Advanced Nursing Ethics and Values
It is required that nurses understand their ethical responsibilities when it comes to providing care as well as when they are functioning within a diverse healthcare setting. The paper is based on a case study that will touch on various areas when it comes to nurses and their profession. First the importance of ethical theory in nursing profession will be highlighted. The link between rules of confidentiality and the idea of reasonable limits will be highlighted. This will entail looking at some of the aspects of rules of confidentiality and aspects of the tenets of reasonable limits. The rationale of breaking the confidentiality will also be highlighted. How conflicts can be resolved between various ethical principles will also be looked into. Also highlighted is the effect of cultural considerations and values. Finally, the paper will point out the models used in making ethical decision and those that can be utilized by nurses especially those at the masters level in their daily delivery of healthcare.
B. Importance of ethical theory
Theories are integrated body of rules and principles and are seen to provide a framework that nurses can use to gauge how acceptable their actions are and how moral their judgments are. There are two major ethical theories which are consequential and deontological but there are others that are theory-based such as ethics of care and virtue-based ethics. Ethical theories are quite practical and are very important in the...
First of all they are able to help nurses discover to what extent a problem is an ethical one. Secondly ethical theories enable nurse develop skills and tools that can help them in tackling ethical and philosophical questions they encounter in their practice. Third, these theories help nurses in the development of soundness of ethical beliefs as well as practices that they have. According to Allmark (2005), ethical reasoning needs nurses to use their positive values and beliefs and attend to patients in order to enhance the quality of their reasoning.
An example of how these theories are important is the fact that in the nursing profession one is faced by questions that are empirical, formal or philosophical in nature. In most cases Very practical decisions require nurses to answer all the three types. For instance in a 'Do not attempt resuscitation' order, a decision on whether this order is appropriate needs an individual nurse to answer practical questions like the likelihood of the attempt being successful. A nurse is also required to answer the formal question whether it is allowed by the law for the application and execution of such a law. There are finally some philosophical and ethical questions like how the quality of life against the quantity of life can be weighed (CME Resource, 2011).
C. Confidentiality and reasonable limit
The concept of reasonable limit is quite applicable when it comes to the confidentiality of patients in nursing practice.…
