NR 439 Week 4: Ethical and Legal Issues

Ethical Dilemma/Moral Distress in Nursing Today

Read one of the following.

Stefaniak, M., & Mazurkiewicz, B. (2017). The importance of adhering to high standards of research ethics. British Journal of Nursing, 26(1), 62. http://proxy.chamberlain.edu:8080/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=120706824&site=eds-live&scope=site (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Feeney, S., & Freeman, N. K. (2016). Ethical issues: Responsibilities and dilemmas. YC: Young Children, 71(1), 86. http://proxy.chamberlain.edu:8080/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=114680496&site=eds-live (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Questions for first article:

1. Describe one reason for adhering to high standards in ethics.
2. What are the dangers of conflict of interest?

Questions for second article:

1. Discuss the difference between ethical responsibility and ethical dilemma.
2. Share an experience of ethical dilemma or moral distress in nursing today.

I read the second article: Feeney, S., & Freeman, N. K. (2016). Ethical issues: Responsibilities and dilemmas. YC: Young Children, 71(1), 86.

Questions for the second article:

Discuss the difference between ethical responsibility and ethical dilemma:

Ethics is the study of right and wrong. It teaches what one might do when faced with issues where values, rights, personal beliefs, or societal norms may be in conflict (Houser, 2015).The first thing we need to do is determine whether it is an ethical issue when faced with a challenging situation, especially in the workplace. The first question we must ask ourselves if the situation concerns right and wrong, rights and responsibilities, human welfare, or individuals best interest. If the answer to each of these question is “no”, then the situation is not an ethical issue, but if any of the questions is yes, then the situation becomes an ethical issue. (Feeney, S., & Freeman, N. K. (2016).

Ethical responsibilities are mandates that are clearly spelled out in the NAEYC code of ethical conduct. It describes what one must do and must not do. It is similar to legal responsibilities in that they require or forbid a particular action.

According to (Houser, 2015), anytime someone determines that a situation involves ethics and does not think it is a responsibility, it is likely to be a dilemma. A dilemma is a situation for which there are two possible resolutions, each of which can be justified in moral terms. In a dilemma, a person is obligated to choose between two actions. Ethical dilemma s are sometimes known as situations that involve two rights.

Share an experience of ethical dilemma or moral distress in nursing today:

I work in a nursing home, and often times I see families making decisions for their own interest instead of the best interest of the patient. I had a patient with End Liver disease. The advance directives stated Full Code.  We organized a care plan meeting because the patient’s prognosis was very poor. The interdisciplinary team together with the Physician suggested to the family to change the code status because the patient was in and out of the hospital. The hospital had recommended hospice, but the family was adamant. The family wanted tube feeding to be inserted so their mother can be fed via tube despite the fact that the physicians have clearly stated the patient will not benefit from any artificial nutrition. In this situation, the family members were making the decisions not in the best interest of their mother but for fear of losing her. The family thought, they could prolong her life instead of thinking of the quality of her life at that particular time. The issue of respecting the patient’s advance directives during end of life is always an ethical dilemma that nurses are confronted with, as families always try to go against the wishes of their loved ones by trying to change the advance directives.

References

Feeney, S., & Freeman, N. K. (2016). Ethical issues: Responsibilities and dilemmas. YC: Young Children, 71(1), 86. Retrieve the article: http://proxy.chamberlain.edu:8080/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=114680496&site=eds-live (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Houser, J. (2018). Nursing research: reading, using, and creating evidence (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.