Analyzing Ethical Dilemmas: A Nurse's Perspective on Patient Care

This essay delves into the complexities of the nursing code of ethics through the lens of real-world ethical dilemmas. It presents a case study involving a patient, Mr. Patrick, struggling with opioid addiction and experiencing a broken arm, highlighting the ethical considerations in pain management and the use of placebos. The essay also addresses the perceptions surrounding impaired nurses, particularly those with substance abuse issues, challenging common myths and advocating for a more nuanced understanding. By referencing the American Nurses Association's Code of Ethics, the essay underscores the importance of patient autonomy, dignity, and the ethical responsibilities of nurses in providing compassionate and respectful care. The author reflects on their own experiences and proposes a commitment to involving patients in treatment plans and upholding their rights in future similar situations. Desklib offers a platform for students to access this and other solved assignments.

Running Head: NURSING CODE OF ETHICS
Nursing Code of Ethics
Students Name
University Affiliation
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Nursing Code of Ethics
Introduction
Nurses support as well as enable groups, families and individuals to improve, restore, and
maintain their health status. They also care for and comfort individuals when their status of
health has deteriorated and has become irreversible. A conventional ideal of nursing is nurturing
and caring for human beings regardless of diagnosis, race, age, status religion, or any other
grounds. Nursing practices are guided by a code of ethics and principles which forms the basis of
how nurses should conduct themselves by making prudent decisions regardless of ethical issues.
Nursing code of ethics is vital as it ensures that patients and staffs are respected and treated with
dignity (American Nurses Association, 2015).
It should be noted that the study nursing ethics has led to significant concepts and
principles like autonomy, nonmaleficence and beneficence, fidelity and justice. It is prudent to
comprehend these concepts since they assist nurses with making decisions during difficult
circumstances and situations. When practising as a nurse, we normally face certain ethical
dilemmas which require prudent and wise counsel to manage. For instance, some common
nursing ethical dilemmas arise from informed consent, disclosing of medical conditions,
incompetence among the nurses and wider ethical issues.
My ethical dilemma
While working as a nurse in my local healthcare center, I faced an ethical dilemma that
required wise decision making. A patient by the name Mr Patrick who was 50 years old and had
been struggling with an opioid condition for the last six years came to the clinic with a broken
arm. After his arm was repaired surgically, the physician gave him acetaminophen, 650

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milligrams by normal saline or mouth, one, cc, 1M pm to ease the pain. After seeing the type of
pain control given to Mr Patrick, I politely inquired from the physician if it was the right
procedure. The physician replied by saying that I will not add salt to the injury and instead tell
the patient that we were giving him medication for his pain. The patient will hopefully receive a
placebo effect. On the other hand, Mr Patrick remained in excruciating pain. I proceeded in
giving him the acetaminophen and other injections of the pain yet the pain persisted. The patient
then asked me what we were giving him which was not working. What came into my mind was
whether to deceive Mr Patrick since this was not the appropriate use of placebo. Under the code
of ethics, nurses are not allowed to deceive patients (Brown & Finnell, 2015). Provision one of
the code states clearly that nurses should act with compassion as well as respect the autonomy
and dignity of every patient. Thus, lying to the patients, not involving them in the treatment plan
and watching them suffer is not ethically right (Stokes, 2019). In the case of Mr Patrick, the
question was whether deceiving him will offer any benefit or prevent any harm/risk? if a similar
situation happen in the future, I will involve the patient in the treatment plan as well as respect
his or her dignity and autonomy.
Why the impaired nurse neither praised nor looked upon with reverence like his/her peers?
Most of the impaired nurses have this condition due to substance abuse. Most of them are
not looked upon with reverence like their peers because there are surrounding myths that
impaired nurses have a long history of alcohol or drug abuse and drug addiction is voluntary
(Manthey, 2018). As such the impaired nurses do not need any recognition as their peers. This is
not the case as impairment comes in various forms like divorce, illness or even accident.

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References
American Nurses Association publishes the newly updated Code of Ethics for Nurses with
Interpretive Statements. (2015). American Nurse, 47(2), 7.
Brown, C. S., & Finnell, D. S. (2015). Provisions of the Code of Ethics for Nurses: Interpretive
Statements for Transplant Nurses. Nephrology Nursing Journal, 42(1), 37–44.
Manthey, M. (2018). Substance Use Disorders and the American Nurses Association Code of
Ethics for Nurses. Creative Nursing, 24(3), 163–165. https://doi.org/10.1891/1946-
6560.24.3.163
Stokes, L. (2019). ANA Position Statement: The Ethical Responsibility to Manage Pain and the
Suffering It Causes. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 24(1), 3.
https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol24No01PoSCol01