Ethical Principles in Nursing Essay

There are four principles of ethics: Respect for autonomy, Beneficence, Non maleficence and Justice. This four principles offers comprehensive thought of the ethical issues in clinical settings (Beauchamp and Childress 2001 cited in UK Clinical ethics Network 2011).

According to American Nurses Association (ANA), (2010) “the nurse promotes, advocates for and strives to protect the heath, safety and right of the patient” (p. 6). Nursing responsibilities should be acted at the highest standard and must be based on legal and ethical obligations.

After researching peer assistance programs, it is apparent that they foster several ethical principles. The most prevalent of these ethical issues include autonomy, beneficence, non-malfeasance, and fidelity. Autonomy refers to a person’s right of freedom or the right to make their own choices, assuming they are mentally competent to do so. An example of this would be the nurses right to seek help for a substance abuse problem. The nurse has the freedom to choose whether or not to go to treatment and no one else can force him or her to obtain help. Beneficence is the ability to prevent harm or promote good within the heath care setting. Non-malfeasance is to do no harm and fidelity states that it is the nurse’s job to always practice faithfully. It is these ethical principles that serve as the backbone for all nursing practice. Nurses are required to abide by these principles as stated by the rules and regulations set forth by the Texas Board of Nursing and the Nursing Practice Acts.

First is the principal of beneficence which “requires nurses to act in ways that benefit patients” (Burkhardt, 2014, p.69). This principle tells us that one should promote good, prevent harm and remove evil or harm.

The modern nature of telehealth has created a dialogue about ethical issues and its relevance to nursing, specifically advance practice nursing. Preserving the nurse-patient relationship is an ethical issue that remerges. This ethical factor can be especially relevant to nursing practice and patient outcomes. It can be argued that it is not feasible to make discriminate and safe judgment calls remotely, especially ones requiring the advanced practice nurse to physically observe and assess objective parameters first hand (McLean et al., 2013). It may not always be noticeable if harm is being done since the provider is not at the bedside. After all, beneficence, the promise to do no harm, is an ethical principal common among all healthcare disciplines. Telehealth may put at risk the trust that comes with face-to-face encounters and could influence patient outcomes. In contrast, research supports that patient outcomes are not solely determined by the physical presence of the advance practice nurse. Patient outcomes are also influenced by the development of and adherences to guidelines and standards for telehealth, which are valuable in helping insure effective and safe delivery of quality healthcare through telehealth (Krupinski & Bernard, 2014). Implementing these guidelines and standards helps the client build trust in the competence of telehealthcare. Further research shows that telehealth plays a key role as a form of healthcare access

Autonomy: In medicine, autonomy refers to the right of the patient to retain control over his or her body. A health care professional can suggest or advise, but any actions that attempt to persuade or coerce the patient into making a choice are violations of this principle. In the end, the patient must be allowed to make his or her own decisions – whether or not the medical provider believes these choices are in that patient’s best interests – independently and according to his or her personal values and beliefs. 2. Beneficence: This principle states that health care providers must do all they can to benefit the patient in each situation.

In this era of increasing medical technology, changing modes of communication and the expansion of nursing professional roles, ethical, legal and social issues in nursing are increasing. Nurses operate in situations that put them under ethical, legal and social challenges on a daily basis. These issues are linked to legislative changes and ethics of medical technologies geared towards helping nurses to provide better healthcare, for patients. They govern issues of confidentiality, practice, medical issues and the expectations the society has put on nurses. The nursing profession has had radical development and change since its inception. Technology has contributed much to the development of nursing as a profession

As future nurses we are taught the principle of ethics; which focus on providing our patients with respect, and protecting their right to make their own decisions. The practice of nursing is governed by the American Nurses Association, which the cornerstone of the association is the code of ethics. Nonmaleficence, beneficence, fidelity, autonomy, justice are just a few of the ethics that nursing focuses on to provide adequate patient care. Autonomy means to respect the patient’s right to make their own decisions. Returning to a patient when when a nurse says they will return is a nurse maintain fidelity, and keeping their word. Starting CPR on a patient that has no pulse is an example of beneficence meaning to do what is best for the

Technology may have an influence on nursing and patient care and a disadvantage to care, but as healthcare professionals, patient care comes first and ethically nurses are bound to an oath to be advocates and protect patients as well as keeping patient privacy. The influence of technology as a communicating tool to share health information about diseases to the public and among healthcare providers can be beneficial for future ways to practice (Korhonen, Nordman, & Eriksson,

The major principles of principalism include respect for autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice (Lecture 3). Each notion has its advantage and good intentions. For me, these 4 principles, are indispensable, are required for a high ethical standard circumstance. As a health care provider, I would rank the non-maleficence as my priority; beneficence would me my second one; respect for autonomy would be the third one and justice would be last. “Non-maleficence is the notion of not knowingly causing harm to someone” (Lecture 3). As a nurse, one need to care and enhance one’s condition without harm. Beneficence is the principle of requiring doing good and refers to the obligation to act for the benefit of others (Lecture 3), which

The nurse is the patient’s caregiver, advocate, teacher, and protector. Due to the complexity and intimacy of being a nurse, moral distress is a routine part of the job. From prioritizing patient care to end-of-life discussions, the nurse is continually required to assess her own ethical standards and ensure her actions live up to those standards. One major role of the nurse in the hospital and primary care setting is to assess and make clinical decisions about pain. As patient advocates, nurses are taught that pain is “whatever the person experiencing says it is” (Bernhofer, 2011). This concept is compounded with the nurse’s commitment to beneficence and non-maleficence, in which the nurse strives to simply do good and prevent harm. Relieving

Health care professionals make ethical choices on a daily basis within the work environment. Nurses, in particular, make ethical decisions every day when caring for patients, whether when explaining procedures to patients, performing actions related to doctors’ orders, telling the patient their results, or answering the patients’ questions. These choices can result in positive or negative outcomes, which incorporates the four principles of bioethics into every situation in relation to handling the deliverance of patient related information. There are four principles of ethics which include the principle of respect for autonomy, the principle of nonmaleficence, the principle of beneficence, and the principle of justice (McCormick, 2013).

Concerns about privacy emerge when use of cellphones or improper use of social media gets out of hand. Based on the article by Nancy Spector and Dawn M. Kappel, “breach of privacy or confidentiality against patients are the most egregious errors that nurses can make when posting on social media” (Spector & Kappel, 2012). All patient information must be kept confidential because everyone has the right to be treated with both dignity and respect. Any violation of a patient’s privacy—whether intentional or unintentional—is a serious act that must be addressed immediately. It does not only damage the nurse’s credibility and relationship with the patient, but also affects the overall quality of care given. Additionally, nurses and other healthcare professionals may face disciplinary action, drastic consequences, and/or legal charges once held accountable.

Ethical decision making concerning in nursing practice environment. Many a time nurse practitioners find themselves in ethical dilemmas about what to do in certain situations and tend to follow their instincts as the best course of action to pursue, and this could help to either solve the problematic issue or land them into problems. I tend to think this is the main reason why the nurses’ code of ethics was developed to act as a guide during such difficult situations. There are four ethical principles that must be put into consideration by nurse practitioners while offering care for patients. They include the following: respect for autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice (Beauchamp & Childress, 2013). The principle of autonomy sometimes is described as respect for autonomy (Beauchamp & Childress, 2013). Respect for autonomy is one of the guiding principles of ethics where the nurse practitioner expected to explain the care plan that he or she intends to offer to the patient and give the patient a chance to decide for himself/herself on what he/she thinks will work best. This is also known as a right to self-determination, and the patient is given this chance after all critical information is availed to him or her (Aitamaa & Kilpi, 2015).

Telenursing has allowed for nurse to continue cares of their patient even after they are discharged from hospital. “The ICN defines telenursing as follows. Telenursing refers to the use of telecommunications technology in nursing to enhance patient care”. (Kamei, 2013). There are many ways to communicate and gather information about the patient via landline phones, cell phones, videophones, personal computers, patient-specific information input terminals, tablet computers, and smart phone. These devices are essential for providing health care professional and nursing consult and mentor patients. (Kamei, 2013). Telenurses monitor patient continuously paying attention to their non-verbal cues, and tone of voice, breathing rate to determine if there are any issues of concern. “The key to effectively forming and maintaining the nurse-patient relationship lies in the nurse’s ability to interact and communicate with the patient.” (Jones, Hendricks, & Cope, 2012). According to Kamei, there are five principles to follow with telenursing. The first principle is of “building a therapeutic nurse-client relationships”. The second principle is of “providing and documenting care”. The third principle is of “roles and responsibilities”. The fourth principle is “consent, privacy and confidentiality”. And last, the fifth principle is “ethical and legal considerations”. The nurse should be able to establish rapport with patient; be knowledgeable to provide proper education in