JULIUS IAN CYRUS G.

REGODOS

ETHICAL ISSUES

Activity 4. A

Study and define the following;

Ethics - simply defined, is a principle that describes what is expected in terms of right and correct and
wrong or incorrect in terms of behavior. For example, nurses are held to ethical principles contained
within the Philippine Nurses Association Code of Ethics. Ethics and ethical practice are integrated into all
aspects of nursing care.

1. Applied Ethics - Applied ethics refers to the practical application of moral considerations. It is
ethics with respect to real-world actions and their moral considerations in the areas of private
and public life, the professions, health, technology, law, and leadership.

2. Nursing management Ethics - consists of the performance of the leadership functions of

governance and decision-making within organizations employing nurses. It includes processes
common to all management like planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. For
nurse managers, ethical decision-making stems from the American Nurses Association Code of
Ethics, which was developed as a guideline for nursing responsibilities “in a manner consistent
with quality in nursing care and the ethical obligations of the profession.”

3. Clinical nursing ethics - Clinical ethics promotes reflective practice and the making of “right”
choices and decisions in the delivery of health care. It is not always clear what the “right” decision
is in specific cases.Different individuals (healthcare providers, patients, family members) will often
disagree about what the “right” decision should be.

What are the Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing–Middle Manager, give at least 5 examples.

1. Maintaining professional bounderies with patients. Nurses and nurse managers devote their careers
to helping patients receive the care they need, so it can often be difficult to establish professional
boundaries. Patients should not rely on nurses beyond their professional capacity and should not
develop romantic relationships with them or offer them gifts.
 2. Scenario: If a fellow Nurse sees another Nurse that he/she lacks knowledge and skills. The nurse who
discovered this incompetence is now faced with a dellima wherein he/she chooses to the nurse
manager.

3. Patient Privacy. The Nurse can access the patients medical record and medical history. The Nurse
should always do what is benificial to the patient, even when offered.

4. Science vs. spirituality.Healthcare, which is science-based and results driven, can impede religious or
personal beliefs. Some religions restrict medical interventions and lifesaving techniques. Nurses
focus on providing medical care to reduce suffering and to allow patients to concentrate on self-care.

5. Healthcare needs vs. resource allocation. The rising cost of healthcare is increasingly putting nurse
managers at odds with budgeting constraints and patient needs. A large number of medical facilities
have scarce resources, which puts patients at risk for not getting the care they need. These resources
range from medical equipment to healthcare staff. Research suggests that nurse leaders must
include staff in the budgeting process so that they can better understand the needs and demands.

Activity 4. B Ethical Principles

Study and define the following;

1. Autonomy (Self-Determination) - From the Greek: autos (self) Nomos (rule of law), broadly
meaning ‘self- determination, self-rule, being your own person, self governing.Autonomy can be
defined as the ability of the person to make his or her own decisions. This faith in autonomy is
the central premise of the concept of informed consent and shared decision making. Autonomy
means that the patients are able to make independent decisions. This means that nurses should
be sure patients have all of the needed information that is required to make a decision about
their medical care and are educated. The nurses do not influence the patient’s choice. Examples
of nurses demonstrating this include obtaining informed consent from the patient for
treatment, accepting the situation when a patient refuses a medication, and maintaining
confidentiality.

2. Beneficence (Doing Good) - this is defined as duty to maximize benifits as well as To enhance
patients well being. Beneficence is defined as kindness and charity, which requires action on the
part of the nurse to benefit others. An example of a nurse demonstrating this ethical principle is
by holding a dying patient’s hand.

3. Paternalism - Paternalism is defined as the overriding of individual choices or intentional

actions in order to provide benefit to that individual. Paternalism does not serve as an endpoint
or solution but as one of many integral values in the decision-making process. Just as the
 primary value of a moral rule is to alert us to the presence of a moral problem, thereby opening
the door to potential resolution or alternatives to the dilemma, so selective paternalism should
effectively promote awareness, productive dialogue, and prevention of error in decision-making
situations

4. Utility - The principle of utility states that actions or behaviors are right in so far as they
promote happiness or pleasure, wrong as they tend to produce unhappiness or pain.

5. Justice (Treating People Fairly) - Justice is fairness. Nurses must be fair when they distribute
care, for example, among the patients in the group of patients that they are taking care of. Care
must be fairly, justly, and equitably distributed among a group of patients.

6. Veracity (Truth Telling) - Veracity is being completely truthful with patients; nurses must not
withhold the whole truth from clients even when it may lead to patient distress.