Nursing Assignment: Exploring Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing Practice

This nursing assignment delves into the complex ethical dilemmas nurses encounter in their practice, particularly those arising from conflicts between patient autonomy and the nurses' duty of beneficence. The essay examines scenarios where patients' rights, such as the right to refuse treatment or maintain confidentiality, clash with the nurses' responsibility to provide the best possible care. The author discusses the importance of informed consent, respect for patient values, and the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, and justice. The assignment highlights the challenges nurses face in balancing patient rights with societal integrity and the promotion of common good, emphasizing the need for nurses to understand ethical principles to navigate these complex situations. The author provides a comprehensive overview of ethical considerations in nursing, addressing issues such as AIDS treatment refusal, smoking after surgery, and the protection of patient health information, ultimately advocating for the respect of patient autonomy in all situations. The essay also includes several references to support the arguments and provide a deeper understanding of the topics covered.

Running head: NURSING ASSIGNMENT
Nursing assignment
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1NURSING ASSIGNMENT
In the nursing practice, the relationship between a nurse and patient is asymmetrical
where later trusts the former in every case. Nurses face difficult ethical dilemma to navigate that
arise when autonomic decision of patients conflict with beneficent duty of nurses in looking for
the best interest of patients (Jacobs, 2016). Although, the patient has the right to deny treatment,
one cannot have right to demand any sort of treatment. Nurses have the moral responsibility to
offer appropriate treatment and adhere to ethical principle depending upon the medical case.
The above finding may sound alarmist, nurses have to maintain dignity and respect for
patients’ rights in the actual clinical scenario. The focus is the ethical dilemma that nurses’ face
while attending a patient where respects for autonomy conflicts with beneficence (Beauchamp,
2016). For example, in an ethical scenario where a patient diagnosed with AIDS denied
treatment, as he believes that this would reveal HIV diagnosis to his family.
Considering this scenario, I believe that as a nurse, it is our prime concern to treat his
AIDS condition, as the patient will die if the treatment does not start soon. This situation bind the
hospital in an ethical dilemma, however, nurses should not end up delivery inappropriate
treatment to the patient. There is another side in this case where the hospital is violating the
principle of autonomy where the patient refuses treatment for AIDS.
It is argued that there is also violation of principle of justice as hospital is providing
partial treatment at large expenses and question that if AIDS are transmitted to the family
members. Some researchers may argue that breaking the news of HIV positive would violate the
principle of confidentiality and human rights. My question is that why treatment for AIDS
cannot be given confidentially.

2NURSING ASSIGNMENT
Such ethical scenarios are quite common in nursing practice; nevertheless, these issues
are not discussed on a daily basis and nurses face maximum ethical challenges, as they are more
indulged with patients and most trusting relationship in healthcare. However, from the nursing
perspective, several answers address the human rights and respect for autonomy (Butts & Rich,
2015). In nursing, human rights of patients and promotion of common good is privacy,
confidentiality and independence of clients (Matney, Avant & Staggers, 2016). In another
instance, a patient who underwent a surgery still wants to smoke and unwilling to quit it. In this
situation, the human rights of patients like respect for autonomy conflict with beneficence
followed by use of ethical principle leading to different situations.
Some researchers may argue that respect for autonomy is valid until the autonomous
choice of patients is not basing on delusional ideas and he or she finally understand the decisions
at hand (Cook et al., 2015). In such situations, nurses should respect the decisions of patients
while on the other hand trying to convince otherwise. Nursing developed as a discrete profession
reflecting societal recognition where constellation of healthcare services delivered by nurses is a
way to support and promote common good.
From the common good perspective, nursing addresses the balance between preservation
of patient’s dignity and respect for autonomy against societal integrity. Nurses are the ones who
spend the maximum time with patients and family members and understand their struggle in
making crucial decisions. As stated, nurses go through thick of ethical dilemma colliding with
patient’s choices making situation messy and complex. At times, personal beliefs and values of
nurses conflict with needs of patient and their families.

3NURSING ASSIGNMENT
Informed consent is one aspect of respect for human rights where patient acceptance or
denial to treatment depends on the individual’s prior consent. Prior consent informs the potential
benefits, harms, risks, or any other alternative treatments to patients prior to diagnosis or any
invasive procedure. This unwrapping of ethics is important as without prior consent can lead to
denial or refusal of treatment by the patient. Consent to treatment is essential that protect
patient’s dignity and respect for autonomy (Boyd, 2015).
As a nurse, one should treat patient’s values and beliefs as it may lead to contradiction or
exclusion from treatment. One should respect the ethical principle for autonomy by safeguarding
human rights and confidentiality protection of patient health information promoting common
good acting as motivation so that they continue with the nursing profession (Lindberg et al.,
2014). I believe respect for autonomy should be respected whatever the situation is. Learning
experiences help nurses understand ethical principles and its implications in their practice and
profession.

4NURSING ASSIGNMENT
References
Beauchamp, T. L. (2016). Principlism in Bioethics. In Bioethical Decision Making and
Argumentation (pp. 1-16). Springer International Publishing.
Boyd, K. (2015). The impossibility of informed consent?. Journal of medical ethics, 41(1), 44-
47.
Butts, J., & Rich, K. (2015). Foundations of Ethical Nursing Practice. Role Development in
Professional Nursing Practice, 117.
Cook, T., Mavroudis, C. D., Jacobs, J. P., & Mavroudis, C. (2015). Respect for patient autonomy
as a medical virtue. Cardiology in the Young, 25(8), 1615-1620.
Jacobs, B. B. (2016). Respect for human dignity in nursing: Philosophical and practical
perspectives. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research Archive, 32(2).
Lindberg, C., Fagerström, C., Sivberg, B., & Willman, A. (2014). Concept analysis: patient
autonomy in a caring context. Journal of advanced nursing, 70(10), 2208-2221.
Matney, S. A., Avant, K., & Staggers, N. (2016). Toward an understanding of wisdom in
nursing. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 21(1).