Nurses are made to say an oath and declarations before they can start to work. (Papanikitas, 2013) These are ways in which the profession makes a promise to the public that they would uphold a publically accepted sets of values and this enables the profession to be trusted and have a status in the society.
People look to nurses for support and see them as the person who can advocate on their behalf. People believe nurses will speak up for them even in challenging situations (Johnstone, 2009). Nurses are expected to exercise moral courage and act on ethical principles and values to help others in difficult ethical situations. Even when those nurses face personal risk. (Ulrich, 2014) Nurses are required to maintain the confidentiality of the patients under their care. Confidentiality is a foundation of any therapeutic relationship between patients and nurses.
The case study refers to a 16-year-old school girl who had missed her menstrual cycle and decided to talk to her teacher about it. She was sexually active with her boyfriend for the last 3 months and her boyfriend is also currently serving his national service and …show more content…
An advocate might be asked to represent a patient’s bizarre or dangerous choice or to represent a patient in ways that compromises the advocate’s personal or professional beliefs. (Schwartz et al, 2002) As an advocate, the nurse should respect patient’s autonomy and confidentiality. The nurse should also scrutinise where the information is coming from and do not assume that the information received is true. The patient was only assumed to have “potential diminished capacity” and retardation. Even if she does have “potential diminished capacity”, she still would have the ability to make decisions which would mean she is “Gillick” competent. Unless, she is retarded, there would be another obstacle to overcome. Hence, as a nurse, the patient’s information will still be kept
People look to nurses for support and see them as the person who can advocate on their behalf. People believe nurses will speak up for them even in challenging situations (Johnstone, 2009). Nurses are expected to exercise moral courage and act on ethical principles and values to help others in difficult ethical situations. Even when those nurses face personal risk. (Ulrich, 2014) Nurses are required to maintain the confidentiality of the patients under their care. Confidentiality is a foundation of any therapeutic relationship between patients and nurses.
The case study refers to a 16-year-old school girl who had missed her menstrual cycle and decided to talk to her teacher about it. She was sexually active with her boyfriend for the last 3 months and her boyfriend is also currently serving his national service and …show more content…
An advocate might be asked to represent a patient’s bizarre or dangerous choice or to represent a patient in ways that compromises the advocate’s personal or professional beliefs. (Schwartz et al, 2002) As an advocate, the nurse should respect patient’s autonomy and confidentiality. The nurse should also scrutinise where the information is coming from and do not assume that the information received is true. The patient was only assumed to have “potential diminished capacity” and retardation. Even if she does have “potential diminished capacity”, she still would have the ability to make decisions which would mean she is “Gillick” competent. Unless, she is retarded, there would be another obstacle to overcome. Hence, as a nurse, the patient’s information will still be kept