Description
The application of ethical principles in nursing is essential to ensure patient-centered care, uphold professional integrity, and navigate complex clinical situations. Ethical principles such as autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice guide nurses in making sound decisions while respecting patients’ rights and dignity. In case discussions, these principles help evaluate real-life dilemmas—such as informed consent, end-of-life care, or resource allocation—through a structured ethical lens. Nurses must balance clinical judgment with empathy and legal obligations to deliver safe and ethical care. This discussion fosters critical thinking and reinforces the role of ethics in daily nursing practice.
Summary Listen
- Ethical principles guide nurses in making patient care decisions, balancing moral values and beliefs within a helpful framework. Key principles include autonomy, respecting patient's decisions and rights, even if those decisions appear detrimental. This requires nurses to provide comprehensive information, encourage open dialogue, and advocate for the patient's choices within the healthcare team.
- Justice is another core principle, emphasizing fair and equal treatment for all patients, regardless of age, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, or other factors. Resource allocation, like ventilator availability, must be decided impartially, assessing medical urgency without bias. Communication is crucial to support both patients receiving and those denied resources, maintaining trust in the healthcare system.
- Non-maleficence dictates "do no harm," protecting vulnerable patients from further injury. This necessitates preventing further harm, such as inappropriate medication administration. Quick action, patient advocacy, and ongoing monitoring are essential in such situations to safeguard the patient's well-being. Beneficence, in contrast, focuses on acting in the patient's best interest, maximizing benefits.
- Accountability demands that nurses take responsibility for their actions, acknowledging mistakes and reporting them transparently. This fosters learning from errors to prevent future incidents. Fidelity focuses on building trust with patients by maintaining confidentiality and acting as their advocate. Consistent and honest communication strengthens patient confidence.
- Veracity entails providing honest information to patients, even when it's difficult to hear, balancing truth with compassion. Transparency helps patients participate in their care and strengthens trust in the healthcare system. Ethical dilemmas arise when decisions conflict with a nurse's moral values. These include pro-life vs. pro-choice, empirical knowledge vs. religious beliefs, autonomy vs. beneficence, and parental refusal of vaccinations.
- Common ethical dilemmas also include resource allocation, questionable medication orders, science versus spirituality, and personal versus professional boundaries. Frameworks like the nursing process, four-quadrant approach, the MORAL model, and the PLUS model offer structured ways to navigate ethical dilemmas. These frameworks emphasize gathering information, outlining options, evaluating criteria, and taking action based on the patient's best interests.
Sample Certificate
About the Speakers
Dr. Sheela Shrinivasan
Associate Professor, R V College of Nursing, Bengaluru
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