MN501 Trimester 3, 2019: Ethical Issues in Nursing Report

This report delves into the ethical challenges arising from the use of technology, particularly smartphones, in nursing practice. It identifies potential ethical dilemmas related to patient data privacy, confidentiality breaches, and the impact of technology on the quality of care. The report analyzes scenarios where nurses' use of smartphones might compromise patient information through miscommunication or accidental disclosure, emphasizing the importance of maintaining patient confidentiality. It evaluates the benefits and risks associated with technological advancements in healthcare, such as faster communication and data transfer, while also stressing the need for nurses to be mindful of ethical boundaries and patient-centered care. The conclusion underscores the necessity for nurses to balance technological advancements with ethical responsibilities, ensuring that technology enhances, rather than hinders, patient well-being and privacy. The report references several studies to support its findings and provide a comprehensive understanding of the topic.

Running head: ETHICAL ISSUES IN NURSING
ETHICAL ISSUES IN NURSING
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1ETHICAL ISSUES IN NURSING
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................................2
Identification....................................................................................................................................................2
Analyse.............................................................................................................................................................2
Evaluate and Justify..........................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion........................................................................................................................................................3
Reference Style.................................................................................................................................................5

2ETHICAL ISSUES IN NURSING
Introduction
The emergence and development in technology has created a great impact in the healthcare
industry throughout the countries worldwide. With the implications of digital methodologies that are
incorporated in hospitals and nursing homes, the members of the organizations starting from the doctors
to the physicians and nurses cannot help but use such technologies in their systems.
However, using such advanced technologies can lead to ethical dilemmas as it might concern the
risk in privacy of the patients involved (Laholt et al., 2019). Using of smartphones can also distract the
personnel from their duty and issues with the quality of service provided might arise. Hence, limitations
must be drawn on the usage of such technologies.
Identification
Using the smartphones or smart devices in healthcare can have positive impacts like easy transfer
of data and increase in the diagnosis rate of the patients through advanced technological systems. Yet, it
has some negative impacts too, like issues with the confidentiality of the patient’s data.
Firstly, nowadays the documents regarding the treatments such as reports, prescriptions and bills
are not only given as hard copies to the family members of the patients. They are also send as soft copies
via e-mails to the patient parties (Tobiano et al., 2015). Now, while sending all the documents, the officials
might make a mistake in choosing the recipient name from the list. In due course of action, thus the
documents might be send to any other patient party who might not find any relevance to it. However, in
this process, the confidential information of one patient is thus provided to another patient, which is not an
acceptable action from the organization.
Furthermore, there may arise situations when the nurse present in one cabin of a patient, shares
information of another patient with their family members over phone calls. The nurse might not take the
name of the particular patient concerned. However, she might share quite a lot of information about the
other patient in front of some other patient and his respective family members (Foronda, MacWilliams &
McArthur, 2016). This is again a case of privacy issue that might not be maintained by the nurses of a
medical institute. If they are using the smartphones to communicate with the doctor or the family
members of a patient, they are making everyone aware of the patient’s condition that is acceptable
(Beauregard, Arnaert & Ponzoni, 2017). However, the privacy of the medical condition of a patient is not
maintained by this action of the nurse. No patient would want their confidential medical status to be
shared with any other individual who is not related with them personally.

3ETHICAL ISSUES IN NURSING
Analyse
Any information about the medical condition of a patient must be confidential and strictly should
not be shared with any other random person. If the confidentiality of the information is not maintained, it
can have a negative impact on the patient parties as well as the medical organization involved.
In the first case, if the confidential information about the tests, reports and the documents of one
particular patient is shared with some other patient party, they may get confused with the status of their
own patient. A huge confusion will be created regarding the tests and the bills concerned. The family
members of the patient that got the wrong information may not even understand the documents that they
were send. Hence, they might buy wrong medicines that will lead to a disastrous condition of their patient
(Dulat & Reeves, 2018). The particular patient who were to receive the proper medication on time will not
receive the medication as well.
In the other case, where the nurse might share the medical status of one patient in front of the
other patient or any other individual, the privacy is hampered for the patient whose information is shared.
The nurse who consults the doctor over phone call to discuss about the medication of the patient might not
be clear about which patient she is talking about and in turn misguide the doctor as well as the family
members of the patient (Chuang et al., 2018). In this way, again a wrong treatment might occur for a
patient due to miscommunication from the end of the nurse.
Evaluate and Justify
Issues with the usage of smartphones and digital devices by the staffs of any medical organization
has been increasing rapidly with the technological advancements. Hence, there are both risks and benefits
associated with this kind of improvisations in the technology. The nurses as well as the doctors and other
physicians are allowed with smartphones in the medical premises because that helps them to make the
processes faster in a medical institute.
However, the nurses should be aware of what measures they are taking while doing their job. Their
primary focus is to maintain the care and concern for the patients (Turan et al., 2019). They should be
providing the utmost service to the patients by attending them at regular hours. However, the young age
nurses are quite busy with their mobile phones and are distracted from their work. They should not be
neglecting their job by getting involved in using smart devices.
In the above cases mentioned, the nurses are using their phones to share the medical details of the
patients to their family members. They are being responsible in updating the patient party about the
patient concerned. However, if they are doing it in front of the other patients, the privacy issue is
hampered and is not acceptable. On the other hand, if the nurses are asking for medical assistance from
the doctors about a particular patient over phone call, they are being quicker at their service while caring

4ETHICAL ISSUES IN NURSING
for the patient (McNally, Frey & Crossan, 2017). However, if there is any miscommunication, wrong medical
treatment will be suggested for a patient that will prove to be harmful.
Conclusion
The usage of smartphones are a rage nowadays in every industrial sector including the medical
organizations. In spite of having various positive impacts, there are negative impacts too of these
technological improvisations. The nurses are the primary caregivers of any medical organization and they
should be careful enough in their duties while attending the patients.
However, this paper analyses where their activities might go wrong if they are not limiting the use
of these devices. In conclusion, it can be said that they might not harm the patients intentionally, although
their actions might turn against the benefits of the patients raising privacy issues of the same.

5ETHICAL ISSUES IN NURSING
Reference Style
Beauregard, P., Arnaert, A., & Ponzoni, N. (2017). Nursing students' perceptions of using smartphones in
the community practicum: A qualitative study. Nurse education today, 53, 1-6.
Chuang, Y. H., Lai, F. C., Chang, C. C., & Wan, H. T. (2018). Effects of a skill demonstration video delivered by
smartphone on facilitating nursing students' skill competencies and self-confidence: A randomized
controlled trial study. Nurse education today, 66, 63-68.
Dulat, J., & Reeves, M. (2018). Attitudes and beliefs among anesthesia provides regarding smartphone use
for intraoperative anesthetic management.
Foronda, C., MacWilliams, B., & McArthur, E. (2016). Interprofessional communication in healthcare: An
integrative review. Nurse education in practice, 19, 36-40.
Laholt, H., McLeod, K., Guillemin, M., Beddari, E., & Lorem, G. (2019). Ethical challenges experienced by
public health nurses related to adolescents’ use of visual technologies. Nursing ethics, 26(6), 1822-
1833.
McNally, G., Frey, R., & Crossan, M. (2017). Nurse manager and student nurse perceptions of the use of
personal smartphones or tablets and the adjunct applications, as an educational tool in clinical
settings. Nurse education in practice, 23, 1-7.
Tobiano, G., Bucknall, T., Marshall, A., Guinane, J., & Chaboyer, W. (2015). Nurses' views of patient
participation in nursing care. Journal of advanced nursing, 71(12), 2741-2752.
Turan, N., Kaya, H., Durgun, H., & Asti, T. (2019). Nursing Students’ Technological Equipment Usage and
Individual Innovation Levels. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 37(6), 298-305.