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Ethical Responsibility Of A Nurse Justified In Withholding Information

496 Words2 Pages

Introduction
Nurses are often subjected to numerous ethical and professional matters which are complex and create many unanswered questions. One of the areas is veracity and it often involves several ethical issues.
Questions frequently arise concerning how much truth should be made known to the patients. In what situations is a nurse justified in withholding information? Will an extravagant amount of information be deleterious to the patients?
The aim of this paper is to explore the various issues in relation to truth telling and communicating information to patients.

Critical Analysis
Nurses have an ethical responsibility and are obliged to be truthful with all patients. It is paramount to tell the truth to a patient because they are entitled to even if the truth may be detrimental to a patient (Lichter 1989). …show more content…

For example, a patient may be upset upon hearing that he is diagnosed with Lung CA and a prognosis of 6 months. However, he is at least able to decide early what he wants to achieve, the type of care and treatment he would like.
We should additionally bear in mind the dire consequences of not informing a patient of their illness. If a patient is not apprised of the full diagnosis then they will not be apprised of the appropriate therapy and the adverse effects. Concealing the diagnosis which is meant to protect the patient from the truth is denying the patient of their autonomy and may potentially be

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