Manjinder Kaur

NU 406T Nursing Leadership and Management Theory

Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing

Course Instructor: Jayne Rogers

[Date]

Introduction

The nursing profession has always attached great importance to ethical requirements related to their work. Two main approaches have been developed to schematize nursing ethics: the ethics of virtue and ethical principles. The first approach asks for the attitudes that a person must possess to get to act as a good nurse. The second goes the opposite way and inquire about the actions and principles to be respected for being a good professional. Nursing has been an activity that, despite the changes in its history, has always attached great importance to ethical requirements related to their work. The work of nurses has always been focused on the care of others. This action of care has changed over time and for this reason, the nursing profession has been designed differently in each historical period.

Nurses are quite often faced with ethics dilemmas and challenges in delivering health care services. However, to some extent, application of ethical values can be problematic especially when conflicting issues arise in cases time to time and nurses have to make decisions accordingly. Beyond professional matters, nurses' values differ greatly which compels them to be in conflict with the expected ethical behaviors in the profession. The paper discusses a starter cases and explores ethical dilemmas through an annotated bibliography to find out how various authors perceive nursing dilemmas and possible solutions to the same dilemmas.

Case

There is a case of woman entering the emergency room faced with crucial stomach pain and on inspection and CT scan; she is diagnosed with abdominal aortic aneurysm. Aortic aneurysm refers to the weakening of the aorta walls leading it to stretch and bulge. The physicians inform her about the situation clearly and recommend that the only way to it is surgically yet, with the survival ratio of 50/50 and also that time is of the essence, and that should the aneurysm burst, she would be no more in the few short minutes. The woman refuses for the surgery as she fears that the surgery will leave a scar that would negatively affect her work. The physicians on their part kept advising and pressuring but she obstinately refused for any kind of surgical treatment. The woman even shared her life circumstances and condition relating to multiple perverse sexual practices on her part accompanied with exhibiting in the public places and performing restrictive unsocial acts for sexual stimulation.

The physician after constant efforts reached the conclusion that the woman is not in her correct state of mind to make astute decision. The surgeons decided to surgically repair the aneurysm knowing that the time is of essence. The woman underwent surgery without the consent and fortunately survives but sued the hospital for millions of dollars.

With regards to personal information regarding the patient, the health care practitioner is liable not to disclose any information without the patients consent yet the health care practitioner is faced with a dilemma to disclose the information they have gained ...