Ethics Ethics are one of the key components that shape the nursing profession. The American Nursing Association clearly outlines a code of ethics that all practicing nurses must follow in an effort to provide patient-centered care. However, when there isn’t an apparent right answer or personal biases influence the decision-making process an ethical dilemma will inevitably arise. A group of ethical principles is in place to guide nurses in achieving logical resolutions while sustaining a moral integrity in the communities they serve. Autonomy Autonomy is the freedom given to an individual to make well-informed choices that are absent of coercion (Fortune, Shotwell, Buccellato, & Moran, 2016). Both nurses and patients have the right to exercise …show more content…
Beneficence is an ethical value used to promote acts of service to benefit the patient (Anderson & McFarlane, 2015). The effectiveness of beneficence is measured by the amount of good that is done for the patient against moral standards. Autonomy and beneficence are two ethical principles that are in constant opposition in physician-patient relationships. Occasionally, the patient’s judgment doesn’t match the provider’s medical advice or a client determines the clinician has failed to meet their expectations. The scope of practice is a method that providers can use to gauge their level of beneficence. Nurses must abide by their state’s a scope of practice, it delineates the practices and actions of …show more content…
Nonmaleficence is one's obligation to do no harm (Anderson & McFarlane, 2015). In order to uphold the ethical standard of beneficence, care is typically absent of maleficence. For providers to protect their patient from potential harm the must inform them of the suspect risks and side effects of treatments, tests, and assessments. Patients trust their caregivers to practice legally and to provide component care. Haphazardly, there are instances when a physician has to inflict harm onto the patient to obtain positive results. For example, cancer patients experience horrific side effects from having to endure repeated chemotherapy treatments, but the outcome is to eradicate cancer from their bodies. At times there is a level of injury that must be imposed for the best