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Ethical Framework in Practice

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Running head: APPLYING ETHICAL FRAMEWORK IN PRACTICE

Applying Ethical Framework in Practice
Jaclyn Hughes
Grand Canyon University: NRS-437V
August 21, 2011

Applying Ethical Framework in Practice
Patient confidentiality is one thing that cannot be breached nor as a patient that you would want to be breached. In this day and age as healthcare professionals it is a very fine line of what breaching confidentiality is. We all want to know that when we are sick and in the hospital, the one thing that we can keep personal is our privacy which would include our health information. It is hard to imagine that in a state of vulnerability that some things must be disclosed to certain departments regardless of your desire to keep it private and confidential; some examples include: domestic violence, child abuse, rape, psychiatric evaluations, and communicable diseases. These situations if not taken care of could cause more harm to the patient. Knowing your ethical principles and nursing code of ethics allows for the nurse to make a moral and ethical decision based on the five basic principles without breaching confidentiality and doing what is morally and ethically right for the patient.
A patient’s trust is sacred and breaching that information is a violation of the trust between the relationship of the nurse and the patient (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2008). An ethical implication of a breach of confidentiality would include: patient confidentiality and informed consent for medical release. Patient confidentiality is the non-disclosure of private or personal information that is entrusted by another person such as the healthcare team. Patient confidentiality is essential to the nurse-patient relationship and the information can only be shared to provide patient care (Burkhardt & Nathaniel). Breaching confidentiality would include: talking about the patient

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