Kimberly Baptiste
Liberty University
BUSI 506
October 2, 2022
I don't have any experience in nursing but one day in the near future hope to pursue that dream.
I have learnt so much doing this discussion post on the ethical and legal issues that surround the
profession. The ethical issues that are faced by nurses on a daily basis cannot be compared to any
other. The mental fight that have to be done with oneself about what is "right" or "wrong" can be
challenging. Not forgetting about the legal issues at hand which are based on legislations,
standards and guidelines and licensure.
There is no easy task that has to be taken on by nurses and everyday these tasks are done with
others in mind. Nurses play a vital role in the healthcare industry and many times little attention
is placed on the ethical issues that arise every day. One of the most important roles of a nurse is
advocating for the patient and to assist both patient and family members who might be struggling
with difficult decisions or have difficult information to go through. There are many clinical
situations that require nurses to exercise ethical judgements.
As one of the largest groups of health care providers this situation brings light on the fact that
nurses need to have the proper education and knowledge in performing and delivering care in an
ethical way. There has been a long history of nurses struggling with ethical challenges in patient
care and researches have taking place as early as 1935. Since then many researches have focused
on the everyday ethical issues that are faced in everyday practice.
There are countless ethical issues which have been categorized into three broad sections.
These are:
Patient care
- These issues include but is not limited to: staffing pattern, allocation of resources, breaches of
patient confidentiality, discriminatory treatment of patients, reporting unethical or illegal practice
of health professional. One of the biggest challenges of patient care however is resource
allocation. As the healthcare industry grows so does the use of technology. With the use of
technology medical resources now becomes limited and the focus now becomes centered on
nurses. It must also be highlighted that in a particular setting such as a hospital the ethical issue
of breaches of patient confidentiality and privacy is more rampant.
• Human rights
