Intervention And Ethical Decision-Making in nursing
Over the ten years I have been a Registered Nurse, I have daily interactions with patients that both share and have a different worldview than I do. I find myself extremely lucky to work in a multicultural environment with co-workers, staff and patients that have many different religious cultural and overall worldviews. This environment has allowed me to understand other cultures a lot better, while being able to provide high quality care. An individual’s worldview of spirituality and faith affects, shapes impact their perspective (Grand Canyon University, 2018). Intervention And Ethical Decision-Making in nursing
I feel that my strengths in facilitating spiritual care for patients with different worldviews than mine include being open minded, understanding and being compassionate. It is important to educate patients and families on the importance of certain medications, treatments or plans, however ultimately the patient always has the right to refuse. It is our job to provide the best education and information that we possibly can however, the patient and family has the right to choose, and it is our ultimate duty to respect their decision. My weakness in facilitating spiritual care for patients include not knowing every different spiritual view. Every day, I feel I learn something new about what others believe in or value. I find asking culturally appropriate questions are truly helpful. For the most part, people are very willing to share and open up about their beliefs and why and what they value in their lives. It is also important to assess the patient and family for spiritual needs which can include dietary or medical restrictions. At my hospital, this assessment is done upon admission and can be a very helpful tool. Intervention And Ethical Decision-Making in nursing
For me personally, the person who would have the final say in terms of ethical decision-making and interventions in the event of a difficult situation would be my next of kin. At the moment, this role would go to my husband. I have found that regardless of cultures or religion, every family or individual is unique and has specific needs that are distinctive only to that person. It is essential that the nurse knows the needs of the individual patient in order to provide the best care possible.
When it comes to facilitating spiritual care for patients with worldviews different from your own, what are your strengths and weaknesses? If you were the patient, who would have the final say in terms of ethical decision-making and intervention in the event of a difficult situation?
Using 200-300 words APA format with at least two references. Sources must be published within the last 5 years. Intervention And Ethical Decision-Making in nursing
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Throughout our nursing careers, we’ll encounter ethical dilemmas in many challenging patient care situations. This can cause a great amount of stress as we struggle to identify what’s the correct action for each unique situation. Utilizing the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, fidelity, justice, and paternalism as outlined by the American Nurses Association (ANA) provides us with a firm foundation for ethical decision making. Intervention And Ethical Decision-Making in nursing
Autonomy allows healthcare teams to respect and support a patient’s decision to accept or refuse life-sustaining treatments. As patient advocates, it’s our duty to ensure that our patients receive all of the necessary information, such as potential risks, benefits, and complications, to make well-informed decisions. The healthcare team can then formulate care in compliance with the patient’s wishes. Family members should refrain from making decisions for the patient or inflicting undue pressure to alter his or her decisions unless the patient is incapacitated or found to be legally incompetent. Many factors may influence a patient’s acceptance or refusal of medical treatment, such as culture, age, general health, social support system, and previous exposure to individuals who received a similar treatment modality with negative clinical outcomes.
We use nonmaleficence by selecting interventions that will cause the least amount of harm to achieve a beneficial outcome. For example, if a patient verbalizes homicidal ideations with a plan, we may be torn between wanting to ensure patient privacy and our duty to escalate the patient’s care to safeguard the public. The principle of nonmaleficence points us to place the safety of the patient and community first in all care delivery. Intervention And Ethical Decision-Making in nursing
Beneficence is defined by the ANA as “actions guided by compassion.” We utilize beneficence daily as we administer pain medication or hold the hand of a grieving family member.
The ethical principle of fidelity directs us to model care delivery with altruism, loyalty, caring, and honesty. For example, when an older patient with intact cognitive function is diagnosed with a terminal illness and he or she doesn’t want to share that information with immediate family, it can create an ethical dilemma. To maintain the trust established in the nurse-patient relationship, don’t share any healthcare information without the patient’s consent. Consult with other interdisciplinary team members, such as case managers, social workers, and clergy, to help identify supportive services that the patient may need as his or her disease progresses.
Justice leads us to ensure that care is provided on a fair and equal basis, regardless of patients’ social or financial status. When we heavily advertise that our organization is providing free flu vaccine clinics to all of the local senior centers, we’re using the ethical principle of justice. Intervention And Ethical Decision-Making in nursing
Paternalism provides the power for healthcare professionals to make decisions to reveal or conceal a diagnosis, potential treatment modalities, or expected prognosis. An example of paternalism is when we admit an adolescent with multiple complete cervical spine fractures whose family is stating that the teen needs to participate in a state basketball championship in 3 months. The benefit of sharing the anticipated prognosis of quadriplegia at this time is far outweighed by the potential emotional trauma it may cause the family. We then schedule a family-interdisciplinary team meeting in a controlled environment to give them the prognosis.
As nurses, we may even face ethical dilemmas within our peer group if we witness a colleague exhibiting unsafe practices. When we see an immediate patient safety risk, we must act quickly and seek the guidance of our administrative teams and the collaborative expertise of our interdisciplinary team members. We may also need to notify our security teams and/or local police departments. Intervention And Ethical Decision-Making in nursing
Nurses have been patient safety advocates for 165 years since Florence Nightingale assumed her first administrative position in 1853. We’re known as the most trusted profession because of our dedication to providing patient-centered care in a holistic environment. As we tackle the ethical dilemmas of tomorrow, I encourage you to utilize the ANA’s six principles as a compass to guide your decision making Intervention And Ethical Decision-Making in nursing
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