Running head: BENCHMARK-ETHICAL DILEMMA 1

Ethical Decision Making

Rebecca Ramirez

Grand Canyon University: NSG 436

04/19/2020
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Benchmark- Ethical Dilemma

Being a member in the healthcare field comes with difficult decision making both

scientifically and ethically. Nurses are faced with ethical dilemmas daily, often due to having

differing moral views from their patients. The purpose of this paper is to shine light on

euthanasia along with a justification for the author’s stance on physician-assisted suicide.

Throughout the essay, the author will also discuss an explanation of what ethical decision model,

skills, standards, and morals can be utilized to offer resolution to this dilemma and how

leadership style can influence the decision-making process.

Ethical Dilemma and Justification

Physician-assisted suicide, brings about a lot of discussion in the realm of what is

ethically right. Those in favor of physician-assisted suicide believe that in doing so, it honors the

patient’s wishes of having a humane and merciful end of suffering from a terminal illness. In

contrast, those who frown upon the idea of physician-assisted suicide strongly believe that

ending one’s life is not morally or inherently acceptable in any manner. To guide nurses in

ethical dilemmas across the country, the ANA provides a set of ethical principles that help guide

nurses in their practice to overcome these difficult situations (American Nurses Association,

2015). As nurses, we do our best to provide the best care for patients suffering from illnesses

ranging from the flu to terminal illnesses such as cancer. Despite our best efforts to keep patients

from suffering, illnesses are sometimes too advanced for the medical team to intervene and

manage their severe symptoms. Because of this, I believe that as a nurse I would respect a

patient’s autonomy in choosing this option of dying. Autonomy, according the ANA Code of

Ethics, is defined as the respect for self-determination (Code of Ethics for Nurses, n.d.).
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Furthermore, this would only be morally okay if a patient meets all requirements to form

mentally sound decisions such as this.

Standard Application and Providing Safe Client Care

When caring for patients with different illnesses, it is important to provide quality care

despite personal feelings about the decisions they make regarding their own care. A nurse leader

can ensure safe client care is complete by encouraging and educating the patient on other options

that the healthcare team can provide to them. Palliative care is centered around pain and

symptom management which is another option that patients resort to during this hard time in

their lives (Brown, & Ashcraft, 2019). The nurse leader could also navigate the standard to

provide safe client care by teaching his or her staff on the protocols that the nurse’s must abide

by when caring for a patient that wishes for medical aid in passing away. Some of these

protocols include no nurse is permitted to actively participate in the administration of any

medications to the patient at any time during their treatment (American Nurses Association,

2019).

Ethical Decision-Making Skills

One of the most important aspects in dealing with ethical situations is being able to stand

firm in the beliefs and morals that are important to a nurse. By doing so, you lay down a

foundation of treating patients with dignity and respect despite the morals you hold dear to your

life. According the third provision of the Code of Ethics for Nurses, protecting and advocating

for the patient’s rights is emphasized to ensure that the patient is safe in the care of any nurse

(Code of Ethics for Nurses, n.d.). By referring to this provision, it can help prevent or resolve

any further dilemmas that nurses face when coming across patients who have different moral

views on physician-assisted suicide.

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Solution and Leadership Influence

Ethical dilemmas remain very controversial in the face of healthcare. These are situations

that are not taken lightly which brings about many ideas on how to solve them. With the

leadership style of authentic leadership, I have an outlook on patient care that emphasizes the

awareness of other’s values and morals, along with my own (Huber, 2018). As a nurse leader

with the authentic leadership style, I would help solve this dilemma by having one to one

meetings with every nurse on the floor about their preference on caring for patients that can bring

about a certain ethical dilemma that they are not comfortable with. In doing this, it would help

the nurses on the floor provide the best care to patients that are morally aligned with them.

Implementing this strategy will help nurses and patients remain on the same page regarding the

progression of their illness and treatment to come.

Conclusion

When entering the field of nursing, there will be situations where we must be reminded of

the morals that have been ingrained in us since the start of our nursing careers. Different life

experiences will help shape us into the exceptional nurses that patients will rely on for

physiologic, educational, economic, logistic, and psychosocial factors of their care.

Implementing ethically sound and safe patient care will help patients and their families be at

peace during times where the patient is suffering from an illness that is extremely debilitating to

their lives.
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References

American Nurses Association (2019). The Nurse’s Role When a Patient Requests Medical

Aid in Dying Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/~49e869/globalassets/prac

ticeandpolicy/nursing-excellence/ana-position-statements/social-causes-and-health-care/the-

nurses-role-when-a-patient-requests-medical-aid-in-dying-web-format.pdf

American Nurses Association. (2015). Code of Ethics PDF. Retrieved

from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/ethics/code-of-ethics-for-

nurses/coe-view-only/.

Brown, K. L., & Ashcraft, A. S. (2019). Comfort or Care: Why Do We Have to Choose?

Implementing a Geriatric Trauma Palliative Care Program. Journal of Trauma Nursing, 26(1), 2–

9. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1097/JTN.0000000000000410

Code of Ethics for Nurses. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-

policy/nursing-excellence/ethics/code-of-ethics-for-nurses/

Shibata, B. (2017). An Ethical Analysis of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide:

Rejecting Euthanasia and Accepting Physician Assisted Suicide with Palliative Care. Journal of

Legal Medicine, 37(1/2), 155–166. https://doi-

org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/01947648.2017.1303354