Ethics of Advocacy
Advocacy is an important concept in nursing practice used to describe the nurse-client relationship. Patient advocacy encompasses patients’ rights. Nursing advocacy derives from the philosophy that everyone has the right to promote his or her own well-being, as understood by that individual. The concept of advocacy can be tricky when it comes to children (Kanne, 2011).
The field of ethics addresses how we ought to treat each other, how we ought to act, what we ought to do, and why. We manage ethical issues every day. Beneficence is an ethical principle that addresses the idea that a nurse 's actions should promote good by doing what is best for the patient. The principle of justice is the moral obligation to be fair and equal. Autonomy is the right of competent adults to make informed decisions about their own medical care. The principle requires informed agreement of the patient before any investigation or treatment takes place (ANA). Children should still be informed, and we should get verbal consent for assessment, but a legal guardian must also give consent.
Ethical issues often arise when caring for children with psychiatric disorders because they are a vulnerable population. The UN Conventions on the Rights of the Child and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities set out rights to be respected in child and adolescent psychiatric assessment and treatment. Beneficence, justice and autonomy are core principles. The right of the child to protection,
Ethical principals include autonomy, veracity, and fidelity. If we look into each principle, there is violation in all three. Autonomy is the respect for an individual’s right to self-determination. Veracity is the obligation to tell the truth, and fidelity is our duty as healthcare professionals to do what one has promised (Silvestri, 2011). The patient’s has the right to decide whom does he want to be involve in his care.
Advanced Nurse Practitioner play a role as an Advocate by acting or interceding on behalf on their patients’ health care. The ANA addresses the importance of advocacy in its Code of Ethics, including Provision 3: “The nurse promotes, advocates for, and strives to protect the health, safety, and rights of the patient.” Also from it ANA define three core values that form the basis of nursing advocacy which are preserving human dignity; patient equality; and freedom from suffering. The role of APN as advocate require a nurse to act as a communicator, liaison, educator, interpreter and caregiver. When someone chose a career in nursing means that he/she accepts to fill the role while providing care for all
Ethics of healthcare depends on 4 moral standards and how they are utilised; autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice. Autonomy, which means self-governance, is the rule for regarding the privileges of a person to settle on a choice for them self, and respecting that decision. In healthcare this implies regarding a patient's choice on treatments, regardless of the possibility that it could bring about damage or demise to themselves. Autonomy is about self-rule, control free, without impact or influence from any other person, and is tied in with making an educated and un-forced choice about their care and medicines, based from their qualities and inclinations. Alongside autonomy is the principle of justice, which incorporates reasonableness
Another very important ethical principle is beneficence. Beneficence as described in the article, ‘Ethics and Pain Management in Hospitalized Patients’ by Bernhofer (2012), is the principle of doing good. What this principle means is that care must be provided in an appropriate and timely manner. Nurses must provide pain relief on time and at the right dose for effective pain relief. Based on research pain is best treated before it becomes severe.
Ethics is very important in nursing practice and involves respect and advocacy for the needs of the patient. Both, ethics and honesty have major impact on patient safety. Another core value is autonomy. Autonomy is demonstrated when the nurse supports independent decision making and respects the patient`s right to self-determine the course of action. Human dignity is another core value in nursing practice.
D-The patient arrived on time for her session and informed this writer that she has decided to remain with the clinic as she learned on her own that no detox facility will accept her because she is testing negative and currently on methadone. The patient further mentioned that she is questioning as to whether or not her sister and her mother would help her as they said they would; however, the patient had a moment and looked back when her family did not help her as she struggled with her children. Furthermore, the patient reports, her sister did not give her the $80.00 for her rent. The patient reports that she had asked some guy for assistance. This writer addressed with the patient about her employment status and money management.
Nursing has never been simple or easy, nor is serving as a patient advocate. However, it is important to include advocacy as a part of nursing. Advocacy is standing up for the rights of all individuals and must include interpersonal relationships between nurses, patients, professional colleagues, and the public. Nightingale’s experiences in nursing demonstrated to her the value of advocating for nurses and patients.
Nurse Advocacy Student nurses and nurses spend majority of their time dedicating themselves to patient safety and quality of care. They do patient education, administer medications, perform head to toe assessments, but most importantly, they possess effective communication skills by listening to their patients. This is important because it allows the nurse to understand the concerns of their patients and advocate for their rights. According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), advocacy is when one uses his or her position to protect, support, or speak out for the rights and interests of another.” (Sanford, 2012).
Ethical principles implement a foundation for nursing care. They are defined as a base for nurse’s judgment on a consideration of consequences and on worldwide moral principles when composing clinical conclusion. The purpose of this discussion is to discuss the ethical dilemma that nurse faces in the case study about Lora, a young girl who is physically abused by her father and had been sexually abused by her stepfather. According to Nathaniel and Burkhardt ethical principles include autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, veracity, confidentiality, justice, and fidelity (pg. 77). In the case study: Making the Best Choice (Nathaniel and Burkhardt, 2014), I believe that all ethical principles were involved.
A nurse must keep up to date on education and new processes in health-care, so they can provide the best care. As a nurse, you have promised to give each of your patients the best care that can possibly be given. Nurses must follow a code of ethics, to act safely, provide ethical care no matter how they feel about the patient or the reason they are in your care. Following this code of ethics shows your commitment to caring for people and society, it is a guide of ethics and standards to follow to keep everyone safe. Nursing is also a wonderful opportunity to meet hundreds of people from almost every nationality and every walk of life.
All nurses should take positive actions to help their patients and to have the desire to do good. On the other hand, nonmaleficence is the core of the nursing ethics and it revolves around the idea that nurses have to remain competent in their field as to avoid causing injury or harm to patients. Nonmaleficence also requires all health care professionals to report any suspected abuse. The last ethical principle is justice. This ethical principle revolves around the idea that all patients must be treated equally and fairly.
(Elliot & Olver, 2008). The principles in acting with the best interest of the other person in mind, showing compassion and taking positive action to help others which relates to the second main principle being beneficence. Likewise, I will discuss non-maleficence, the core of medical oath nursing ethics the principle that “above all do no harm”.
Utilitarianism and Deontology are two major ethical theories that influence nursing practice. Utilitarian principles of promoting the greatest good for the greatest amount of people parallels the nursing tenet of beneficence. Deontological principles of treating individuals with dignity, and promoting the well-being of the individual parallels the nursing tenet of non-maleficence. Utilitarian and Deontological principles can be utilized to resolve ethical dilemmas that arise in the nursing profession. The purpose of this paper is to define utilitarianism and deontology, discuss the similarities and differences between the two, and to address an ethical dilemma utilizing utilitarian and deontological principles.
This assignment is a reflection of ethical dilemmas in nursing practice as a registered nurse; this paper is based on the group assignment which was completed for NURS3004. This reflection will include an explanation of the role that I portrayed in the group, the preparation that I did for the role, what could have been done differently, how this group assignment has impacted me in terms of working in a team and finally explain how this assignment will assist me in my future clinical practice as a newly registered nurse. The role that I played in the group was a patient who has a mental health disorder and I didn’t want his mother to know about the illness, as a front it seemed as though we had a close relationship. When my mother leaves the room I asked the nurse to keep my illness confidential as she does not really understand it.
Deconstructing Mythical Advocacy: The Integration of Religion in the Pious Leviathan Religious worship is a subject of ingenuity and acute controversy in Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan. In the construction of his commonwealth, his treatment of religion not only serves as an anthropological analysis for the civil sovereign to internalize, but a harbinger as to why it is necessary for religion to be hewn into the living rock of society. What some may deem as sanctimonious or heretical reasoning, Hobbes perceives as sobering truths of human nature; truths that must be illuminated for the sake of social order. The way in which religion is embraced is easier to explain than it is to accomplish.