American Nurses Association: Ethical Dilemma (NR328)

Ethical Dilemma
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Ethical Dilemma
Although nursing careers are fulfilling, they are not without their share of challenges like other careers. Regardless of their area of specialization or accreditation, nurses face a range of ethical dilemmas every day in all settings. There is need to understand what is the meaning of ethics in the modern healthcare professionals and some of the ethical dilemmas they face in the ever changing healthcare settings.
While there is no right or wrong decision or answer to the various ethical issues that nurses encounter in the modern complex healthcare settings, there are principles which guide these answers and decisions that they make. These regulatory principles are there to ensure that highest standards of ethics are maintained (Hunt, 2003). The international Council of Nurses' ICN Code of Ethics states that despite the core responsibilities of promoting health statuses of patients, they should also respect their rights from cultural rights to the right of being treated respectfully, as part of the responsibilities (ICN). Additionally, the code states that the nurses have a professional responsibility to all people that require care, which further specifies that nurses also render their services to families and communities and not only to individuals (ICN).
With the modern technology, the ethical dilemmas that nurses faces in various settings have increased and become complex. With genetic technology, there are new sources of medical information that have raised critical ethical, social and legal issues in the nursing profession. Maintaining privacy and confidentiality is such an issue that nurses faces in healthcare se...