1. The need to put important decisions into action might lead to ethical quandaries.
However, in certain situations, the problems might not seem to be flawless. As a result,
this could result in subpar healthcare delivery, issues with clinical relationships, and
moral distress. Such problems could also emerge from having the resources to carry
out specific obligations but being prohibited from doing so. This is a result of their
leadership and mentoring duties. So, nurses and their colleagues look to their managers
for guidance on appropriate and ethical solutions. As a result, the American Nurses
Code of Ethics provides managers with tools to help them apply the code to their daily
tasks (Zahedi, et.al, 2013). This evaluation claims that the code provides the criteria for
moral conduct and enables nurses to make more in-depth moral judgments when they
do various activities (Zahedi, et.al, 2013). Because of this, nurses must be familiar with
their daily obligations to make ethical decisions before stepping into a leadership
position.
The article of Nurses experiences of ethical dilemmas: A Review” from Haahr et al.
(2019) provides a peer review of the ethical difficulties that the nursing profession is
currently facing and offers suggestions for how to handle these problems from the
viewpoints of professionals.
The rapid advancement of medical science and technology, as well as the pervasiveness
of standardization and the logic of production in contemporary hospital environments,
have all contributed to the rapid evolution of nursing care. The ethics of nursing care
are based on maintaining and respecting the person's integrity and dignity. Nursing is
rooted in a holistic approach. Working under pressure and having a tremendous
workload, however, causes burnout and ethical insensitivity in nurses and may restrict
their ability to make moral and ethical decisions in situations involving particular
patients (Haahr et al., 2019). The purpose of this study is to describe and debate ethical
conundrums that nurses currently encounter in clinical practice (Haahr et al., 2019).
The study was carried out as a review of the literature using the matrix method, which
allowed for the synthesis of information from several methodological angles. A review
of the literature was done, and it contained pertinent papers released between 2011 and
2016. A total of 15 publications were included, and their descriptions of ethical
quandaries were the main focus of the analysis (Haahr et al., 2019). When doing a
literature study, we have thought about and complied with ethical conduct while also
respecting authorship and citing sources (Haahr et al., 2019). Three topics emerged
from the analysis that addressed crucial facets of nursing practice, including the nursepatient interaction, organizational frameworks, and interprofessional cooperation. The
following three themes provide a summary of the findings: (1) weighing harm and
caring; (2) the impact of work overload on quality; and (3) negotiating conflict. Every
setting and a wide range of conditions, from newborn care to caring for the elderly,
exhibit ethically challenging scenarios. The complexity of nursing practice and the
range of ethical difficulties, worries, and discomfort encountered by clinical nurses
were made clear by organizational structures and the feeling of being torn between
professional values, standardization, and busyness (Haahr et al., 2019). Organizational
structures and the evolution of the healthcare system provide challenges to nursing
practice, limiting nurses' ability to make informed decisions and requiring them to
compromise core nursing principles (Haahr et al., 2019).
2. Over time, the nursing field has seen a quick transformation. This might be the outcome
of improved technology and medical advancements. However, the logic of production
and the determination of uniformity that has permeated modern healthcare practice has
forced the profession to evolve. Hence, several reviews have been done to identify the
ethical conundrums that are now surrounding nursing care.
A review was conducted to define and argue the ethical difficulties that nurses faced
while doing their duties. This review used a matrix methodology and was based on the
literature. The literature review covered relevant studies carried out between 2011 and
2016. (Haahr et al., 2019). Harmonizing harm and care, having too many tasks placed
on nurses, which lowers quality, and resolving nurse disagreements are some of the
major difficulties that were identified by the evaluation (Haahr et al., 2019). In this
instance, administrative procedures and the development of healthcare institutions that
impede ethical decision-making, compromising basic nursing standards, hindered
nursing's efficacy.
Since there is now a severe lack of professionals to satisfy the wide range of patient
needs, healthcare is in dire need of nurses. For instance, a major challenge for the
nursing profession has been given by the new coronavirus. The majority of healthcare
organizations have turned to hire freshly qualified nurses as a result of the severe
professional shortages at the time. Even while these experts have made a good
difference, the majority still lack the necessary competence to handle the various ethical
quandaries that arise throughout their regular workdays. This has significantly
impacted the low quality of healthcare delivery and an inadequate resolution to ethical
conundrums.
It takes a lot of resources and years of training to become a nurse. But, after they are
licensed, nurses are confronted with many ethical conundrums, the solutions to which
are much more challenging than the theoretical issues presented in college.
Nonetheless, with experience and patient interaction, these professionals can learn how
to deal with ethical dilemmas on the job. Peer reviews indicate that the nursing
profession faces several ethical conundrums.
One of the biggest difficulties that nurses may face daily is work overload. The rising
demand for medical treatment has overburdened healthcare providers. Reviews
indicate that this has had an impact on the effectiveness of their successes. This is
because increased workload and pressure shorten the time that nurses are expected to
spend with patients and change their attitude toward patient safety. Healthcare
professionals believe that telenursing and improved medical records could help to
resolve this issue and ease the backlog (Haahr et al., 2019).
3. The social contract refers to the relationship and expectations that exist between society
and the nursing profession. This agreement enables nurses to fulfill their professional
obligations to care for patients, clients, and society as a whole. To have a greater impact
on health and care, nurses can participate in political and legislative action that supports
nursing research, education, and practice. They can also better grasp how social ethics
and justice impact both individual and global health.
Haahr, A., Norlyk, A., Martinsen, & Bente. (2019). Nurses experiences of ethcal dilemmas:
A review. Nursing Ethics, 27(1), 258-272. doi:10.1177/0969733019832941
Zahedi, F., Sanjari, M., Peymani, M., Aramesh, K., Parsapour, A., Maddah, B., . .
.Dastgerdi, V. (2013). The Code of Ethics for Nurses. Iranian Journal of Public Health, 18. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3712593/