NUR 512 Module 5 Discussion Ethical Dilemma

Sample Answer

In general, ethical dilemmas urge one to make decisions that may not be one they want to make. With that, responses may need to be explained, and the options of explanation may not be optimal. Sometimes the results may end in a reduction of the standard of care provided to patients especially when transparency is the policy of the organization. The dilemmas could also lead to moral and ethical anguish for the person within the situation. An ethical dilemma in nursing is when a nurse is faced with having to decide between conflicting moral principles (Haahr et al., 2020).

As the most trusted profession in the country, nurses are expected to uphold a set of standards and values that promise to safeguard and advance the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities (Koriala et al., 2022). I personally have not been in a position of an ethical dilemma yet in my practice as a nurse. I am a junkie of law and crime, and I was enthralled in the civil case, Kowalski v. John Hopkins Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida.

A patient’s life was in jeopardy and not at the hands of the parent but at the hands of the medical staff within the hospital. Unfortunately, the harm it caused to the parent was so hard to bear that she committed suicide to bring her child back to the family. Not only was the patient harmed by the decision her mother made to save her from continued custody of the state, but it harmed the dynamics of her family overall when she was released back to the custody of her family.

In the end, the court and jury ruled in favor of the family due to the evidence found from the Joint Commission’s review indicating that the safety of patients’ lives was in ‘immediate jeopardy’ and John Hopkins did not choose to right the situation promptly. Therefore, Johns Hopkins was found to be guilty of causing the wrongful death of the mother of Patient Kowalski including insurance fraud, and the other parties within the immediate family members and estate.

It was not so much that the nurses were doing the wrong thing while in practice as they only have a scope of limited practice and ultimately it was the medical board’s decision overriding what the nurses could not do. However, as a nurse, it must have been a difficult scenario to have to take care of a patient who was not being heard, and being told that her pain and anguish was all in her head. The dilemma is to believe the patient’s subjective pain is what it is.

We as nurses do not judge and though we can see when a patient may be drug seeking, it is difficult to see that in a child, and most of the time, children are not as manipulating as adults can be. We as nurses will face dilemmas all the time, even in life, but mostly having to ensure we protect our license as we learn and grow in our practice is always difficult yet rewarding to do what we do.

References

• Haahr, A., Norlyk, A., Martinsen, B., & Dreyer, P. (2020). Nurses experiences of ethical dilemmas A review. Nursing ethics, 27(1), 258-272.
• Koirala, B., Davidson, P.M., & Rushton, C. H. (2022). Ethics in nursing Progress on national nursing ethics summit. Nursing Outlook, 70(1),154-165. https //doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2021.08.01