Ethical Dilemma in Nursing Profession - Essay Example

 Ethical Dilemma in Nursing Profession Abstract The present paper aims to explore the moral ethics necessary to imitate for the professionals in the nursing department while performing their occupational duties and obligations particularly towards the patients. The paper also looks for finding out the ethical dilemma the nurses undergo while rendering services regarding the treatment of the patients. Since nursing is vehemently viewed to be a demanding profession, and they have to take bold decisions in the light of the health condition of the patients on the one hand, and their demands they have comply with on emergency basis. However, the nurses cannot act in accordance with the demands made by the patients; on the contrary, they have to act according to their professional and ethical code for the complete and fast convalescence of the patients. The Paper The patients suffering from different diseases require urgent and intensive care in order to get relieved from the pain they are undergoing. However, sometimes it so happens that the treatment procedure is quite painful and somewhat awkward for the patient, where he is not ready to act upon the advice of the medical advisor. At such precarious state of affairs the nurses have to keep their professional obligation in mind in order to tackle the patient without creating too much annoyance for him. The same situation was created with an old patient, who was admitted at the hospital for the surgery of his leg. Being a pensioner, and the only source of income for the entire family as well, the patient maintained serious reservations regarding the expenditures being made on him. He requested repeatedly to the hospital staff to operate him as soon as possible so that he could escape from the extra expenditures and daily rent of the room he had hired at the hospital. However, being a chronic diabetic and heart patient as well, the doctors spent many days in controlling his sugar level in the blood. It seriously told upon the weak nerves of the patient, and he grew very weak and feeble by the time the operation was due. The nurses did not inform him regarding the room charges and service charges, as well as the fee being deducted from the patient’s deposit on every visit of the diabetes and heart specialists. The medical staff inserted artificial hip joint in the left leg of the patient, amount of which was really shocking for the patient. The doctors presented the charges bill the next day after the operation, and the patient was startled to look at the bill he had to pay for his two weeks long admission at the hospital. Consequently, he got a serious heart attack, and thus lost his life at the hospital. Had doctors not wasted two weeks in sugar control procedure, the life of the patient could have been saved. Though the medical staff does not escape its duties; rather, since the sugar control process is made keeping in view the health condition of the patient, the doctors took a fortnight time in the process, which was strictly beyond the capacity of the patient. Here appear the following ethical issues: Whether or not the serious diabetic should be recommended surgery at the age of seventy years Whether or not should the doctors have wasted fourteen days for controlling the blood sugar level Whether or not the bill should be presented to the patient on the very next day of the operation was conducted Should the doctors not have discounted the bill looking at the poor financial condition of the patient? It is true that the patient had been suffering from severe pain in his leg, and sought the help of the medical and nursing staff for the same. Somehow, the medical staff must have looked into his financial and physical position in order to save his life. Ethical values do not allow the professionals to give any harm to the patients, and thus escaping every possibility that may pave the way towards the increase in the severity of his ailment. Thus, the nurses have to take some unpleasant decisions for the best interest of the patient and his family. Ethical dilemma raises its head several times during the course of offering nursing services. The most frequent and most disturbing ethical issues, Johnstone et al. observe, reported by the nurses surveyed include protecting patients’ rights and human dignity, providing care with possible risk to their own health, informed consent, staffing patterns that limited patient access to nursing care, the use of physical/chemical restraints, prolonging the dying process with inappropriate measures and others. (2004:24) The problem of ethical dilemma occurs at a time when the patients are brought in critical situation for the provision of medical aid on emergency basis; it is particularly the case with the elderly patients. It is the nurses, who have to take decisions in order to provide medical facility to the emergency patients as well as continue the treatment to the already admitted patients. The nurses must have look into the situation minutely by drawing attention on the consequences of their action in order to avoid any perturb situation. Generally speaking, according to White (2009:1), there are two major approaches that philosophers use in handling ethical dilemmas. One approach focuses on the practical consequences of what we do; the other concentrates on the actions themselves. (bourbon.usc.edu) Though the medical staff was successful in saving the life of the old patient, yet the patient underwent heart attack, and was shifted to the intensive care unit subsequently. Here appears the question of ethical dilemma. Since the nursing staff was well aware of the health condition of the patient, yet she had no alternative for providing services to the elderly patient. However, putting life of the patient in jeopardy is not ethical in order to save the other. Hence, he could be given some other treatment rather surgery in order to save his life, as it can be taken as the crime in order to earn obtain just pecuniary gains in the name of treatment. To conclude, it becomes crystal clear that ethical dilemma serves as a routine matter in the occupational life of the professionals, and they experience it time and again. Somehow, nursing is directly to the life saving issues of the patients; it is therefore they have to take all aspects into serious consideration before taking unpleasant decisions on the basis of the prevailing rules and regulations of their institution on the one hand, and the critical condition of the patients on the other in order to save the lives of the patients, which appear to be entirely on their mercy. References Boivin, Janet (2009) Nurses Struggle with Ethical Dilemmas Retrieved from http://news.nurse.com/article/20090525/NATIONAL01/90520001 Johnstone, Cliff Da., Costa, Professor Megan-Jan. and Turale, Dr Sue (2004) Registered and Enrolled Nurses’ Experiences of Ethical Issues in Nursing Practice Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing Volume 22 Number 1 White, Thomas I. (2009) Resolving an Ethical Dilemma Retrieved from http://bourbon.usc.edu/engr102-f09/ethics.pdf Yoder-Wise, Patricia S. (2003) Leading and Managing in Nursing Elsevier Health Sciences Publishers Read More