could lead to decreased adequacy of care being provided for each of the other patients. Third, like Bev, it is clear that the clinic’s nephrologist also values commitment and responsibility of care. This is because she has said that she is finding it difficult to continue caring for George when he continuously misses his appointments and subsequently requires immediate dialysis soon after as he is having respiratory difficulties. Finally, George seems to value the care he is being provided at the dialysis clinic as well as those employed there as he is generally pleasant at his appointments, thereby showing respect for this care. Consequently, although he often misses his appointments, this does not mean he does not value this care. He could miss his appointments as a result of many aspects, including not having transportation to the clinic, which are related to his Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), including being indigenous and having a minimal monetary