Nursing practice and ethical decisions

Nursing practice and ethical decisions

Fitzpatrick (2015) describes how certain characteristics and competencies set nursing and nurses apart from other professions and practitioners. Describe how your nursing practice and ethical decision-making skills have furthered the quality and safety of patient care. Approximately 350 words. I am a psychiatric nurse Nursing practice and ethical decisions.

As a nurse, I have always considered ethical practice an imperative. That is because the care decisions I make can easily mean the difference between the life and death of a patient. As such, every care decision I make must be accompanied by insightful evaluation of the issue at hand and perpetual vigilance. Overall, I believe that ethics must remain the foundation of my nursing practice that is focused on ensuring that the care quality is high to guarantee the patients’ safety. This is in the face of practice environment changes to include knowledgeable patients, globalization, diversity, practice specialization, updates to professional standards, changes to diseases presentation, scarce resources and technological advances Nursing practice and ethical decisions..

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Nursing ethics is an issue of concern given its implication for both the patient and nurse. In fact, this has informed the development of nursing code that standardizes the common dos and don’ts in nursing. The code presents provisions on the limitations of each decision I can make as a nurse. The first provision requires that I be respectful and compassionate when handling patients irrespective of background or any other differences. The second provision is that my primary concern as a nurse is the patient with the intention of providing the best possible care. The third provision is that I must protect, advocate for and promote the health, safety and rights of my patients. The fourth provision is that I must be responsible and accountable in the care I provide. The fifth provision is that I owe myself the same duty that I owe others to imply that I must be in the best health to provide the best possible care. The sixth provision is that I should participate in establishing, maintaining and improving the care environment to be consistent with the patients’ expectations and my duties. The seventh provision is that I should contribute to and advance nursing practice. The eighth provision is that I should collaborate with other medical professions to advance nursing practice. The final provision is that I must practice with integrity (Marquis & Huston, 2014). I have observed these nine provisions and used them to inform my practice thus allowing me to provide the best possible care within a safe environment Nursing practice and ethical decisions..

I consider the nine provisions as a guide for my professional actions since they are based on legal obligations, moral values and social needs. In this case, these provisions are the standards for my ethical decisions although I still practice personal discretion in determining which aspects are more important when faced with ethical dilemmas. In addition, I understand that the provisions are not static, but are subject to change based on prevailing environmental conditions such as changes to legislation and introduction of new technologies. Even with the changes, I believe that the core of ethical nursing practice is an explicit understanding that nursing practice must respect human rights to include right to life, along with treatment with dignity and respect Nursing practice and ethical decisions..

Over the course of my practice as a nurse, I have faced ethical dilemmas. These dilemmas have principally placed me in a position where I must choose between respecting the patients’ rights and practicing as dictated by the provisions. In such cases, there is no right choice since each decision would be favorable for one side while unfavorable for the other side. Faced with such a situation, I would typically review the case independently before determining the right choice based on what would guarantee the delivery of high quality care and the patient’s safety.

References

Marquis, B. & Huston, C. (2014). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: theory and application (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins Nursing practice and ethical decisions..