Introduction Nurses face ethical dilemmas on a daily basis. As nurses, we must be knowledgeable about the tools we have to help guide our decisions when solving a ethical dilemma. The tools we have are our ethical principles, ethical framework, and the ANA Code of Ethics for nurses. This paper will describe a scenario where nurses were faced with a ethical dilemma regarding a baby. The ethical frameworks and ANA Code of Ethics will be discussed in helping guide a solution to this scenario. Finally, an analysis will be about this scenario and a decision will be made. As nurses we must use these tools because they will allow us to make better decisions more comfortably.
Observation The first scenario took place in a children’s hospital. …show more content…
ANA Code of Ethics, first adopted by the American Nurses Association in 1950, is a set of principles that help to guide the individual practitioner to the highest ethical practice standards and serves as a aid for moral thinking (Marquis & Huston, 2017, p. 90). The code guides nursing practice and decision making by outlining important responsibilities, duties, and values for a nurse (Marquis & Huston, 2017, p. 90). The code provide nurses who are confronted with ethical dilemmas a source of information/knowledge that they can use to help solve that particular dilemma. Since being revised six times from 1950, the 2015 ANA Code of Ethics is being currently used (Marquis & Huston, 2017, p. 90). There are nine statements in the 2015 ANA Code of Ethics; the first three statements are about the protection of client’s rights and safety, the next three relate to promoting healthy work culture and self-care, and the last three relate to the nurse’s obligation to society and the profession (Marquis & Huston, 2017, p. 90-91). ANA Code of Ethics help the nurses make the right decision more comfortably for their patients and themselves. When you refer to the ANA Code of Ethics, the decisions you as the nurse make are more transparent and easier to justify when discussing them with others (“How to Use the Nursing Code of Ethics,” 2017). The ANA Code of Ethics guides us nurses in …show more content…
Some nurses feel compelled to do everything for the baby, especially feed him because it is an instinctual human action even though the prognosis is poor. Other nurses feel that they should stop the feeding and only provide comfort measures. Analyzing the situation according to the teleological theory, utilitarianism, the individual needs and wants of the baby are diminished. Instead the focus is shifted on the greatest good for the greatest number of people. In this case the baby would be given only comfort measure and feedings would be stopped. This is because the baby has a poor prognosis and has very slim chances of survival. The nurses can divert their attention, skills, and care for other babies who have greater needs and have a greater chances of survival. The baby even with surviving has major birth defects that will impede their trajectory in living a completely normal life. The baby if survived will have major psychological issues in the future. Living life will be very hard for this person and will need constant care. The government will provide the funds and needs to this individual, which will take away to an extent from other people who truly need the monetary
Observation The first scenario took place in a children’s hospital. …show more content…
ANA Code of Ethics, first adopted by the American Nurses Association in 1950, is a set of principles that help to guide the individual practitioner to the highest ethical practice standards and serves as a aid for moral thinking (Marquis & Huston, 2017, p. 90). The code guides nursing practice and decision making by outlining important responsibilities, duties, and values for a nurse (Marquis & Huston, 2017, p. 90). The code provide nurses who are confronted with ethical dilemmas a source of information/knowledge that they can use to help solve that particular dilemma. Since being revised six times from 1950, the 2015 ANA Code of Ethics is being currently used (Marquis & Huston, 2017, p. 90). There are nine statements in the 2015 ANA Code of Ethics; the first three statements are about the protection of client’s rights and safety, the next three relate to promoting healthy work culture and self-care, and the last three relate to the nurse’s obligation to society and the profession (Marquis & Huston, 2017, p. 90-91). ANA Code of Ethics help the nurses make the right decision more comfortably for their patients and themselves. When you refer to the ANA Code of Ethics, the decisions you as the nurse make are more transparent and easier to justify when discussing them with others (“How to Use the Nursing Code of Ethics,” 2017). The ANA Code of Ethics guides us nurses in …show more content…
Some nurses feel compelled to do everything for the baby, especially feed him because it is an instinctual human action even though the prognosis is poor. Other nurses feel that they should stop the feeding and only provide comfort measures. Analyzing the situation according to the teleological theory, utilitarianism, the individual needs and wants of the baby are diminished. Instead the focus is shifted on the greatest good for the greatest number of people. In this case the baby would be given only comfort measure and feedings would be stopped. This is because the baby has a poor prognosis and has very slim chances of survival. The nurses can divert their attention, skills, and care for other babies who have greater needs and have a greater chances of survival. The baby even with surviving has major birth defects that will impede their trajectory in living a completely normal life. The baby if survived will have major psychological issues in the future. Living life will be very hard for this person and will need constant care. The government will provide the funds and needs to this individual, which will take away to an extent from other people who truly need the monetary