Personal Ethical Dilemma
Question
Describe a personal ethical dilemma and use a decision-making process used in the past by you in settling this dilemma faced in a practice setting, with a critique based on theory. This assignment seeks to display your learning of ethical decision-making theory, knowledge of moral decision-making, and resolution of an ethical dilemma. If you personally have not encountered a moral-ethical dilemma for which you have rendered a decision in your practice, you can use one from another source, such as; friend, classmate, another nurse, internet site. Four pages maximum.
Textbook: Burkhardt, Margaret A. & Nathaniel, Alvita K. (2021). Ethics and Issues in Contemporary Nursing.


Solution
Personal Ethical Dilemma
Nurses make decisions under critical circumstances. The
nurses can make most of these judgments more easily if they utilize the morals
of right and wrong. (This first sentence makes no sense. I don’t understand
what you’re trying to say.) According to Rainer et al. (2018), the decision, in
this case, is made based on the system of behavior. Nonetheless, all nurses must
develop and implement ethical values in their professional duties. There are
many scenarios in my practice as a nurse that can be considered ethical
dilemmas. In other words, I have come across many situations whereby I have to
choose between the available competing alternative values. Regardless of my
choice as a nurse, there is always a consequence attached. The reason is that
ethical dilemmas often clash with the personal values of nurses as well as the
required code of ethics. However, the most important thing is for the
individual who faces ethical dilemmas to understand how to solve them.
As a nurse, I once encountered a patient, an expectant
mother, who came to the facility complaining of constant headaches. This
occurred during my clinical hour in nursing school while observing my preceptor
because I am not an OB nurse. However, I was surprised that she was drunk in
her condition. Often, nurses discourage pregnant women from drinking or
smoking. The reason is that they put the life of the unborn baby at risk. In
addition, such women put their own lives in danger. Therefore, I immediately
realized that I had to act in good faith to save the unborn child’s life. I
attended to the woman and discharged her. However, I tried to talk to her about
her behavior, but she was resistant and did not want to listen to me. At that point, she made another
major mistake. She reached out to her purse, took out a cigarette, and began
smoking. I warned her and stated that I would take legal action.
After she left, I pondered over the event and decided that I
had to do something. I shared the issue with my colleague, who reported it to
the children’s affairs office and reported the matter. I had to release her
personal information to the charge nurse before taking any action. However, I
knew very well that it was unethical, just as it was illegal, to release
patients’ personal medical information without their consent. I was moved by
the guilt of risking an innocent child’s life when I was in a position to
assist. Therefore, I proceeded with the process. I was aware that the act could
land me in great danger, including losing my license, a hefty fine, or a jail
term. The charge nurse I consulted was very cooperative and promised never to
expose the issue to anyone else.
The charge nurse moved with care and approached the woman
with my help and that of law enforcers. She was counseled by experts who
educated her about the dangers of drinking and smoking during pregnancy. The
good thing was that the woman never realized that I had released her personal
information without her consent. Therefore, I was safe this time, but I vowed never to break my
ethical values and professionalism. Nonetheless, I am proud today of saving the
unborn child’s life. In some cases, I have witnessed such patients take legal
actions against healthcare workers for allegedly breaking the nurses’ code of
ethics by releasing their personal information without their knowledge.
In this case, I applied moral decision-making since the code
of ethics requires nurses to observe the issues of autonomy and beneficence.
However, I feel that there is a thin line between the two concepts since, on
the one hand, the code of ethics and the law provide patients with the right to
autonomy. The meaning of this is that they have a choice over their health. On
the other hand, the concept of beneficence requires nurses to act in their
judgment whenever they feel that the patient needs to be attended to in a given
way or ought to act in a given manner. The duty-based approach theory informed
the decision that I made. The theory maintains that people should do what is in
the best interest of another person regardless of the consequences of those
actions (Schwartz, 2016). However, the consequences, in this case, could have
been enormous.
To sum it up, nurses are faced with ethical dilemmas frequently
during their practice. The reason is that they have to occasionally make
decisions based on the wrong and the right which might go against their ethical
values or the requirements of the nurses’ ethical code of conduct. Such
decisions are often associated with dire legal consequences. In my situation, I
had to make the most difficult decision of acting in good faith to save a life
and upholding the ethical code of conduct concerning autonomy. The duty-based
theory maintains that one ought to do the right thing regardless of the consequences
associated with those actions. However, it is always better to observe the
required ethical values, as failure to do so as a nurse can lead one to great
risks. Nonetheless, it is also important for the law to create a clear
distinction between the concepts of beneficence and autonomy.
References
Rainer, J.,
Schneider, J. K., & Lorenz, R. A. (2018). Ethical dilemmas in nursing: An
integrative review. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27(19-20),
3446-3461.
Schwartz, M. S.
(2016). Ethical decision-making theory: An integrated approach. Journal
of Business Ethics, 139(4), 755-776.




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