Despite the fact that all registered nurses are expected to follow the same code of ethics and adhere to moral and professional norms and standards, nurses’ ethical decisions and actions usually depend on their values. If registered nurses have dissimilar values and views regarding ethical actions, they approach dilemmas differently. As a result, ethical dilemmas can be perceived and addressed subjectively, and one nurse can hesitate regarding the most appropriate decisions, but another nurse can have a strict decision concerning a certain situation (Pozgar, 2016). To understand this difference, it is necessary to focus on the definition of an ethical dilemma as a problematic case to resolve. This case usually does not have one ideal solution that can be regarded as ethical and right from all perspectives, and nurses need to choose between available options (Butts & Rich, 2016). The problem is that these options can be imperfect and contradicting the code of ethics and nurses’ values, and their positive effect on a patient can be questionable.
From an ethical point of view, the most challenging situations occurring in practice are associated with patients’ specific religious views. There was a situation when nurses and physicians were limited in providing care for a young Muslim woman because they could not perform a physical examination. In this case, the actions of a nurse and other medical workers were limited by such ethical principles as autonomy and non-maleficence. On the one hand, it was necessary to respect a patient’s beliefs and views, and on the other hand, it was important to provide high-quality care to avoid harm. After a nurse’s communication with the woman’s family members, it was possible to find an ethical and religiously appropriate solution, and a physical examination was conducted successfully.
References
Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2016). Nursing ethics: Across the curriculum and into practice (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning
Pozgar, G. D. (2016). Legal and ethical issues for health professionals (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.