Ethical And Legal Dilemmas In Nursing

Many nurses are faced with ethical and legal dilemmas constantly in the health care setting. We as nurses need to understand the laws that pertain to our scope of practice and respect our patient’s decisions whether they interfere with our own personal views. Ethical dilemmas become more problematic when you take into consideration that each nurse has their own personal set of ethics depending on what they see as wrong and right. Nurses spend a lot of time with the patient and it allows them to have a deep connection which makes it hard to not get involved. We become our patients advocate so much that it can also be our greatest weakness because we do not know when to let go. There has been a great deal of controversy with Colorado recently …show more content…
With the Right to Die Act passing here in Colorado we as future nurses will be part of this change and need to have a solid foundation. Part of nursing is the relief of suffering and when we witness our patients in pain it can hinder our rationales. Nurses are either unclear about what the right thing to do is or the nurse can see what should be done but can not perform the task. Nurses can face moral distress when their actions violate their own personal beliefs. The impact of moral distress on nurses can have personal and professional effects if not handled properly. Moral distress compromises patient care because nurses might withdraw themselves in situations that are not in their comfort zone. Communication is key to helping nurses get through these issues if this is lacking then nurses tend to get burned out due to emotional exhaustion from being exposed to high levels of stress for a long period of …show more content…
There is a set of principles that we as nurses are obligated to follow. It is imperative that nurses are aware of legal issues so they stay within their scope of practice and comply with the state and federal regulations. Ultimately, the goal in making an ethical decision is to list all the options out and to choose between the possible treatments choices while recognizing different viewpoints. Nurses must advocate for what is the best for the patient above all else regardless if we do not agree. Coping and prevention strategies can be implemented by the nurse managers to prevent moral distress. Furthermore, by having a strong ethical environment in the organization this will allow for nurses to speak up for their patients and provide the best quality of life which does make them stronger at each stage of the