Ethical dilemma

Applying ethical principles in Nursing- Ethical dilemma

An ethical dilemma can be defined as the need to decide between two acceptable or unacceptable courses of action, and one choice prevents the selection of another. Nurses experience ethical dilemma when they need to make choices when answers are not clear and options aren’t ideal. Nurses’ code of ethics has been revised over the years to match the new research, technology, law, and overall challenges in nursing. The principles cover topics such as confidentiality, dignity, right to healthcare, and moral virtual. This paper analyzes an ethical case study from a media piece to understand its facts using an ethical decision-making model.

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Ethical decision-making model

The ethical decision-making model is a recommended approach that aids in critical thinking and making a choice when faced with an ethical dilemma. It acts as a tool for healthcare providers when thinking through an ethical issue and arriving at a conclusion. The decision involves working through three components: moral awareness, moral judgment, and ethical behavior (Raines & Dibble, 2021). Moral awareness includes recognizing the issue at hand, moral judgment includes assessing the choices, outcome, and moral behavior consists of the intended act and actual behavior in the situation.

According to the case study, the RN supervisor recognizes the issue at hand since she could not risk infecting the computer system with a virus. At the same time, she understands the importance of communication and would like to access the received email documents. Applying moral judgment calls for assessing the different consequences involved in making the choices. Risking the organization’s computer system can damage data, leading to theft or denied access (Raines & Dibble, 2021). Also, the RN cannot refute the email sent by the Director. In this case, accessing the email content without using the work devices will limit the intensity of virus damage if transferred utilizing the email.

The ethical issue in this case study arises because the email sender places the weight of email security on the receiver. He puts a statement in the confidentiality notice to disclaim sending a virus that would potentially affect the organization’s computer system. The recipient understands the intensity of that statement as she knows the sensitivity of the information stored in the computer system. As a result, the receiver is confronted with the ethical issue to make the best choice.

Effectiveness of the communication approach present in a case study

Email communication allows healthcare workers to send and receive messages. This communication method presents confidentiality and security issues that can lead to significant lawsuits in information breach, theft, or system attacks from hackers. Healthcare organizations should opt for improved communication tools that allow structured conversation (Shahid & Thomas, 2018). This kind of tool ensures that information is transferred between two people effectively without causing ethical issues. Email communication should be avoided among healthcare workers because of the data shared sensitivity (Burgener, 2020). For example, SBAR is a nursing communication tool that ensures the transfer of information with high security and confidentiality considerations.

The effectiveness of the approach used and communication tool proposal

Using another device to access the email content was the RN supervisor’s approach to address the issue. The professional used this approach to reduce the damage caused by opening the email if a virus was potentially transferred. This case study teaches the need to have improved communication tools among healthcare workers to avoid such misleading statements and ensure confidentiality (Shahid & Thomas, 2018). Using a communication tool will encourage effective sharing of information across disciplines to create collaborations among different professionals (Burgener, 2020). The RN supervisor will have a more influential role promoted by better communication plans in the organization.

Conclusion

Addressing ethical dilemmas is different across settings and situations. As a healthcare worker, ethical dilemmas are a common aspect that require critical analysis of the context to offer a conclusion or choose. The use of the three components of the ethical decision-making model is useful in making the right choice. Patient safety is vital and controls decision-making in a healthcare setting. In this case, confidentiality, security, and communication effectiveness are some of the ethical issues presented for addressing. A proper communication tool eliminates confidentiality and safety issues because of the structured manner of the technology used. The tool ensures the information is sent to the right individual without breaches or viruses attached to the data.

 

 

 

 

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