Because she was African-American herself, Ms. Rivers used her standing in the community to gain the participants’ trust. Additionally, she acted as a liaison between DC and Tuskegee. Behavior by today’s standards: As healthcare providers, and moreover in the nursing profession specifically, we serve as our patients’ biggest advocates. Ms. Rivers’ actions, or lack thereof were deceitful and self-serving. Seemingly, Ms. Rivers withheld treatments and promoted false information knowing it was not in the patients’ best interests.…
These persons were not protected, or excluded from the study. Instead they were tricked by the doctors, and a fellow African American nurse, whom they found comfort in. The doctors violated and overlook respecting these subjects because they did not see them as human beings, but instead inferior, syphilis-soaked, promiscuous…
The Ethical Dilemma I was tasked with the following case from a charge nurse as part of an ethics consult. A 68 year old man was admitted to the medicine unit from Denver International Airport for altered mental status and aggressive behavior. The patient, from this point forward to be called Mr. Johnson, was found to be acutely infected from a septic wrist joint, but was also found to have frontotemporal dementia. Once the infection cleared, it was hoped that Mr. Johnson’s mental status would improve, but he remained aggressive and lacking in capacity. After much investigating, outside hospital records were found on Mr. Johnson but neither the providers nor case managers were able to find any family or interested parties, and Mr. Johnson…
The free dictionary defined ethical code as a system of principles governing morality and acceptable conduct. However, it was noted that no code can provide absolute or complete rules that are free of conflict and ambiguity. Because codes are unable to provide exact directives for moral reasoning and action in all situations, some people have stated that virtue ethics provides a better approach to ethics because the emphasis is on a person’s character than on rules, principles, and laws (Beauchamp & Childress, 2001). The core ethical principles in nursing are;…
A potential ethical dilemma that I may face when I become a Nurse Practitioner (NP) would be the impact of the insurance reimbursement on the healthcare delivery. As a registered nurse (RN) working in an acute care hospital, the main objective would be to deliver the best bedside care possible to the patients, insurance reimbursement is not a main issue a RN has to worry about on the floor . However, as a NP, I have to think about issues like the patient’s insurance policy coverage on the diagnostic test deemed required or the types of medication. NPs have to have to pay attentions to the insurance coverage so that the patient would not be over burdened with the out-of-pocket expenses.…
In her current and only professional practice, there are not many moral or ethical dilemmas she comes across. Actually, she can not think of one instance. In nursing school, however, she had a community rotation where she was supposed to go to a clinic where abortions were performed and she may have been asked to assist in one. This was both a moral and ethical dilemma that went against all that she believed in. This is a huge controversial subject and this writer soon learned that a nurse could refuse to participate in an abortion but could not refuse to care for the woman before or after the procedure. This writer was able to avoid even being asked as on her assigned date, a snow emergency had been…
Ilene, many of the ethical dilemmas faced by nurses could be eliminated if people would take the time to let their family know what interventions they would want in situations like this. End-of-life planning and advanced care directives will increase the quality of life of a dying patient, ease the ethical decisions having to be made by family members, and will ensure that personal wishes will be abided by (Eggertson, 2013, p. E617). Many people talk about what they do and do not want but never write them down. This leaves the family, doctors, and other health care members second-guessing the wishes of the patient whenever they are too ill or sick to make decisions themselves. If your patient had made these decisions earlier and made it…
In the United States, privacy and confidentiality are the basic rights of the society enshrined not only in professional practice codes of ethics but also in the constitution. Hence, nurses and for that matter, all health care professional have a legal, moral and ethical responsibility to protect patient's privacy.…
According to, “The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics”, this document sets standards for nurses. It exemplifies the role of the nurse and duties to be maintained. For instance, patient advocacy is an important factor to the code of ethics. Patient safety is to be a primary goal for the nurse. I believe this is crucial for all nurses to practice. Individuals in the hospital are not necessarily capable of always expressing their needs. Therefore, it is the nurses responsibility to advocate for the patient during times they cannot. For example, one time I was caring for a patient who did not understand their diagnosis. A team of residents came into this person’s room and overwhelmed them with information. Confused, the patient was unable to understand the complexity of the illness. However, I witnessed the nurse advocating for her patient. She stepped in as a voice, making sure the patient’s questions were answered before they left. For a patient it can be quite intimidating when a group of doctors come in talking about a disease process they have never encountered. So, it was satisfying to see the nurse advocate for the patient.…
Have you had to assist a patient and their families with self-determination? If so, did you have support from your peers and organization at that time?…
The profession of nursing must have high values and ethics, but how does a nurse make that tough ethical decision. Ethical decision making is defined as “The process of choosing between actions based on a system of beliefs and values” (Black, 2014, p. 347). The nurse has to go through a process to come to the most ethical and just decision based on their facility and their ethics.…
As a nurse being empathic to the patient is part on my job as professional in as a humain.Nurses are almost always with the patience,sharing their suffering their feeli ngs…
I agree with you opinion especially how it closely relates to and guide nursing practice. I didn’t have too many thoughts about ethic when I was still a nursing student. With more experiences I found ethics are so empowering in making judgements/decisions in nursing care. I always ask myself: am I being truthful to my patients? Am I respecting their wills? Am I being fair to all our patients?…
The radio show concerning the medical apartheid discussed the history of medical “tests” conducted on African Americans from colonial times until present. It is disturbing how much many doctors were able to get away with when inhumanly testing on black people. Even up until the 1970’s it was common practice to conduct medical tests specifically on black people. Medical Apartheid was a disturbing practice in America that many doctors justified by suggesting that these African Americans would not have received any medical care if it were not for their testing. These medical professionals were presented with many ethical questions, however, not ethical dilemmas because the issues with what they were dealing with had a clear right and wrong.…
Prior to this assignment, I thought that medical ethics meant to practice nursing as a prudent nurse would practice, in a socially acceptable way. Ethical behavior is one doing what is right rather than what is wrong. I knew that all medical professionals had to comply with patient confidentiality, but I did not realize that all medical professionals, including writers, were held accountable just as if they were providing bedside patient care. I never considered medical writing before and never wrote medical information, other than charting. Charting is a big part of patient care, so naturally I understood the ethical responsibilities that were associated with charting. I also knew that research professionals were also held to high ethical standards because of their interaction with medical patients. After this assignment, I realized I knew less than I thought I did about medical ethics. I learned that all medical professionals, regardless of their position, are held to a high ethical standard.…