Ethics in Nursing

Name of the Writer

Name of the Institution

Ethics in Nursing

Introduction

The following case study deals with issues that can be listed as ethical as well as lawful. In light of ethical issue that I face as a nurse are very complicated and hard to deal with. Many doctors, and nurses face ethical dilemmas during the course of their work regularly, and if these dilemmas are not responded properly, lives can be lost and people could be harmed. Not knowing what is right and what is wrong can confuse even the sharpest of minds. Here in the following discussion, the highlight will be the ethical matters not matters relating to laws and other policies.

In this situation, many ethical models and theories can be applied. However, the model that I will be using is “The six step decision making process” which relates to the “Six-Step Decision-Making Model for Determining Nursing Scope of Practice” devised by Board of Nursing staff in order to assist nurses in making better judgments when dealing with an ethical dilemma. This model was also praised by the creator of “The clinical decision making model” Bernard lo in his famous book “Resolving Ethical Dilemmas: A Guide for Clinicians” (books.google.com) which contains the knowledge and situations of ethical dilemmas that clinicians face and how these situations should be dealt (www.dgim.ucsf.edu).

Discussion

The six steps of this model are easier to understand yet really hard to implement in real life cases such as this one. However, it is still considered as one of the easiest decision making model and is easier to apply. Following are the main 6 steps of this model.

Step 1- Define the Problem: As it, tag line suggests, in this step the problem is defined through proper analysis and discussions with the patient and seniors.

In this case, the problem can be defined as that Mr. Grey who is 67 years old suffering from mild CVA condition, moderate dysphagia and dysphasia, is not accepting naso gastric tube and paracetamols which are necessary in order to provide his body some food and medicine. His health is getting worst; his oxygen rate has also fallen by 89% in last two days and he is unable to eat anything cause of his worsening condition.

Step 2- Identification of available alternatives to the problem: In this step, alternative solutions are identified in order to tackle the dilemma much more appropriately.

In this case, the alternatives to using naso gastric tube are minimum but still present. As Mr. Grey is refusing to accept naso-gastric tube, it is eminent that an alternative should be considered to make sure Mr. Grey as a patient is cared of well. The alternatives that could be used against the use naso gastric tube on Mr. Grey are to use Laparoscopic Gastrostomy (Giménez F, 1998) or Sonography (http://www.sonography.net/). On the other hand, Mr. Grey is also not accepting paracetamols and the alternatives to paracetamols are also present namely, ibuprofen and asprin.

Step 3- Evaluate the identified alternatives: At this stage, the alternatives identified in the second stage are evaluated and ...