Ethics in Nursing

Paternalism

Acting for patients without their consent to secure good or prevent harm

Fidelity

Being faithful to someone's commitments and promises

Values

Beliefs held by an individual about what matters. They are a standard to guide behavior.

Beneficence

Doing good

Advocacy

Nurses may not make ethical decisions for patients. Instead, they can facilitate clients' decision-making by interpreting findings, informing clients of various aspects to be considered, helping clients verbalize and organize their feelings, calling in others involved in the decision making, and helping clients assess all their options.

Nonmaleficence

Principle of bioethics that is the obligation to not do harm, and avoiding causing harm.

Define: Code of Ethics

Provides a framework for making ethical decisions, as well as the expectations, values, and goals of the profession.

Ethical dilemma

When attempted adherence to basic ethical principles results in two conflicting courses of action

Ethical distress

When the nurse knows the right thing to do but some factor makes it difficult to follow through with the right course of action

A client, unsure of the need for surgery, asks the nurse, "What should I do?" What answer by the nurse is based on advocacy? a) "Tell me more about what makes you think you don't want surgery." b) "If I were you, I sure would not have this surgical procedure." c) "Gosh, I don't know what I would do if I were you." d) "Let me talk to your doctor and I will get back to you as soon as I can."

a) "Tell me more about what makes you think you don't want surgery."

A nurse who is caring for a new mother realizes that the woman is not prepared to go home with her newborn after a hospital stay of only 24 hours, but hospital policy dictates that the mother be discharged. This nurse may be faced with which moral problem? a) Ethical distress b) Ethical dilemma c) Ethical uncertainty d) Ethical dissatisfaction

a) ethical distress

A nurse is caring for a woman 28 years of age who has delivered a baby by Cesarean section. She describes her pain as a 9. The nurse medicates her for pain. This is an example of which of the following ethical frameworks? a) Fidelity b) Beneficence c) Justice d) Nonmaleficence

b) Beneficence.

A nurse provides client care within a philosophy of ethical decision making and professional expectations. What is the nurse using as a framework for practice? a) Standards of Care b) Code of Ethics c) Values Clarification d) Definition of Nursing

b) Code of Ethics

A nurse states to the client that she will keep her free of pain. However, her family wishes to try a treatment to prolong her life that may necessitate withholding pain medication. This factor will cause an ethical dilemma for the nurse in relation to which ethical principle? a) Autonomy b) Fidelity c) Veracity d) Justice

b) Fidelity

A nurse working in a long-term care facility has an elderly male client who is very confused. What ethical dilemma is posed when using restraints in a long-term care setting? a) It limits personal safety. b) It threatens autonomy. c) It increases confusion. d) It prevents self-directed care.

b) It threatens autonomy

A home health nurse who performs a careful safety assessment of the home of a frail elderly patient to prevent harm to the patient is acting in accord with which of the following, a principle of bioethics? a) Advocacy b) Nonmaleficence c) Values d) Morals

b) Nonmaleficence

A client with a diagnosis of colorectal cancer has been presented with her treatment options, but wishes to defer any decisions to her uncle, who acts in the role of a family patriarch within the client's culture. By which of the following is the client's right to self-determination best protected? a) Teaching the client about her right to autonomy b) Respecting the client's desire to have the uncle make choices on her behalf c) Revisiting the decision when the uncle is not present at the bedside d) Holding a family meeting and encouraging the client to speak on her own behalf

b) Respect the client's desire to have the uncle make choices on her behalf.

The physician has recommended an amniocentesis for an 18-year-old woman. The patient is 34 weeks' gestation and does not want this procedure. The physician is insistent the patient has the procedure. The physician arranges for the amniocentesis to be done. What is this would be an example of? a) Beneficence b) Veracity c) Paternalism d) Autonomy

c) Paternalism

A group of nurse researchers has proposed a study to examine the efficacy of a new wound care product. Which of the following aspects of the methodology demonstrates that the nurses are attempting to maintain the ethical principle of nonmaleficence? a) The nurses have completed a literature review that suggests the new treatment may result in decreased wound healing time. b) The nurses have organized the study in such a way that the foreseeable risks and benefits are distributed as fairly as possible. c) The nurses have given multiple opportunities for potential participants to ask questions, and have been following the informed consent process systematically. d) The nurses are taking every reasonable measure to ensure that no participants experience impaired wound healing as a result of the study intervention.

d) The nurses are taking every reasonable measure to ensure that no participants experience impaired wound healing as a result of the study. In this way, the nurses are practicing nonmaleficence by avoiding causing further harm.