NURSING

Nursing



Nursing

Criteria for the evaluation of prescriptive ethical decision-making models:

Ethics: Nursing Practice and Regulation

Principle

Explaination

Nonmaleficence

The first principle, nonmaleficence, or do no harm, is directly tied to the nurse's duty to protect the patient's safety. Born out of the Hippocratic Oath, this principle dictates that we do not cause injury to our patients.

Beneficence

The second principle, beneficence, is at the heart of everyday nursing practice. Beauchamp and Childress (1994) state that "Each of ...[the following] three forms of beneficence requires taking action by helping--preventing harm, removing harm and promoting good...." (p. 192). The principle of beneficence may give rise to ethical issues when there is conflict between what is good between nurse and patient, between patient and organizations, between patients themselves, or between states engaged in interstate practice. Differences that may have ethical implications include: financial reimbursement, approved services, different laws on reporting sexually transmitted diseases or abuse, and protocols from whom nurses can accept orders.

Autonomy

The third ethical principle, autonomy, means that individuals have a right to self-determination, that is, to make decisions about their lives without interference from others. What are some of the ethical issues to be raised when applying this principle to interstate nursing practice?

Justice

The fourth ethical principle, justice, means giving each person or group what he/she or they are due. It can be "measured" in terms of fairness, equality, need or any other criterion that is material to the justice decision. In nursing, justice often focuses on equitable access to care and on equitable scarce resource allocation.

Privacy and Confidentiality

The fifth ethical principle relates to privacy and confidentiality. Privacy belongs to each person and, as such, it cannot be taken away from that person unless he/she wishes to share it. Confidentiality, on the other hand, means that the information shared with other persons will not be spread abroad and will be ...