Nursing Ethical Dilemma Assignment Topics
As a nursing student you will be required to complete numerous assignments on ethical issues in nursing. As you know, we live in a litigious society and nursing ethics is under microscope of many hospitals and health care institutions. In endeavor to provide patient with quality and holistic care, nurses face ethical dilemma in their everyday practice. Most of the times, nurses find themselves at crossroads of their ethics and outside factors. Nursing professionals are forced to make tough decisions that do not jeopardize patient wellbeing
Passing nursing ethics assignment is critical for any future nurse manager. Our nursing paper writers over the years have written hundred of assignments on ethical issues in nursing. We are the most suited team to write your research paper or assignment on nursing ethical dilemma.
Ethics is often defined as the moral compass that governs people but more to having an individual code of ethics and principles, institutions have created their own code of ethics to operate by. Some of them may seem unattainable, but it is such disciplines that keep things right. Imagine, having your life in the hands of a medical officer whose moral compass is disoriented., That would be a calamity, right? However, certain situations and instances will put you at crossroads. These situations pull their weight and each of them has consequences. This is what we call a dilemma. Some dilemmas are more complex than others and occasionally can be termed as impossible situations.
The nursing field has a couple of them of its own. Have in mind that it also has its code of ethics that it operates on but the fundamental pillars are, respect for anatomy, health maximization, beneficence, efficiency, justice and non-maleficence among many others. As a nursing student you might want to delve deeper into topics that deal with ethical dilemma in nursing and if so, your search has definitely come to an end as I will give you a comprehensive compilation of nursing ethical dilemma assignment topics.
Informed consent
The human body is quite complex and certain procedures are complicated to undertake and this upraises their level of risk. In light of this, the patient is asked to consent to the procedure that is to be undertaken. This process is initiated by first taking a diagnosis that guides on the prevailing conditions and after assessment, a treatment plan is settled on.
Well, I’m sure you are wondering, how is this a dilemma when you can not see a comparable situation that makes it hard to choose. Well, here it is. Before giving consent to certain procedures, patients and their families will be very curious about what they are consenting to and ask as many questions as possible. But to what extent should the nurse disclose this information, what is acceptable. This is the real question when it comes to informed consent. It carries with it the hope of recovery but in an unfortunate turn of events, it can be demoralizing.
Disclosing Medical Conditions.
As a nurse, you will soon learn that not everything that the patients want is right for them especially knowledge-wise. Is the patient entitled to know what they are dealing with? Of course, however, in some instances, nurses will find themselves in a position that will force them to withhold some information for the good of the client and in the case of minors withhold it all.
Emotional distress does more harm than good during treatment and this is fueled by ‘bad news. Ethical dilemmas are in a way a conflict between professional and personal principles. Having to make this kind of decision will put you in a rather uncomfortable position.
Incompetence Among Peers
What do you do, when you notice that one of your colleagues at work is not competent in what they are tasked with. Competence in the medical field is of utmost importance, but this could have a detrimental impact on their careers and lives in general. Incompetence is displayed in many forms, which include, but are not limited to, negligence.
This kind of information could have an impact on the patients as well. Imagine getting information that your caregiver was not competent. That would definitely get you into panic mode.
On the other hand, will you let this go unquestioned? How does this reflect on you as a person and your integrity? What potential risks does it pose on patients and on human life? And even more importantly how will it affect your work? Putting that on a mental weighing scale will antagonize you.
Patients Freedom vs Nurses Control
In the past, there was an age when the public had little to no information on matters concerning their healthcare and medical practices. But a new age dawned and internet doctors are now a thing with people doing self-diagnosis and treatment ( not recommended) from the comfort of their homes.
This has seen people go into hospitals with so much ‘ misinformation’ and it takes both patience and hard work to set the notion right. The issue of patient’s freedom vs nurse’s control kicks in when a patient decides to make a personal choice that is in contrast to already established medical practices. This could range anywhere from lifestyle choices to basic negligence of treatment.
As a medical practitioner, all that you can do in such instances is warn against such practices but you can impose on the patient. However, if anyone has some sense left in them they will do whatever it takes to stay alive, don’t you think? Recovery is a matter of having the medical personnel on board to offer you the best treatment there is but o the same time taking initiative towards recovery and staying healthy. After all, there is no law against living on junk, but you have the choice to healthy eating.
A patient may be unable to differentiate between what he/ she wants and what they really need. This clouded judgement could make them opt for a care plan as opposed to the cure plan you give to them. This feels frustrating, but there is only so much you can do.
Personal and Religious Beliefs
Personal beliefs are all about what you know and what you stand for while religious beliefs are created around certain religious practices, teachings and beliefs. These too pull their weight when it comes to nursing dilemmas.
Imagine having a patient and diagnosing them for a potentially life-threatening condition, however, it is still within a manageable range. However, the patient has staunch religious beliefs that will not let you do your job, what do you do? In other instances, parents have impaled the same standards and practices on their kids and this will see them skipping immunization shots and infant clinical visits. Well, the law can intervene in this, but this will be after you filled a report with them.
After all, is said and done, there is only so much that a nurse can do. However, as a nursing student, you have a choice on the kind of paper you will choose, compile and present and given the choice of an expert nursing paper writer to do it, then it is only wise to take it. Professional writers are not only experienced in the nursing field but also conversant with the formulation and compilation of all your nursing academic papers. Get the feel of authenticity, originality, and quality content.
DNAR Orders
As a nurse, you will not only be dealing with young and energetic people with only a cold or a rash but will be dealing with both young and old patients with terminal illnesses. For clients with such conditions, extra care is needed for them and when not offered, things could get messy really quick. As part of your medical training, you are taught and prepared on what to do when clients hearts stop.
Performing a cardiopulmonary resuscitation is part of the first aid measures to take when a patient stops breathing or when the heart stops. However what happens when you are given Do Not Administer Resuscitation Orders(DNAR)? Do you let the patient die while you still have a chance to save them? This puts many nurses, caregivers and medical practitioners in between a rock and a hard place. It gets even worse when you had interacted with the patient and got to create a good bond with them.
Having to bear the burden is quite hard as it is. And facing the family of the deceased is even harder. Such is a situation that I couldn’t wish on anyone.
Difference in a Professional Opinion
Well, at the point at which you are practicing, you already have covered the grounds on medicine and studied the complete anatomy of the human body while understanding the ailments afflicted to each part. However, at times there could be a variation in terms of opinion between nurses and doctors.
This is seen every other time, but mostly when there are conflicting symptoms and underlying conditions and even though the nurse is under instructions to tend to the patient on a certain procedure, it is not enough to put his/ her mind at rest as a result of conflicting opinions. Of course, tests are done and they get to the bottom of it all and reveal the exact issue if the disagreement hinders the workflow.
However, we all know of some ‘known-it all’ superiors who will get you to do as they say and ask questions later. This leaves the nurse feeling quite discredit.
Healthcare Needs vs Resource Allocation
Ranging right from first world countries to third world countries, resource allocation has been a major issue and this has been evidently seen when it comes to the healthcare industry. While an individual may forego basic amenities such as food and shelter, it is impossible to sweep healthcare under the rug. However, some conditions such as cancer are notorious for draining bank accounts and running people bankrupt as they seek better healthcare.
Resource allocation could be used to evaluate the criteria to be used to distribute resource once they hit the scarcity margin. Well, while some hospitals have established systems on how to handle such scenarios, nurses also share the burden on this one. Having to turn away a patient due to the lack of funds to acquire medication is not an easy task.
The coronavirus pandemic has taught us that at some point in time, it will not really matter how much you have in your bank account if you lack proper healthcare. The onset of the disease struck people with fear and terror and as the world learned more of this disease, it continued spreading and hospitals were flooded and amenities were not enough for everyone. Although people were all facing the same illness, they were treated differently, depending on how they could finance it. Ventilators had never before been upraised in value as they were and their scarcity proved quite brutal.
A day in the shoes of a nurse is not as easy as it looks. It may look glamorous and admirable but behind it, all is a tussle for peace of mind as they are pulled in different directions by decisions. When writing a nursing paper on the same, it should be able to capture the essence of the dilemma in such a way that shows what two choices present themselves and how conflicting they are. With a guide of the topic you can choose for your nursing ethical dilemma assignment topics, all you need now is help from an expert writer to pen it down for you.
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