Ethics and law in health care

Nursing Ethics

Background

The paper investigates the ethical dilemma of the case. The case is about drunken women who is injured and wounded at 2.30 am. A nurse is called for the assistance who is working in a night shift in paramedic. When the nurse arrived there he saw that a woman is resisting and she did not allow taking first aid care. She is depressed and frustrated and she is abusing. The nurse is responsible for any further act. The nurse should try his best to convince her to go to the hospital and take the treatment, as this is the fundamental responsibility of nurse to take care of the patient in emergency. There are some ethical considerations that the nurse should keep in mind before taking any action.

It has been observed that the young woman is resisting and do not want to go for the ambulance. The nurse should ask her if she had her own car and she want to travel in that to go for the treatment. The nurse should call his senior to take the advice what should he do. As the young woman is very injured she might face some other medical problems if she is not treated well. If the problem get worsen and the young women face any disability or other problem the nurse may enter to some legal problem. The patient is not in senses and she should be given care differently.

This problem comes into ethical dilemma and it requires ethical decision-making. Ethical decision-making is a psychological process that examines several ethical rules and principles to judge or guide group or individual decisions or aimed actions. It helps an individual to determine the right approach also capacitate an individual to judge whether any individual's actions or decisions are appropriate or not. It also intends to answer scenarios about how an individual should act in a situation (Garber, 2009).

The first step that could be taken by the nurse is to give the tranquilizer so that the patient could be taken to the hospital. This is the most appropriate decision that could be taken, but there are other considerations, if the patient is injured it could get some dose, but the over dose is also unethical.

Nursing Ethics

Before solving this case it is important to understand the nursing ethics.According to Aitamaa, E, Kilpi, H., Puukka, P. & Suhonen, R (2010) the nursing profession has always attached great importance to ethical requirements relating to its activities. However, the understanding and content to these activities has evolved throughout history. Two main approaches have been developed to thematize nursing ethics: the ethics of virtue and ethical principles. The first approach inquires into the attitudes that a person must possess in order to act as a good nurse. The second follows the opposite path and considers the actions and principles to be respected to be a good professional. An approach to harmonize both perspectives must ask three questions: what do we mean by nursing care, what ethical principles ...