Knowledge & Practice of Nursing Ethics and Laws
9 Pages2304 Words109 Views
Added on 2021-06-14
Knowledge & Practice of Nursing Ethics and Laws
Added on 2021-06-14
ShareRelated Documents
Running head: NURSINGNursingName of the StudentName of the UniversityAuthor note
2NURSINGIntroductionThe essay deals with the case study of Amos, a high school student who was suffering from cholera. There was a cholera outbreak in the Malawi and the students with array of severe symptoms were admitted to the hospital for treatment. However, there were lack of sufficient medical supplies because of which the triage nurse and the doctor on duty decided that the care will be provided only to the students living in the high school’s boarding facility. Amos presented to the hospital with severe symptoms was spared from illness as he was residing outside of school premises. This action of the health care provider led to death of Amos. The aim of the essay is to identify the ethical issues raised by the events in the case study of Amos. Further the analysis of the issue is carried in relation to the notion of the professional codes of conduct/ethics, human rights and dignity, principle of health care ethics and relevant professionalpolicies and legislations. Based on the analysis the relevant recommendations for future nursing actions are presented. Ethical issues In nursing practice, challenges due to ethical issues are very common due to large number of legal, ethical and professional duties. In the essay some are identified as evident from the case study. According to scenario the main ethical issues are respect to patient right to live and dignity, autonomy, beneficence, justice, and duty of care. These are professional and legal duties in Malawi, which when breached leads to ethical issues (Kelleher, 2014). These are ethicalduties and any failure or negligence to execute emerges as ethical considerations. In case of Amos the, patient was in emergency condition. He was undergoing severe dehydration and needed immediate clinical attention. However, he was denied only on the basis that he was
3NURSINGresiding outside the school boarding facility. This was discriminatory act on the behalf of the triage nurse and the doctor. The decision to care for students living in boarding was irrational. Considering the lack of medical supplies, the nurse and doctor could have atleast provided a first line care and then transferred to other hospital with better resources. The health care providers did not consult with any other person holding authority over the allocation of resources. It was right of the patient to live that was denied and it led to death. This can be considered negligence and does not seem to be in favour of any local and national legislation or the professional standards. The decision has not demonstrated any effort to prevent cholera and maximise the patient care outcomes. Analysis of ethical issue According to the Human Right Act 1998, every patient has the right to proper treatment and the health care practioners must not subject the patient to degrading treatment. The care provides must respect the right to life and right to family and private life (Cohen & Ezer, 2013). In this case it was found that the care providers have taken the life of Amos by neglecting the emergency clinical condition. Further, Autonomy is the strong aspect of the ethical framework in health care industry. This concept is found in the bioethical, moral and political philosophy. It is the tool to determine the moral responsibility of the individual’s actions. For nurses, based on the standards of ethics it implies them to respect the decision taken by the patient and their wants(King, 2017). This was also the breach of the international code of ethics according to which it is the inherent right of the nurse to protect the patient’s respect, right and dignity (Griffith & Tengnah, 2017).It was unethical for the nurse to disrespect Amos’s decision and autonomy. It would have facilitated professional and trustworthy relationship. As a first line of treatment, the nurse could have administered the IV fluids to reduce dehydration that would have saved time
End of preview
Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.
Related Documents
Health care of Ethics Assignmentlg...
|8
|2068
|22
Health Care Ethics Assignment PDFlg...
|8
|1729
|108
Assignment on Nursing Ethicslg...
|9
|2241
|29
Sample Assignment on Nursing doclg...
|8
|1898
|26
Assignment on Nursing Case Studieslg...
|10
|2395
|34
Health care ethics Assignmentlg...
|9
|2413
|86