Trend Care Example

Trend Care Example Trend Care â€" Essay Example > Most people tend to think of nurses as individuals who are primarily expected to assist doctors with medical procedures and help patients follow the doctor’s orders. But nurses are much more than just assistants to doctors and patients. While discharging their duty, toward patients nurses are expected to follow high standards of professional conduct. Central to the practise of the profession is the concept of ethical framework based on a number of guiding principles of bioethics. But situations in which nurses may have to knowingly or unknowingly breach these basic principles are not uncommon. Under such conditions they may have to face moral and/or legal dilemmas that may be difficult to resolve. Such dilemmas can be resolved and correct action consistent with the best interests of all concerned parties can be taken with the help of ethical frameworks for decision making developed by medical associations, authorities etc. Ethical frameworks for decision making are based on soun d principles that serve to define a moral approach to addressing issues related to health care ethics. The ethical principles most commonly used in ethical issues are autonomy principle, non-maleficence principle, beneficence principle and justice principle (Johnstone 2004, p. 37). Autonomy as a moral concept means ‘a person's ability to make or to exercise self-determining choice’ (Johnstone 2004, p. 38). Non-maleficence refers to doing no harm. Johnstone (2004, p. 39) explains non-maleficence as an obligation not to injure or harm others. The principle of justice is not amenable to definition due to its nature and content but, in general it means fairness and equal distribution of benefits and burdens (Johnstone 2004, p. 42). Beneficence refers to actions performed that contribute to the welfare of others. There are two principles of beneficence: positive beneficence requires provision of benefits, utility requires that benefits and drawbacks be balanced. (Beauchamp and Chil dress, 1994, p. 121). It may not always be possible for nurses to perform their duties strictly as required by the above principles. Situations may arise, for instance, in which there is a conflict between what is required of them as per one of the above principles vis-à-vis what is required of them in the context of another. For instance there are cases when the principles of veracity and non-malficence place conflicting demands on them. Such a situation arose in the pediatric ward of the RKH Hospital, Saudi Arabia when 3 year old Rashid was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) after a fall in the backyard pool at his home. Rashid was playing near the pool under the supervision of his babysitter, when the telephone rang in the house. The babysitter rushed in to answer the telephone and on returning she found Rashid face down in the pool. The boy was rushed to the RKH hospital where the doctors found the child’s vital signs absent. He was resuscitated with intub ation, ventilation and intravenous epinephrine injection. The boy remained comatose and unresponsive. His breathing was spontaneous with reactive pupils and he had intermittent generalized seizures. The condition of the boy deteriorated over the next six hours. A CT scan was done which showed severe cerebral edema. Two independent specialists were called in who confirmed the diagnosis of brain death.