The Family Nurse Practitioner specialty prioritizes care for pregnant women, newborns, children, adolescents, and adults in family-centered care. In their practice, family nurse practitioners (FNP) often become involved in situations where ethical concerns and issues take a significant part. One of the ethical concerns FNPs face in modern conditions is racial disparities in care for pregnant women from minorities and rising fatalities during childbirth in this population segment. Addressing the ethical concern requires the implementation of different ethical theories, frameworks, and principles in nursing practice. This essay will explain which ethical theory, framework, and principles I will use in my nursing practice to address the ethical concern of racial disparities in care for pregnant women.
Firstly, there are several ethical theories, and not every theory can be successfully applied to nursing practice. Furthermore, theories use different approaches to the issue of discrimination and racial disparities. One of the primary ethical theories of deontology, which prioritizes an individual’s obligation to duty, is often applied in nursing practice. Furthermore, the patient-centered deontology theory is often opposed to the society-centered utilitarian theory, which prioritizes the consequences of an action and justifies the means (Chukwuneke and Ezenwugo, 2022). The Kantian imperative of deontology encourages people to treat others with humanity and emphasizes “sameness” in people, which will help address racial disparities in care (Barnard and Turnbull, 2019, p.23). Thus, in my nursing practice, I plan to use guidance from Kantian ethical theory founded on deontology ethics to address the issue of discrimination and treat all patients equally with respect.
Furthermore, I plan to use the ICN Code of Ethics for Nurses as an ethical framework in my practice. The code provides valuable knowledge about the ethical values and responsibilities of nurses. The code addresses the issue of racial disparities by requiring nurses to provide culturally appropriate care with respect to human rights without prejudice (International Council of Nurses, 2021). In addition, the code encourages nurses to practice non-discrimination in relation to culturally diverse colleagues and educate people about relevant social issues (International Council of Nurses, 2021). Thus, utilizing the approach from the framework will help me promote non-discrimination in my practice and educate other people about the reasons for rising fatalities in childbirth in minorities.
Lastly, two ethical principles of nursing practice will support my advanced nursing practice in addressing the ethical concern of racial disparities in care for pregnant women. Firstly, the principle of justice requires nursing professionals to be fair in the distribution of care and equally respect all patients. Furthermore, the social justice and equality principle promotes equal access to healthcare (McDermott-Levy et al., 2018). Next, the second primary ethical principle for addressing the issue is beneficence. While the justice principle requires nurses to treat all patients equally, personal kindness encouraged by beneficence can further improve the situation. According to Stamps (2021), addressing bias in nursing students requires recalling the beneficence principle. Thus, the ethical issue of racial discrimination in nursing can be solved by eliminating unconscious bias with the promotion of the beneficence principle.
In conclusion, this essay explored which theories, frameworks, and principles I will use in my practice as an FNP to address the issue of racial disparities in care for pregnant women from minorities. The Kantian deontology theory will guide me in always treating patients equally and prioritizing my duties. Furthermore, using the ICN Code of Ethics for Nurses as the ethical framework will improve my approach toward culturally diverse patients and colleagues. Lastly, ethical principles of justice and beneficence will provide the foundation for my development as a kind and compassionate nursing professional who treats all patients equally.
References
Barnard, R. T., & Turnbull, D. J. (2019). Discrimination and social justice: Questions of diversity, plurality, representativeness, measurability, and doublespeak. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Civic and Political Studies, 14(2), 21-34. Web.
Chukwuneke, F., & Ezenwugo, A. C. (2022). Deontology vs. utilitarianism: Understanding the basis for the moral theories in medicine. International Journal of Medicine and Health Development, 27(1), 19-23. Web.
International Council of Nurses. (2021). The ICN code of ethics for nurses. Web.
McDermott-Levy, R., Leffers, J., & Mayaka, J. (2018). Ethical principles and guidelines of global health nursing practice. Nursing Outlook, 66(5), 473-481. Web.
Stamps, D. C. (2021). Nursing leadership must confront implicit bias as a barrier to diversity in health care today. Nurse Leader, 19(6), 630-638. Web.