Ethical Issues Concept Map

Nursing 412 – Ethics, Law, Economics & Health Policy: Application to Quality Nursing
Practice
Purpose of Assignment
The purpose of the assignment is to provide the student with an opportunity to analyze an
ethical issue in healthcare. An ethical decision-making model will be used along with application
of ethical principles and the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics for Nurses.
Student Approach to Assignment
For this assignment, I chose to analyze an ethical issue that arose while I was working as
a medical scribe in an emergency department. I utilized the MORAL decision-making model,
which gave me the opportunity to evaluate every aspect of the ethical dilemma that occurred. I
approached this assignment with an open mind to consider every aspect of the ethical dilemma in
this situation.
Reason for Inclusion of this Assignment in the Portfolio
I included this assignment because it displays the development of my decision-making
skills for ethical issues which is a fundamental skill that nurses must possess.
Critical thinking
 Uses decision-making skills in making clinical or professional judgments:
This assignment provided me with the opportunity to use my decision-making skills to make
professional judgements about whether or not the ethical dilemma discussed in this
presentation was approached appropriately. I developed a new decision-making skill by
utilizing the MORAL model, which can be utilized to make clinical decisions and
professional judgements.
Professionalism
 Applies an ethical decision-making framework and legal guidelines to clinical situations
that incorporate moral concepts, professional ethics, and advocacy for patient well-being
and preferences:
For this assignment, I utilized the MORAL model (a decision-making framework) and
guidelines from the American Nurses Association (ANA) as well as state laws to determine
whether or not the situation being analyzed was approached appropriately. I analyzed the
stakeholders in this situation including the patient, patient’s family, doctors, nurses, and other
healthcare team members. Additionally, I examined the patient’s and the family’s potential
preferences.
Culture
 Articulates an understanding of how human behavior is affected by culture, race,
religion, gender, lifestyle, and age:
One aspect of the MORAL model is “M” for “Massage the situation.” This feature of the
model required me to consider the patient’s culture, race, religion, gender, lifestyle, and age
and how these qualities may affect the patient’s healthcare preferences. In the presentation, I
discussed that because the patient was unconscious and a healthcare proxy was not present,
the healthcare team had to make assumptions about preferences based on age, race, and
regional religion to determine what the best plan of action would be.
 Maintains an awareness of global environmental factors that may influence the delivery
of health care services:
Because the patient was unconscious, and a healthcare proxy was not available,
environmental factors were taken into consideration to determine the potential preferences of
the patient. The patient was cared for in the southeastern area of Virginia and was therefore
thought to potentially be Christian with related preferences. Based on the environment in
which we were located, the decision was made to provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation to
the unconscious patient without any advanced directives.