UNCC100 Essay: Patient Confidentiality and Nursing Ethics Principles

This essay, prepared for UNCC100, delves into the critical importance of patient confidentiality and human dignity within the nursing profession. It examines the ethical obligations nurses face in safeguarding patient information, highlighting the challenges posed by the current healthcare system and the need for a balance between patient safety and privacy. The essay emphasizes the significance of informed consent, respect, and the promotion of common good in nursing practice, referencing the Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses in Australia. It explores the distinction between privacy and confidentiality, and underscores the nurses' role in ensuring patients' rights and well-being. The essay also references key studies and guidelines to support the arguments, offering a comprehensive analysis of the complexities surrounding patient confidentiality in modern healthcare settings.

Running head: UNCC100
UNCC100
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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In the present clinical scenario, nurses face issues related to the dignity of the human
person and realisation of the common good in their profession and practice. The most significant
issue is the patient’s confidentiality and respect for dignity in the present healthcare system that
shapes the advancement of nursing practice and profession. Patient’s confidentiality is one of the
most important pillars in the field of medicine and nurses have a moral duty to protect the private
details of a patient under their provision of care (Wong et al., 2015). As a nurse, one has the duty
to maintain patient’s confidentiality being an important dimension and moral principle of human
dignity combined with nursing profession.
The above finding serves as reminders for nurses in their profession because perception
and societal support is important in nursing for the preservation of patient’s health related aspects
of common good. Maintaining privacy and confidentiality of patients in the current healthcare
system is increasingly challenging in regards to safeguarding individuals’ personal health
information and using it for medical purposes only (Winland-Brown, Lachman & Swanson,
2015). Nursing profession needs to establish its benefit to society as it is one of the most trusted
profession in the healthcare system. There should be promotion of common good with elements
of caring, concern and compassion in the professional nursing practice.
Although the above statement seems alarmist, there is still competing priorities arguing
that whether common good is serving the purpose of promotion of confidential treatment and
maintenance of human dignity within the society. From the nurses’ perspective, human dignity is
an expression of professional values like privacy, respect and independence (Kerr et al., 2014).
In the nursing clinical and educational environments, human dignity is recognized as
understanding and valuing nurses and considers their professional needs and success.

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However, in the current healthcare scenario, although the nursing profession is respected,
the inherent dignity of a person is not evaluated. Respect is an essential factor in all spheres of
life like self-respect, respect for privacy of patients and others that are associated with dignity.
Privacy and confidentiality in nursing are two different aspects in nursing profession.
Privacy is the right of individuals or clients to keep their personal information about
themselves and not disclosed. Patients are the ones who decide when and where the health
information needs to be shared. On a contrary, confidentiality in nursing is how to treat private
information of patients once it is disclosed. This information disclosure arises from a trusting
relationship assuming that health information should not be divulged except for treatment and
monitoring of quality of care (Özturk, Bahçecik & Özçelik, 2014). Nevertheless, in the fast-
paced clinical scenario, the maintenance of privacy and confidentiality is a daunting task.
Nurses promote confidentiality of patients by giving them the right to decide what
information should be shared about them and in which circumstances. As nurses, they recognize
that there need to be a balance between patient safety and treatment with respect for
confidentiality and they must choose patient safety first.
Under Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses in Nursing and Midwifery Board of
Australia (NMBA), nurses have the moral obligation to treat personal information of an
individual obtained as private and confidential in their professional capacity. Similarly, nurses
have the responsibility towards the individuals under their provision to whom they provide care
and provide safety and quality in their competent nursing profession (Code of Ethics for Nurses
in Australia, 2017).

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Human dignity and rights has an impact on treatment as informed consent from the
patient or client is important before the commencement of diagnosis and treatment. In this way,
the patient dignity is maintained and violation may result in denial or rejection of treatment as
the patient was not priory informed. As nursing is viewed as a trusting profession, consent to
treatment is important where permission is taken from the patient before receiving any kind of
medical treatment, examination or test informing about potential benefits and risks involved in
the procedure (Grady, 2015).
As nurses, they know how patients and their families make excruciating decisions and if
they are comfortable with the medical treatment or not. Nonetheless, nurses have to maintain
confidentiality and find ways to reconcile own values within nursing profession obligations. As a
nurse, one should treat patient with respect and dignity and personal information should be used
for professional purposes only. Patient confidentiality is important that ensures to safeguard
patient’s rights and protecting confidentiality of information promoting common good and acts
as motivation of nurses to continue with their nursing profession.

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References
Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia. (2017). 5_New-Code-of-Ethics-for-Nurses-. Retrieved 7
November 2017, from http://file:///C:/Users/user00/Downloads/5_New-Code-of-Ethics-
for-Nurses-August-2008%20(3).PDF
Grady, C. (2015). Enduring and emerging challenges of informed consent. New England Journal
of Medicine, 372(9), 855-862.
Kerr, D., McKay, K., Klim, S., Kelly, A. M., & McCann, T. (2014). Attitudes of emergency
department patients about handover at the bedside. Journal of clinical nursing, 23(11-12),
1685-1693.
Özturk, H., Bahçecik, N., & Özçelik, K. S. (2014). The development of the patient privacy scale
in nursing. Nursing ethics, 21(7), 812-828.
Winland-Brown, J., Lachman, V. D., & Swanson, E. O. C. (2015). The new code of ethics for
nurses with interpretive statements. 2015: Practical clinical application, Part I. Medsurg
Nursing, 24(4), 268-71.
Wong, S. T., Lavoie, J. G., Browne, A. J., MacLeod, M. L., & Chongo, M. (2015). Patient
confidentiality within the context of group medical visits: is there cause for
concern?. Health Expectations, 18(5), 727-739.