Ethical Principles and Theories in Nursing Practice

Running head: Ethical Principles and Theories 1
Seminar 3: Ethical Principles and Theories
Name
Student ID
Institution
Date

Ethical Principles and Theories 2
Seminar 3: Ethical Principles and Theories
The nursing profession is full of ethical dilemmas following its complex and multifaceted
duties, responsibilities, and patient treatment procedures (Goethals, Gastmans, & de Casterlé,
2010; Pauly, Varcoe, Storch, & Newton, 2009). Working with different healthcare stakeholders
and especially patients, nurses undergo many instances when they are required to refer to their
nursing ethics in dealing with challenging situations. Indeed, Ulrich, et al., (2010) observe that
every single day of a nurse is full of ethical concerns that demand nurses to not only reconcile
their individual values with those guiding the profession but also those of the patients under their
care. Several reasons explain why most nurses are not in a position to make an informed decision
when faced with an ethical dilemma. These include lack of adequate resources, support, time,
expertise, and the facts informing ethical issues in the nursing (Burston, & Tuckett, 2013).
Even with the national code of ethics in place to guide nurses in their decision making
when faced by a challenging nursing concern, most are the times that nurses will fail to make
correct decisions. In this paper, I will be describing a situation in which I experienced a striking
ethical dilemma using the seven steps of guiding nurses to ethical decision making while
working in an interdisciplinary team in a leading hospital here in Canada during my nursing
practice last long holiday. Having studied the chapter on “Ethical Analysis and Nursing” in our
main course text; “Fundamentals of Nursing” by Potter, Perry, Hall, and Stockert, (2014), I will
also give an opinion as to whether I would approach the same ethical nursing situation
differently or if I would still approach is in the same manner.
The Canadian Nurses Association has been in the frontline in publishing codes of ethics
guidelines meant to guide Canadian nurses’ professionalism (Potter, Perry, Hall, & Stockert,
2014). As primary healthcare providers, nurses are supposed to exploit their professional values

Ethical Principles and Theories 3
in arriving at the most ethical nursing decisions for every patient’ treatment encounter they are
involved in. All healthcare stakeholders including patients and their families have varying values
and beliefs which explains the source of ethical dilemmas. The Canadian Nurses Association
(2017) describes ethical dilemmas in nursing as “situations arising when equally compelling
ethical reasons both for and against a particular course of action are recognized and a decision
must be made...” Failing to address ethical issues may lead to burnout and stress to both the
patients and the nurses. Moreover, nurses may find themselves in legal trouble such as medical
negligence.
During my nursing practice last long holiday in a hospital here in Canada, I built a lot of
professional resilience after dealing with numerous ethical nursing issues especially those of
direct patient care. One nursing situation with striking ethical dilemma concerns occurred when I
was involved in an interdisciplinary team working to deliver a surgical procedure on a 49 year
old woman with acute dysmenorrhea symptoms that had led to uterine fibroids (leiomyomas)
diagnosis. She lived with her husband and a 13 year- old daughter. Her two other children lived
in a town a couple of miles away. She had been diagnosed with mild depression some time back.
The operating room is one room in a hospital that will never lack ingrained ethical
dilemmas with both healthcare providers and their patients diffused in their own worlds on what
ought to be the most optimal course of action. Those relating to surgical procedures ought to be
given priority and addressed accordingly. As we prepared for the procedure ahead by
completing the operating room checklist, we graciously spoke to the patient for moral support
since at that point in time; patients are usually in a panic mode. After scrubbing our patient for an
emergency Total Abdominal Hysterectomy via general anaesthesia at the holding room, we
wheeled her to the theater. The procedure started off shortly after observing the operating room