Introduction
As professional nurses we often find ourselves faced with questions of ethics and legality when it comes to the care of patients. It is here that we find ourselves in the conundrum that is called nursing judgment. ”The basic level of problems concerns the dilemmas which arise for individual professional when they sense that there is a conflict between their private moral convictions and what they believe is required of them…” (Thompson, 1976). Nursing judgment is hard when so many factors are present, from the patient’s viewpoint, to the family/caregiver to the physicians ultimately in charge of the care. Many complicated scenarios can occur for the RN at any time and they must base their decisions on the ethical and legal guidelines that govern the nursing profession.
Body
In the world of nursing we are faced with ethical decisions on a regular basis but it is how we handle these situations that makes the difference. As a nurse we are bound by the guidelines of the code of ethics. The ANA (2014) states the “Code of Ethics for Nurses is a succinct statement of the ethical obligations and duties of every individual who enters the nursing profession. “It is the profession’s nonnegotiable ethical standard” and “an expression of nursing’s own understanding of its commitment to society”. In the case of the patient admitted with a hemorrhagic stroke whose family disagreed on the plan of care, the code of ethics outlines that the patient is our primary concern. When faced with conflict the nurse should help coordinate discussion with all parties involved. Once the ethics committee convenes the final resolution as per the code of ethics is to do what’s best for the patient.
The nurse involved in the malpractice lawsuit is required by the code of ethics to provide competent care and protect the patients from harm. The nurse did not demonstrate