Ethical Issues in Nursing Paper Example

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Ethical Issues in Nursing Paper Example

Nurses in a healthcare facility face great challenges that make them do extraordinary things. Many have ended up acting they later think and swear not to do again. In most cases, ethical conflicts occur due to imbalances of power where the nurse has little influence on care practices that should be accorded to specific patients. These ethical issues may include patient desires, healthcare provider, care procedure decisions, family disputes, and miscommunications among others. They come up in nursing professions due to the obligation to ‘do good’ (Izumi, Nagae, Sakurai, & Imamura, 2012).

patients at heart. This good will is shortchanged by the competing demands and the complexity of handling other patients’ needs. As moral agents, nurses should have a voice regarding aggressive care, determining life quality of a patient, and use of technology. They end up providing poor care if they just provide services directed by the physicians. This paper explores ethical issues that nurses in end-of-life care circumstances face and the way such ethical issues can be handled without compromising their legal and professional ethics. Ethical Issues in Nursing Paper Example

Ethics in End-of-Life Care

End-of-life care involves care of patients in final days of their lives or acutely sick patients who cannot get cured. Treating a patient suffering from terminal lung cancer is an example of end-of-life situation that can result in ethical issues. The complexity of end-of-life care has led to the emergence of several ethical questions regarding the required and available care options for such patients. One of the ethical issues that can arise in end-of-life care is communication. In several instances, there is deficiency in communication between the patient and the nurse or doctor in charge.

Dilemma arises when important decisions have to be made by both parties. Lack of proper communication increases uncertainty and anxiety; hence, no decision regarding proper care can be made. Both the nurse and the patient should be able to say the truth about the diagnosis and other relevant information that can help in coming up with the appropriate treatment (Gastmans, 2012). However, an ethical issue arises when the nurse is not sure whether to inform the patient about the serious state of health due to nescience of the way the patient will react on the information. Ethical Issues in Nursing Paper Example

Nurses in a healthcare facility face great challenges that make them do extraordinary things. Many have ended up acting they later think and swear not to do again. In most cases, ethical conflicts occur due to imbalances of power where the nurse has little influence on care practices that should be accorded to specific patients. These ethical issues may include patient desires, healthcare provider, care procedure decisions, family disputes, and miscommunications among others. They come up in nursing professions due to the obligation to ‘do good’ (Izumi, Nagae, Sakurai, & Imamura, 2012).

Nurses are expected to perform their duties with the interest of the patients at heart. This good will is shortchanged by the competing demands and the complexity of handling other patients’ needs. As moral agents, nurses should have a voice regarding aggressive care, determining life quality of a patient, and use of technology. They end up providing poor care if they just provide services directed by the physicians. This paper explores ethical issues that nurses in end-of-life care circumstances face and the way such ethical issues can be handled without compromising their legal and professional ethics.

Dilemma arises when important decisions have to be made by both parties. Lack of proper communication increases uncertainty and anxiety; hence, no decision regarding proper care can be made. Both the nurse and the patient should be able to say the truth about the diagnosis and other relevant information that can help in coming up with the appropriate treatment (Gastmans, 2012). However, an ethical issue arises when the nurse is not sure whether to inform the patient about the serious state of health due to nescience of the way the patient will react on the information.

End-of-life care such as terminal cancer treatment is unique due to the complexity of technology required for effective care. Thus, the situation causes ethical issues that require balancing the benefits of offering the treatment versus the cost involved and the chances of prolonging life (Arries, 2014). Prolonging life to such patients may be increasing suffering to the patient, and one would opt to perform euthanasia. A nurse may, however, be against euthanasia because he/she believes that it is morally wrong and contradicts the medical ethics (Curtis & Vincent, 2010). Withdrawal from active treatment due to unresponsiveness or personal choice is an ethical issue that requires a proper decision to ensure the patient gets the best out of treatment offered.

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Another ethical issue in end-of-life care is planning treatment. A cancer patient may not be willing to take a surgery for fear of undergoing and operation or refuse to have chemotherapy due to fear of side effects such nausea or hair loss. Ethical Issues in Nursing Paper Example

Impacts of Ethical Issues in End-of-Life Care

Nurses who encounter ethical issues need to solve them in a professional and timely manner in order to promote their well-being and improve the general health care system. Ethical issues are likely to cause moral distress, which is normally initiated by institutional constraints. Many hospitals do not allow nurses to take individual decisions on matters of health care. In end-of-life conditions such as terminal cancer, it is impossible to improve the condition of the patient no matter what care is given. This may affect the nurse in charge since the patient eventually dies (Curtis & Vincent, 2010). When a nurse feels that his/her input does not make a difference, the ethical issue may result in serious distress.

End-of-life care such as terminal cancer treatment is unique due to the complexity of technology required for effective care. Thus, the situation causes ethical issues that require balancing the benefits of offering the treatment versus the cost involved and the chances of prolonging life (Arries, 2014). Prolonging life to such patients may be increasing suffering to the patient, and one would opt to perform euthanasia. A nurse may, however, be against euthanasia because he/she believes that it is morally wrong and contradicts the medical ethics (Curtis & Vincent, 2010). Withdrawal from active treatment due to unresponsiveness or personal choice is an ethical issue that requires a proper decision to ensure the patient gets the best out of treatment offered.

Another ethical issue in end-of-life care is planning treatment. A cancer patient may not be willing to take a surgery for fear of undergoing and operation or refuse to have chemotherapy due to fear of side effects such nausea or hair loss. Ethical Issues in Nursing Paper Example

Impacts of Ethical Issues in End-of-Life Care

Nurses who encounter ethical issues need to solve them in a professional and timely manner in order to promote their well-being and improve the general health care system. Ethical issues are likely to cause moral distress, which is normally initiated by institutional constraints. Many hospitals do not allow nurses to take individual decisions on matters of health care. In end-of-life conditions such as terminal cancer, it is impossible to improve the condition of the patient no matter what care is given. This may affect the nurse in charge since the patient eventually dies (Curtis & Vincent, 2010). When a nurse feels that his/her input does not make a difference, the ethical issue may result in serious distress.  Ethical Issues in Nursing Paper Example.