Preview

Ethics Case Study Essay Example

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
915 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ethics Case Study Essay Example
Ethics Case Study
Nurses are faced with ethical issues and dilemmas on a regular basis. Nurses must understand his or her values and morals to be able to deal adequately with the ethical issues he or she is faced with. Some ethical issues nurses are exposed to may be more difficult than others and the ethical decision making process is learned over time.
The purpose of this paper is to identify the ethical issues in the case study provided in the week one assignment. A discussion of how to use ethical principles to address the issues presented in the case study will be covered within the paper. A description of conflicts of this nursing student’s personal values and the ethical principles applied in this case study. The paper will describe how the ethical situation may be handled in a different healthcare setting. An identification of a professional nursing organization and describe how this organization incorporates its ethical principles into the organizations practice.
An ethical issue identified in the case study starts with the possibility of child abuse either by the mother or an employee of the daycare center. The nurse expressed her concerns to the physician that the child may have been injured and the lack of follow-up with these concerns is an ethical issue. Why was a social worker or child protective services not called to address the possibility of child abuse? Investigating how an eighth month old child fractured both femurs is needed to protect this child’s rights. Nurses’ have a responsibility and are governed by law to report suspected abuse to the proper authorities.
A nurse should learn to apply the eight ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmalcficence, veracity, fidelity, justice, paternalism, and respect for others (Guido, 2006, pg. 1). Advocating for patients is one of the ethical principles nurses are responsible for in his or her nursing practice. Since this eight-month-old child is not able to speak up for

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Nursing is based on solid ethical foundations regarding humanity, life, and health, and is an obligation to protect patients from harm while respecting their rights and dignity. Moreover, a clash between personal values with those of the employing organization can lead to ethical dilemmas and moral distress. Nurses are often confronted with ethical dilemmas due to unsatisfactory alternatives, and the opposing choices of organization. Both ethical dilemmas and moral distress impact the quality of patient care and affect the nurses’ work environment. Institutional policies and practices, interdisciplinary team conflicts, and staffing shortages limit nurses’ ability to act according to their professional and personal moral values and beliefs, resulting in ethical implications and poor care delivery that become a threat to personal and professional integrity and identity (McCarthy & Gastmans, 2015). Moral distress can therefore affect role morality when personal beliefs and values are compromised and thus, can negotiate the professional practice. Nurse scarcity creates difficulties in fulfilling the nurses’ professional roles and in balancing the needs of individual patients, meeting the demands of employers, keeping true to personal values, and working within the ethical context of the profession (Vryonides,…

    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    As discussed, nurses face many challenges related to ethical and legal issues. The American Nurses Association Code of Nursing Ethics is the best guideline for nurses to use when facing these issues. Personal and societal values will also influence nurses faced with these issues but if nurses adhere to the Code of Ethics even though personal or societal values may be in conflict, they will not have to worry about legal issues pertaining to the care…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Based on these lenses, you must recognize your duties as caregiver. We as nurses must always follow rules and policies. By advocating for the patient, accommodation of parents harming her is not the right choice. The best care possible must be given to prevent harm to Rachel or the baby. By informing the parents of any risks and benefits regarding Rachel 's care, this allows them to make informative decisions. During this process, the parents values are maintained and the patient receives effective care. By using these lenses, the nurse is also trusted to provide safe care to the patient and safe delivery for the baby without unnecessary pain. My decision was influenced by these lenses because they help determine the value of the stakeholders and the impact it made. In my workplace, concepts from this situation would help because we encounter patients who are minors and patients who have relative with control over their plan of care, such as a POA, or power of attorney. This would guide us toward the right direction for providing safe and competent care, respecting the wishes of the patient, and preventing…

    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    The ethical issues in nursing as well as the situations where such issues arise are being encountered by health practitioners on a daily basis. It is about time that nurses and nursing students learn how to manage and confront these kinds of situations in a professional manner. Expertise on the management of ethical issues in nursing should be given utmost importance in this day and age.…

    • 1289 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout a nurse’s professional career, many difficult ethical and legal situations will arise. Since nurses are given the unique privilege of caring for patients and their families, it is important to uphold certain professional standards. The American Nursing Association (ANA) Code of Nursing Ethics provides a foundation on which a nurse should conduct her professional life. In addition to the Code of Ethics, nurses must also balance their personal values along with legal standards to make the best decisions for their patients.…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Faced with ethical and legal decisions on a daily basis, nurses must at times make some pretty tough decisions including how to proceed with care for an incapacitated patient with no advanced directive or how to proceed when called upon to testify against a current employer. The American Nurses Association Code of Nursing Ethics is one of the main tools available for the nurse to utilize when it comes to making these tough decisions. The nurse may apply personal values as well as societal values to these cases in order to come to a sound, ethical decision. The nurse also carries a legal responsibility to their profession, workplace, patients, and self. Ethical and legal decision-making are complex but after a thorough assessment, the nurse can continue to make an ethically and legally sound judgment on how to proceed.…

    • 421 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nurses are faced with ethical dilemmas on nearly a daily basis when practicing within hospitals, physician’s offices and outpatient settings. How one responds to those dilemmas are based on the ethical framework upon which the nurse bases her care and practice. Ethical frameworks can be described as a set of one or more ethical guidelines which can be combined and used to solve ethical questions or dilemmas. (answers corporation, 2013)…

    • 1113 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nurses hold a unique position in the heath care industry that allows them to create special relationships with their patients. NICU nurses not only create relationships with their patients, but also their patients' families by nurturing our future generations. NICU nurses provide life saving care to infants that are at high risk after birth. They serve under the supervision of doctors and are required to uphold an oath to do what is reasonable and necessary to maintain life and reduce suffering. The Code of Ethics for Nurses includes eight previsions that describe what is expected of nurses on various matters, including but not limited to compassion for every patient, protection of the safety of patients, and supporting an overall ethical work…

    • 1379 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    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.…

    • 196 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is not unusual for nurses to face at least one ethical dilemma per shift. Some of the hardest ethical dilemmas that a nurse will face during their nursing career are situations that go against the personal values of the nurse. The following essay will discuss such a dilemma and how the nurse uses a decision-making model to assist in resolving the ethical dilemma.…

    • 1205 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Nurses are faced with ethical dilemmas constantly. Knowing the code of ethics can assist the…

    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ethical Dilemmas

    • 1096 Words
    • 5 Pages

    PASSION: Why am I here? As a child I was always attracted to the smaller, weakened animal I found in my yard, i.e. dying birds, kittens, bugs, etc. The animals we owned were never neutered which resulted in a numerous amount of puppies and kittens. I was intrigued by the cycle of life. Originally I wanted to become a veterinarian. The financial strain on my family made it apparent that it would not be possible. As fate would have it, there was a two year waiting list for nursing school, but I was readily accepted into a two year respiratory program. At the end of the respiratory program, I stayed for one more year to specialize in NICU.…

    • 1096 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ethical Case Study

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Ethical decision making in healthcare are guidelines used to assist nurses in carrying out their responsibilities in a manner that is consistent with the ethical standards regarded in the profession. The standards are in place to hold the professionals accountable and maintain the quality of nursing care in an ethical manner (code of ethics for nurses). There are situations that arise during a nurses daily task that may require him/her to make independent decisions that may cause devastating consequences to their profession, their employers and to their patient.…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sometimes, nurses, for some personal reason, go beyond their boundaries and exceed the scope of nursing practice they are ought to observe at all times. In abroad, there have been numerous reported incidents wherein Filipino nurses who happened to be medical doctors here in the Philippines were charged of malpractice and was deported back here for attempting to save a dying patient in the absence of the medical doctor in-charge. Legally speaking, what they did was a “breach of duty” and basically, they should have been subjected to corresponding sanction. However, as far as nurses’ sworn duty is concerned, it’s also their responsibility to save and protect life at all cost.…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays