Components of Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing: A Case Study of Mr. Green

This essay analyzes the ethical dilemmas faced by nursing staff in the case of Mr. Green, a patient with severe prostate cancer who expresses suicidal ideations. The scenario presents a conflict between the nurse's duty to maintain patient confidentiality and the responsibility to report a potential suicide attempt to the healthcare team. The essay explores the ethical theories, moral decisions, and ethical principles, including beneficence, autonomy, and non-maleficence, that are relevant to the case. It examines the alternatives of keeping the patient's secret versus disclosing the information, weighing the consequences of each action. The analysis considers the principles of utilitarianism, the patient's perspective on harm and benefit, and the legal and ethical standards surrounding assisted suicide. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of disclosing the patient's suicidal intentions to ensure the patient's safety and well-being, highlighting the ethical considerations in healthcare decision-making.

Running Head: COMPONENTS OF ETHICAL DILEMMAS
COMPONENTS OF ETHICAL DILEMMAS
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The nurses face ethical dilemmas at the time of practice in recent times particularly at the
time of taking care during end-stage of life to the patients. The case scenario demonstrates the
concept of ethical dilemmas where the nursing staff take care of the patient named Mr Green
who is suffering from severe prostate cancer who conveyed the thought of committing suicide to
one of the nursing staffs and also told her to keep it as secretin QLD, Brisbane, Australia (Rice
2019). The ethical dilemmas that are identified are the staff of nursing must communicate the
fact to the members of the health care squad about the suicide attempt of the patient without the
consent of the patient. The ethical theories, the moral decisions and ethical principles and also
the statement of ethical codes of Australian nurses with the case scenario are analyzed prior to
making of decisions (Vodermaier 2017). The paramount decisions on ethical values after taking
into consideration all factors for the patient is the nursing staff disclose the fact of the attempted
suicide of the patient named Mr Green with other professionals of health care.
In the case scenario, Mr Green, aged about 57 years is the old gentleman who is suffering
from severe prostate cancer is taken care of by the team of nursing in the oncology department.
The patient was diagnosed with prostate cancer prior seven years however denied surgical and
medical treatment at that moment. He selects to seek substitute treatment in addition to that did
not follow urologist for seven years. Mr Green was admitted for several reasons over two
months. Mr Green on the last admission was told that he has four to six weeks to live after it is

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showed by cystoscopy that there is extensive tumour growth and it was identified that medical or
surgical intervention would not be proper and the regime of palliative care was next stage. The
patient at that point made the report to the team of health care that he was discharged himself
from the fact that he was about to die. The patient pulled out the colleagues of the author aside
and disclosed to the nursing staff that he was planning to slaughter himself and also told the
nurse to keep the fact secret. The conduct of the patient positioned the staff of nursing in a
complicated situation which is categorized as ethical dilemmas (Klett 2018). Walters and
Beauchamp define that ethical dilemmas as state occurs when the patient elect among the
alternatives which are mutually exclusive.
There is an occurrence of ethical dilemmas when the moral issues that engage two or
more than two alternatives that are mutually exclusive or the actions that are morally correct. In
the case of Mr Green after there is a disclosure made by the patient about the suicide attempt to
the staff of healthcare has two alternatives that are exclusive and morally correct. Furthermore, if
the nursing staff elect to keep the information conveyed by the patient secret this conduct of the
nurse will esteem the decisions of the patient. Nevertheless, the decisions of nursing staffs may
indulge the patient of committing suicide without the intervention of healthcare staffs (Pendleton
2017). If the staffs in the healthcare elect to disclose to the team members of the healthcare about
the suicide attempt of the patient the team of healthcare would engage in prevention, monitoring
and evading the suicide however the confidentiality, autonomy of the patient would be infringed
in that case. Thus the significant ethical dilemmas involved in the case scenario can be
determined as the nursing staff must disclose the suicide attempt of the patient to the team
members of healthcare without the consent of the patient (Rentas 2019). The research explicit the
connection between ethical principles and ethical dilemmas. In the case of Mr Green, the

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principles of ethical values that is beneficence and autonomy are the significant cause that
creates ethical dilemmas as the staff of healthcare must disclose to other team members of
healthcare about the suicide attempt of the patient without obtaining the permission of the
patient. Furthermore, the non-maleficence is regarded in the moral scenario that violates the
principle of autonomy however aid the principle of beneficence.
The ethical principles implicated in the case of Mr.Green are non-maleficence, autonomy
and beneficence. The ethical issue involved is it is significant that in the execution of the
principle of beneficence and non-maleficence the perspective of the patient about the harm and
benefit need to be ascertained. Thus in the case of Mr.Green, the context of harm and benefit
need to regard. According to Mr Green, the conception of extreme benefit would be attained by
committing suicide. The behaviour of the nursing staff of maintaining silent regarding the matter
would not be regarded as detrimental from the perspective of the patient. Autonomy is
designated as nature of persona; freedom of cat in what there is the determination made by the
individuals about the action in pursuance of plan that is elected by him. Nonetheless, the option
of not disclosing the fact by the nursing staff to the team of healthcare would disregard the
potential suicide attempt of the patient in addition to that would incline to the self-harm conduct
of the patient. Thus one category of conduct that assisted dying of staff of healthcare is
abstaining from interference to dissuade or prevent the patient from taking life. The alternatives
of keeping secrecy in the case of Mr.Green can be categorized in aided dying. The ethical
standard regarding autonomy is not raising in the legislation regarding assisted suicide and
euthanasia as the individuals do not have the liberty to be aided in committing suicide
irrespective of the point of time they elect to commit the same. Hence although the autonomy of
Mr Green must be esteemed however it must not supersede the legislation laid down in common

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law that determines that conduct of professionals regarding the assisted dying should be
forbidden restrictedly. It is also determined by some research that the patient in the particular
situation made the decision that is irresponsible that would create a critical outcome to the
patient and also to others, the professional of healthcare should supersede the patient’s desires
for the purpose of prevention and eradication of these outcomes.
The consequentialist theoretical apart from the ethical and moral principles can be
applied in the case study to identify the decision that is morally correct. The theory of
utilitarianism stresses the optimum action is the act that enhances the pleasure and reduces pain
to the majority of individuals. The utilitarianism principle becomes the primary ethical principle
(Machado 2018). The act that is morally correct according to the principle is the act that
establishes the finest impact for the majority of the individuals. The patient, staff of healthcare
and his family who are engaged in the case study of Mr.Green, therefore, the choice that is
ethically correct must be the act which is beneficial for the majority of the individuals (Mayo-
Wilson 2015). Thus in making the comparison between the two alternatives of the nursing staff
in the case study mentioned above the alternative of keeping secrecy would lead the patient to
commit suicide. That impact is beneficial as Mr.Green because the act fulfils the willingness of
the patient to die. Furthermore it is stated by the research that committing suicide has a negative
outcome on the staff of health care and also to his family particularly the emotional outcome
(Kealy 2019). On the contrary, the probable impact of the act of disclosing the secret of the
patient to other about the suicidal behaviour of the patient would be evaded and prevented by the
intervention of the professional of health care. That impact expands the life of the patient and
also preserve the patient’s safety which causes both the professionals of healthcare and his
family feel happy.

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Thus it is regarded that the optimum ethical decision is taken by the nursing staff in th4
case of Mr.Green for the benefit of the patient. She elected to disclose the information of suicide
attempt of Mr.Green with other professionals of healthcare.

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