Ethical Issues?

Nurses General Nursing

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I am seeking some ideas and information from anyone who is willing to help out. I am a Criminal Justice major and just got an assignment for one of my mid terms. It is dealing with ethics. I had to find someone in a profession that has a clear set of ethics, so I chose my mother-in-law. She is a RN-BSN as well as a nursing instructor. I have to create a situation to place her in that will involve her ethics and let her explain to me what she would do and why she would do it. I would like to give her a very challenging situation but since I am not very familiar with the nurse's code of ethics nor have I ever been in the type of situation that I am to be describing, I AM KINDA BEFUZZLED as to where to begin. I have several sources from the internet about the code of ethics for nursing and the textbook from one of her nursing classes but I'd kinda like to read some experiences and so far haven't been able to find anything that is challenging. I would very much appreciate any ideas that anyone may have. Thanks!:mad:

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Check out the Ethics column at Online Journal of Issues in Nursing....many topics there. http://nursingworld.org/ojin/ethicol/ethictoc.htm

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Specializes in NICU/Neonatal transport.

Any sort of end of life issue is a good choice. You could have a situation with a person with DNR/pallative care and that person needing increasing pain control, to the point that it could depress their breathing.

I would ask her what some ethical issues are that she has run into in her career

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Unfortunately, medical ethics is anything but clear cut. Should an alcoholic get a liver transplant after ruining the first one by drinking? Should a generous hospital donor get preferential treatment or a "cut in line" for organ transplant. ? Should a nurse tell a patient their condition is hopeless when a surgeon wants to perform experimental surgery? When is it appropriate to use experimental but dangerous chemotherapy drugs. Can a psychotic patient refuse treatment? Is it ethical for doctors or nurses to go out on strike? Ethics is a newly emerging branch of both medicine and nursing and little has been decided. IMHO

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