Draft Legal Ethical Case Study Jehovah\'s Witness and the Advanced Practice Nurse

Jehovah's Witness And The Advanced Practice Nursing

All over the world advance nurse practitioners are often faced with ethical and legal dilemmas in the course of their practice. Dilemmas occur when a practicing nurse is in a situation where they are not sure whether the decision they are taking is the right one or not. The paper will look at a situation where a nurse in the course of her practice was faced with such a dilemma. The aim of this critical analysis of the case and the ethical legal dilemma that nurses face during their practice is ensuring that both nurses and patients benefit.

Advanced practice ethical-legal dilemma

A Hispanic male aged 30 years is presented in the emergency department after sustaining serious injuries from an accident. After a few tests were conducted on him there were some signs of internal bleeding. The doctor in the emergency room and advanced nurse practitioner advanced the patient that it was significant for him to accept a blood transfusion .they went ahead and explained the need for an emergency surgery so that they can identify the extent of the injuries that he had sustained. The patient was against what the doctor and practitioner nurse had requested. He refused all these on the grounds of his religious beliefs as he was a Jehovah's Witness. The ethical-legal dilemma that has been brought out in this case is whether to respect the decision made by the patient and ignore the standards of care or go ahead and disrespect the independence of the patient in an effort of saving his life.

Legal Reasoning Constructs

When advanced nurses are faced with situations where the issue of ethical dilemma arises they are supposed to analyze and examine the ethical problem that might emerge. Any decision that the nurse practitioner makes should be from an ethical-legal standard which protects the rights and privileges of both the patient and the advanced nurse practitioner. There are several ethical principles which provide the guidance to the caring and treatment of patients. They are respect for patients, justice, beneficence and autonomy.in this particular case the ethical principle that is addressed is autonomy in medical diagnosis.it is essential that the advanced nurse practitioner evaluates the knowledge the patient has when it comes to the risk of their health and the reason why they are recommending the particular action and the possible results so that the patient can make informed medical-based decisions (Kjervik, &, Brous, 2010).

The informed decisions ascertain the rights a patient has when it comes to making decisions based on their personal beliefs and values whether religious or cultural. Before a diagnosis is done the advanced nurse practitioner should ensure that they disclose to the patient their health status, the risks that are involved and the suggested diagnoses that will save the life of the patient. This disclosure comprises of an explanation of the nature and rationale of the diagnoses, health risks and benefits, confidentiality principle, right of refusal without legal attachments and so on.