Registered nurses (RNs) are supposed to assume an active role, particularly in instances where the fundamental rights of the patient are endangered. This advocacy paper assesses a hypothetical health condition from the RNs’ standpoint. The rights of patients will be assessed in detail and the impact of their infringement appraised. Moreover, the endeavors of other health professionals will be thoroughly deliberated with the application of the Bioethical Decision-Making Model in the discussed case (Piryani, Piryani, Poudel, & Sharma, 2016). The paper will discuss nursing support in the health situation while specifying the role of the nurse as the patients’ advocate. Modern nurses are supposed to carefully mull over the rights of patients and avert any possible threat.
In the definition of the dilemma, a given RN often accomplishes all the set functions appropriately and values patient autonomy, in addition to other associated rights. Informed consent is deemed one of the main factors in the operations of RNs. Nonetheless, at times, healthcare providers may fail to function in line with the ethics of informed consent (Cheng & Lin, 2017). In the hypothetical situation employed in this paper, nurses operating in a hospital in the United States failed to seek the patient’s permission prior to beginning their intervention. Regardless of the nurses’ actions having been elicited by positive intentions, they contravened patients’ rights because they knew that informed consent was necessitated by all directives under patient care regulations. Nonetheless, the health professionals did not acquire complete informed consent from the patient in question and went ahead to initiate their intervention. The RNs only became cognizant of the fact after a few minutes into the practice. There is a need for the establishment of an optimal strategy for addressing such an occurrence, in addition to the avoidance of similar issues in the future.
In the identification of the medical facts, the health professionals introduced medical interventions devoid of seeking informed consent from the patient. Moreover, the nurse manager did not prevent such an error from occurring. Since nurses cannot guarantee positive outcomes in medical situations, informed consent makes sure that patients comprehend the risks and side-effects of possible treatment approaches (Cheng & Lin, 2017). When patients approve a treatment practice, they should sign to show that they understand underlying treatment aspects and authorize healthcare providers to embark on the necessary life-saving measures. With respect to the identification of non-medical facts, the role of the nurse as the advocate may vary in line with patients’ requirements and preferences. In all situations, nurses should respect the human dignity of patients irrespective of their psychological state, physical conditions, culture, religion, or socio-economic situation. In terms of external influences, healthcare providers who violate rights of patients should be punished accordingly. Furthermore, practice acts, organizational policies, federal and state laws, and code of ethics should implement stringent measures for the prevention of similar violations in the future. Health professionals who infringe on the rights of patients may be fined and made to experience further sanctions from their healthcare organizations.
Some of the items that need clarification include the formulation of rebuttal and exceptions. The set regulations should be strictly implemented, and the rights of patients safeguarded. Nevertheless, some exemptions may be permitted under extreme cases. For instance, when there is no time to consult with some health professionals, there is a likelihood of abandoning some components of the set strategy. This, however, does not supersede patient autonomy in any event. In the identification of decision-makers, if the patient is an adult who can make their choices, their contribution is vital for the generation of an autonomy-supportive setting (Nibbelink & Brewer, 2018). Nonetheless, if the patient is a child or in a critical condition that hinders their ability to make choices, the parent, guardian, or a close family member may give informed consent on their behalf. Such a person is selected based on the views of other members of the family and in support of the past relationship with the patient.
In line with underlying ethical principles, some of the major values have not been adhered to by the nurses. Beneficence is tackled since treatment options are assessed from the consideration of the patient and for their benefit. Nonmaleficence is not adhered to in this case because the treatment intervention was not negotiated with the patient, and they are not conscious of the possible risks of different choices. Similarly, patient autonomy is not upheld since the necessities of achieving informed consent were not followed correctly (Cheng & Lin, 2017). Moreover, the principle of justice was undertaken constantly because the welfare and policies of health professionals and requirements of patients were balanced with each other. The alternative necessary to avoid the occurrence of the problem in the future entails requiring nurses to consult with the nurse manager and not instigate any intervention without approval. Although this might have the burden of overloading the nurse manager with additional tasks, it has the benefit of ensuring that the set guidelines are always met. Follow-up is essential to ascertain that established policies are successfully applied. The nurse manager should thoroughly evaluate operations of nurses regularly, for example, once in a fortnight, to make sure that nurses have successfully adjusted the behaviors and strategies.
RNs should assume an active function, mainly in instances where the essential rights of the patient are imperiled. Nurses are supposed to cautiously mull over the rights of patients and avoid any possible threat. The alternative needed to evade the occurrence of mistakes during treatment entails requiring nurses to check with the nurse manager and not prompt any intervention devoid of approval.
References
Cheng, C. T., & Lin, C. C. (2017). The use of informed consent in clinical nursing practice. The Journal of Nursing, 64(1), 98-100.
Nibbelink, C. W., & Brewer, B. B. (2018). Decision‐making in nursing practice: An integrative literature review. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27(5-6), 917-928.
Piryani, R. M., Piryani, S., Poudel, R. S., & Sharma, M. (2016). Needs assessment for teaching/learning nursing ethics for master of nursing students. Asian Bioethics Review, 8(2), 134-142.