Essay On Nursing Ethics

One of the difficult things for any health practitioner to admit is the understanding that all things we do are not in the best interest of the clients. For instance, some of the patient prefers not surviving as much as the nurses would like them to survive. Nurses are therefore guided by code of nursing ethics. This is a document that clearly stipulates what is expected from a professional nurse in his day to day duties and responsibilities (Fry & Veatch, 2006).
Some of the components regarding nursing ethics include pro-choice versus pro-life. This is one of the components that affect nurses individually. Often nursing practice is influenced by nurse own culture and beliefs. For instance I had to take care of a patient who had committed abortion. Based on my opinion, I consider abortion murder (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2008). However due to our guiding value of promoting health and wellbeing and preservation of dignity, I had to offer best services to her in choosing the best autonomy. Next ethical component is that of freedom versus control. This explains the extent to which a patient have the right to make own decisions that could lead to harm or nurses should prevent such acts from happening. For instance, a nurse refuses to eat; however, the nurse understands what will happen. Therefore, a nurse should advocate, identify and respect intrinsic value of each person and also promote individual’s rights to be up to date and also make best decisions (Fry, & Veatch, 2006). Next ethical issue is that of truth telling versus deception. This is often witnessed when dealing with families who want to refuse to tell the patient the reality about the results of the medical examinations. Often the family members believe that telling the patient about the results would cause more harm. Based on this, nurse should be accountable of all his practices and actions and also promote human dignity and good. Confidentiality is also a key ethical issue within nursing. Nurses are expected not to let out information regarding the patients’ medical situation without his or her consent (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2008).

References

Burkhardt, M. A., & Nathaniel, A. K. (2008). Ethics & issues in contemporary nursing. Clifton Park, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning.
Fry, S. T., & Veatch, R. M. (2006). Case studies in nursing ethics. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.