Ethical Issues in Nursing

People in every field are confronted with ethical issues of some kind. However, these ethical issues become high in magnitude and extent when public officials are involved. An industry like health and medicine holds ethics in highest regard due to the involvement of human life. Oftentimes, health care practitioners like doctors and nurses face ethical dilemmas in their professional lives. Although, they are often trained to manage issues of this kind, sometimes, they can have lasting impact on their professional and personal lives. The general awareness among masses regarding their rights during a medical procedure often conflicts with the morals of this industry. This article focuses on some current ethical issues in nursing.

Ethical Issues in Nursing Practice

Consent and Capacity
The Patient Bill of Right adopted by American Hospitals Association states that "a patient possesses the right to be informed of the medical consequences of his or her actions and decisions and refuse treatment to the extent permitted by the law". However, this is true only if the patient is in position to understand the consequences of his treatment. Incompetent, senile patients neither have the correct judgment regarding which treatment is appropriate for them, nor are they in a state of understanding the implications of their treatment. In such case, their willingness to grant or deny consent cannot dictate the course of treatment.

Even in case of mentally sound patients, the families of the patients often fail to understand that doctors and nurses are experts about their health than themselves. Denying consent to an effective treatment can cause a patient his life. This issue is becoming graver by day as the population of ailing, aging individuals continue to rise. These individuals are often in a state where they cannot think for themselves and have no one to do it for them.

Confidentiality and Autonomy
This is another ethical issue erupting from the conflict of patient's rights and professional ethics in nursing job and profession. The Patient Bill of Right makes it mandatory for the medical practitioners to reveal the form and extent of the ailment along with the course of treatment to be undertaken by the practitioners. However, this law of autonomy clashes with the nursing ethic that the professional should maintain high degree of confidentiality regarding the patient's health and treatment.

In certain situations, the patient and his family may not grasp the full consequence of the information provided by the nurse. This may unnecessarily lead to misunderstandings and panic. Although, there is no harm in informing most of the families, some of them are better kept in dark for the interest of patient.

Non-Compliance on Part of Patient
Oftentimes, some patients seek repeated treatments for the same condition again and again. They end up getting admitted in different hospitals for same condition, without much improvement in their health. More often than not, these treatments options are sought at the expense of tax payers money. In normal circumstances, this is not a problem as every patient has a right to receive best possible treatment for him. However, when the practitioner finds out that the issue is self induced, his personal opinion may cloud his judgment regarding the treatment given to such patient. It is unfair to spend taxpayer's money for the treatment of an individual who knowingly inflicts damage upon his own health. This is one of the biggest ethical dilemmas faced by the nurse practitioners.

Ethical issues in nursing industry are somewhat similar to those faced by physicians and other health care providers. Ethical issues in nursing research may be more specific in nature.