Ethical Situation in Nursing Assignment

Running head: ETHICAL SITUATION IN NURSING
ETHICAL SITUATION IN NURSING
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

ETHICAL SITUATION IN NURSING1
Ethical situation:
Mrs Anne Lopez is 85 years old who had undergo lumpectomy after she had been
diagnosed with breast cancer. However, the cancer had metastasized and spread to some other
organs. She also had a fall which resulted in fracture of her hipbone. She uses a wheelchair for
movement as her condition was not found to be suitable for hip replacement. She has completely
lost the capacity of activities of daily life and depends entirely on her family member. Her cancer
conditions have also worsened over time. In such situation, she wants the healthcare
professionals to withdraw treatments as she does not want to live anymore. However, proper
treatment can help her develop quality of life. Here arises the ethical dilemma of following
autonomy for the patient or following beneficence.
Legal component:
Health Insurance Portability and accountability act (HIPAA) gives the right to patient to
refuse treatments if they want as long as they are capable of making sound decisions
(Edemekong & Haydel, 2019). Here, the patient was of sound mind which resulted in the rise of
dilemma among the nursing professional.
Category:
This situation rose from conflict between the ethical principles of autonomy and
beneficence. Autonomy is the right of patients to take their own decisions. Beneficence is the
duty of nurses to provide the safest care that develops the quality of life of the patients.