Ethical Dilemma in Nursing Students Case Study 2022

Student’s Name No.
Introduction, Assignment Overview
Students practicing nursing as a profession encounter significant challenges that cause
moral and legal dilemma. Most ethical challenges emanate as a nurse strives to strike a balance
between professional values, commitment to supervisors and patients, and legal regulations that
guide the profession. While it is true that many nurses employ critical and ethical reasoning to
solve ethical challenges that they encounter, there are still cases where student nurses have failed
in their moral obligations. This is in spite of the availability of nursing ethical codes of practice
enacted by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) and other national regulatory
agencies that make sure that nurses uphold professional standards in their professional practice.
This paper evaluates three case scenarios that focus on student nurses facing ethical dilemmas
and how they can apply professional reasoning and ethical standards while operating within legal
requirements.
Case Study One
This case scenario focuses on patient safety and autonomy. According to the case
scenario, the patient has requested that the student nurse should not be in the operating theater
when she is undergoing treatment. This case scenario presents ethical dilemma to the student
nurse because the student has to respect the RN mentor while at the same time making sure that
the values and demands of the patient are respected. According to Australian Law Commission
(2019), one of the professional standards of practice is to safeguard patient’s autonomy and
promote their psychological welfare. The best means of promoting patient safety is to take care
of the patient welfare both physically and psychologically. Birks, Davis, Smithson, and Cant
(2016) explain that all patients have a right to consent to medication and clinical procedures that
promote their physical and psychological welfare. If the patient has refused to undergo surgery in
presence of a student nurse, the RN mentor and the student nurse have a moral and ethical
responsibility to adhere to the patient’s preference and consent to clinical procedures.
Nurses have a responsibility of promoting and fostering patient welfare through patient-
centered care. Delaney (2018) defines patient-centered care as an approach that includes
involving, listening to patients, and making decisions that maximize their preference to
medication. Even though in this case the student nurse has a responsibility of obeying
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Student’s Name No.
instructions from the RN mentor, it is advisable that the student nurse informs the mentor about
the patient’s preference to avoid conflicting with the patient’s rights. If the student refuses to
accompany the mentor without explaining, the mentor may consider the student nurse to be rude
and this may ruin their professional relationship during the practice. On the other hand, if the
student nurse explains to the mentor that the patient has requested for privacy in the operation
theater, the mentor will understand and this will safeguard the welfare of the patient.
The Code of Ethics for Nurses, Australia, outlines how nurses should relate to patients
and colleagues when making decisions in their professional practice. The second provision of the
code of conduct outlines that the nurse’s commitment to the patient should take precedence over
everything else (Kadivar, Manookian, Asghari, Niknafs, Okazi, & Zarvani, 2017). This code of
conduct implies that the student nurse has a moral obligation to follow the patient’s request and
avoid stepping in the theater when the patient is undergoing treatment. It is advisable that the
student nurse explains to the RN mentor early enough about what the patient wants from the
hospital so that the issue is resolved early enough to avoid inconveniencing the clinical process.
Reflection
This case scenario has helped me understand some of the moral dilemmas that student
nurses encounter in their daily practice. If I am the student nurse facing the moral dilemma in
this case scenario, I think that my priority will be to respect the privacy of the patient and avoid
going to the theater when the patient is undergoing treatment. This is a response to the patient’s
dignity as well as respect to values of autonomy that I owe the patient. Autonomy implies that
the patient is a mature person that can make informed decisions. One of my outstanding lessons
from this case scenario is that even though nurses can apply critical reasoning before making
decisions, the code of conduct for nurses can also be used to guide nurses when they are faced
with moral dilemma. While it would be advisable that I obey instructions from my mentor, I find
that it is necessary for me to take into consideration the dignity of the patient and avoid making
any decision that undermines the dignity of the patient.
The research I have conducted while analyzing this case scenario has helped me to learn
more about patient’s consent to treatment. I have realized from this study that consent to
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Student’s Name No.
treatment is not all about the clinical procedures, but also the scope of practice pertaining the
rights of patients and consent to medication. I read in Kadivar, Manookian, Asghari, Niknafs,
Okazi, and Zarvani (2017) that every hospital has a responsibility of maximizing the patient’s
physical and psychological safety. When the patient requests that he does not want to be exposed
to nurse students during the clinical process, the hospital should has a responsibility of providing
guidance to make sure that they do not override the rights of patients.
Conclusion
I am an ardent supporter of respect for patient’s privacy and autonomy while serving
justice to the patient and other stakeholders such as the organization and the RN mentor. In this
case scenario, the patient can sue the hospital for breach of privacy, if the student nurse ignores
the patient’s request. I would not make a decision that would diminish my reputation and that of
the healthcare institution. The best decision is to explain to the RN mentor what the patient has
requested and stay out of the theater when the patient is undergoing medication.
Case Study Two
This case study focuses on hospital acquired infections (HAIs) that are linked to poor
infection control procedures in hospitals. According to Haque, Sartelli, McKimm, and Abubakar
(2018), more than 165,000 Australians are treated for HAIs each year. The problem with HAIs is
that they are preventable, but many hospitals have poor control measures that could help in
minimizing the costs of medication associated with these infections. The recurring issue in this
case study is the problem of hand hygiene and hospital acquired infections. An analysis of this
case study from ethical and legal perspective reveals why it is necessary to advice the student
nurse in the case study to adhere to hand hygiene standards.
Ethical and Legal Issues in the Case Study
Moral principles have significant role to play in this case scenario. The principle of non-
maleficence states that no one can harm another person (Muriel, 2017). The dilemma in this case
involves harm extended to patients through HAIs as well as any decision that involves reporting
the student nurse to the hospital management. If the hospital reports the student nurse to the
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA), the student nurse may be reprimanded and
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