Ethical Issues In Nursing Ethics

Ethic is a set of “moral principles” that involves dictating, systematizing, demanding standards and limits for specific groups that affirms and relate a form of conduct (Oxford University Press, 2018). In every institution, there are laws that needed to be followed in order to guarantee safety and competence in the business and in society. As professionals, our ethics is what prevents the society from getting harmed through our actions, and thus, gives us the moral knowledge of what is right from wrong. According to the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of BC, nursing ethics is a system of principles that concern the “obligation of every nurses to provide safety, competency and ethical care to their clients” (CLPNBC, 2013). In this paper,

She is working in a very busy long-term facility care unit. After the orientation, she starts working alone and is placed in charge of the unit and responsible for the supervision of four care aides, one dietary staff, and one rehab assistant. She feels like she is unable to keep up to with the pace of the environment. One of the ethical dilemmas she is experiencing is regarding her competency. Levett- Jones, and Lathlean described “the diversity of nurse student body means that stress is experienced differently” (pg.186) — but she also admitted that she has not been able to complete all her work satisfactorily and that she is aware that she has cut corners during each day and, did not have enough time to complete all of the checks before administering medications to some of the residents. From this, it indicates that she is not only struggling with her competency to progress, but it also reflects her inability to ensure integrity, and thus, lack of reliability. Nurses are “moral agents”, by which means projecting ourselves with “integrity” (pg.

379). As the nurse in charge of the unit, one of the risk in continuing running work under current conditions is having a moral distress. Her anxiety is what causes her to be incompetent in her job, and does lessens her workplace performance. This could be one of her barriers as it affects her capability to give patient’s families a satisfying care, and from focusing on her patients. From my perspective regarding her actions, it shows unprofessionalism as she can not portray herself as a responsible leader in the team, thus, unable to provide certainty of her client’s safety to their family. Woods in 2012 described nurses leaders are responsible in maintaining an ethical point of view when “making managerial decisions” that ensures the clients and the environment’s safety in a way that “reflects mutual respect” and competency (pg.