Ethics for Nurses in Australia-Free-Samples -Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Problem faced by Nurses related to the dignity of the human person and realisation of the common good in their Profession and Practice. Answer: In the present clinical scenario, nurses face issues related to the dignity of the human person and realisation of the common good in their profession and practice. The most significant issue is the patients confidentiality and respect for dignity in the present healthcare system that shapes the advancement of nursing practice and profession. Patients confidentiality is one of the most important pillars in the field of medicine and nurses have a moral duty to protect the private details of a patient under their provision of care (Wong et al., 2015). As a nurse, one has the duty to maintain patients confidentiality being an important dimension and moral principle of human dignity combined with nursing profession. The above finding serves as reminders for nurses in their profession because perception and societal support is important in nursing for the preservation of patients health related aspects of common good. Maintaining privacy and confidentiality of patients in the current healthcare system is increasingly challenging in regards to safeguarding individuals personal health information and using it for medical purposes only (Winland-Brown, Lachman Swanson, 2015). Nursing profession needs to establish its benefit to society as it is one of the most trusted profession in the healthcare system. There should be promotion of common good with elements of caring, concern and compassion in the professional nursing practice. Although the above statement seems alarmist, there is still competing priorities arguing that whether common good is serving the purpose of promotion of confidential treatment and maintenance of human dignity within the society. From the nurses perspective, human dignity is an expression of professional values like privacy, respect and independence (Kerr et al., 2014). In the nursing clinical and educational environments, human dignity is recognized as understanding and valuing nurses and considers their professional needs and success. However, in the current healthcare scenario, although the nursing profession is respected, the inherent dignity of a person is not evaluated. Respect is an essential factor in all spheres of life like self-respect, respect for privacy of patients and others that are associated with dignity. Privacy and confidentiality in nursing are two different aspects in nursing profession. Privacy is the right of individuals or clients to keep their personal information about themselves and not disclosed. Patients are the ones who decide when and where the health information needs to be shared. On a contrary, confidentiality in nursing is how to treat private information of patients once it is disclosed. This information disclosure arises from a trusting relationship assuming that health information should not be divulged except for treatment and monitoring of quality of care (zturk, Bahecik zelik, 2014). Nevertheless, in the fast-paced clinical scenario, the maintenance of privacy and confidentiality is a daunting task. Nurses promote confidentiality of patients by giving them the right to decide what information should be shared about them and in which circumstances. As nurses, they recognize that there need to be a balance between patient safety and treatment with respect for confidentiality and they must choose patient safety first. Under Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses in Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA), nurses have the moral obligation to treat personal information of an individual obtained as private and confidential in their professional capacity. Similarly, nurses have the responsibility towards the individuals under their provision to whom they provide care and provide safety and quality in their competent nursing profession (Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia, 2017). Human dignity and rights has an impact on treatment as informed consent from the patient or client is important before the commencement of diagnosis and treatment. In this way, the patient dignity is maintained and violation may result in denial or rejection of treatment as the patient was not priory informed. As nursing is viewed as a trusting profession, consent to treatment is important where permission is taken from the patient before receiving any kind of medical treatment, examination or test informing about potential benefits and risks involved in the procedure (Grady, 2015). As nurses, they know how patients and their families make excruciating decisions and if they are comfortable with the medical treatment or not. Nonetheless, nurses have to maintain confidentiality and find ways to reconcile own values within nursing profession obligations. As a nurse, one should treat patient with respect and dignity and personal information should be used for professional purposes only. Patient confidentiality is important that ensures to safeguard patients rights and protecting confidentiality of information promoting common good and acts as motivation of nurses to continue with their nursing profession. References Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia. (2017).5_New-Code-of-Ethics-for-Nurses-. Retrieved 7 November 2017, from https://file:///C:/Users/user00/Downloads/5_New-Code-of-Ethics-for-Nurses-August-2008%20(3).PDF Grady, C. (2015). Enduring and emerging challenges of informed consent.New England Journal of Medicine,372(9), 855-862. Kerr, D., McKay, K., Klim, S., Kelly, A. M., McCann, T. (2014). Attitudes of emergency department patients about handover at the bedside.Journal of clinical nursing,23(11-12), 1685-1693. zturk, H., Bahecik, N., zelik, K. S. (2014). The development of the patient privacy scale in nursing.Nursing ethics,21(7), 812-828. Winland-Brown, J., Lachman, V. D., Swanson, E. O. C. (2015). The new code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. 2015: Practical clinical application, Part I.Medsurg Nursing,24(4), 268-71. Wong, S. T., Lavoie, J. G., Browne, A. J., MacLeod, M. L., Chongo, M. (2015). Patient confidentiality within the context of group medical visits: is there cause for concern?.Health Expectations,18(5), 727-739.