Ethics in Nursing Care

Question: Describe the ethics key factors in nursing and patients welfare. Answer: Introduction One of the important elements of care services is patients consent. It is important for valuing human rights of the patient and their family, thereby enhancing their trust toward the current health care system (Butts Rich, 2012). There are different ethical decision-making models, based on which health care professionals make their decisions. In this assignment, the major concern is, using an appropriate ethical decision-making model, providing ethical care services to the 6-years old child diagnosed with meningitis immediately. Ethical dilemma The major ethical dilemma in this case scenario is the provision of appropriate treatment to the child. To provide patients autonomy, patient consent is one of the crucial concerns for routine practices. In the case of childcare, the collection of parents consents is crucial to be incorporated in the care plans for providing the opportunity of self-judgment (Barry Edgman-Levitan, 2012). In this cases study, the consent from the child is important for initiating immediate action against his health status. It has been found that, the parents child was divorced and his mother was his primary custody. In addition, his biological father is the resident of another state and the mother is not his biological mother (Goethals et al., 2011). From the legal viewpoint, the physicians should take consent for the childs mother. However, the major dilemma is that, the childs mother is a Christian scientist. According to the beliefs of the Christian scientists, illness, suffering from pain does not have any objective reality and when people undertake medical guidance, they have reduced their beliefs upon God (Park, 2011). According to them, truth is the driving principle of life, the healing spiritual force, thus people should face the suffering with the trust toward God in spite of undergoing any medical treatment (Dossey et al., 2012). In contrast, the biological father of the child wants to initiate his sons treatment immediately. Therefore, the ethical dilemma is whether to initiate the childs treatment with his fathers verbal consent or not to undertake any treatment initiation due to childs mothers belief. Another dilemma in this case is, the mother is not his biological mother; so, she might not have that much concern for the child which she might show if the child was her biological child (Park et al., 2012). Decision making model There are different ethical decision-making models based on which medical professionals undertake ethical decisions in care practices. In this case scenario, the evaluation of the situation through an appropriate ethical-decision making model will help to select the appropriate option for well-being of the child with the satisfaction of his parents. In this context, the integrated model of ethical decision-making has been selected (Park, 2011). This model consists of six steps. The first step include, the identification of the ethical problem, the second step include the additional information collection related to the case for identifying the problem and building an idea related to the solutions. The third step is the establishment of the alternatives of the solutions and analyzing the most suitable option within them through comparison. The next step is the selection of best alternatives with appropriate justification and the next step is the implementation of the suitable solution related actions (Park et al., 2012). The final step is the evaluation of effects of decision-related actions. Resolving dilemma According to the steps of integrated ethical decision-making model, the ethical dilemma in this case can be resolved. Following the steps in the model, the first step would be the identification of the problem. Here, the key problem is the collection of ethical consent for initiating treatment for the child from his mother or starting the care activities without her consent. The next step in the decision-making model is to collect additional information for developing solutions. In this case, patient assessment is important (Fowler, 2012). After assessment, the medical staffs should undertake a thorough conversation with his father and mother. It has been revealed that, his mother is not his biological mother and she is a Christian scientist and her beliefs that, as his son is undergoing a critical disease, he should not show disrespect toward god by undergoing through medical treatment, rather he should show respect toward god by suffering from the disease. On the other hand, his bi ological father wants to start his treatment immediately. The next step is development of alternatives; there are two alternatives, either physician should convince her mother through effective communication and wait for her mothers consent or they should start treatment without her mothers consent which does not sound ethical, as she has the childs custody (Ulrich, 2012). In the next step, analyzing the alternatives, it has been evaluated that, the most suitable option is to undertake effective communication for convincing the childs mother about the severity of meningitis and consequences of neglecting the initial treatment and taking her consent after that. In the next step, a conversation session was arranged for his mother, where she has been communicated about his childs health status and the importance of initiating care. She has also been convinced that, no one shows disrespect toward god while undergoing medical treatment (Park, 2011). While evaluating the results, it has been found that, the mother is convinced and provided consent for starting the care program. Dialog for family The child is undergoing a serious disease, the infection in his brain with the harmful pathogen S. pneumonia. In this case, the child can improve his health status as soon as possible and his treatment will be initiated; otherwise, his brain can be severely affected. The medical treatment is crucial for improving any kind of health illness (Butts Rich, 2012). Medical treatment is important for eliminating the causative agents of the disease. In this case, it is also a crucial point that, undergoing medical treatment is not the means of showing disrespect to god. A person cannot get recovery from an illness without undergoing medical treatment by only showing respect to god. Additionally, it is the right of every human being to get appropriate treatment against illness. It will be an inhuman action, if someone is hindering the medical treatment and the consequences can be fatal (Park, 2011). Therefore, for improving the health outcomes of the child, the family should show trust and r espect toward both the medical treatment and God. It will be helpful for their child to be recovered as soon as possible. Conclusion Ethics is one of the key factors in nursing and patients welfare. In nursing, the ethical decision-making is important for incorporating fair and justice in the health care practices. Every person has the right to gain appropriate medical support to get health welfare. This assignment highlighted how the ethical decision-making with the help inappropriate ethical decision-making model helped the medical professionals to undertake appropriate ethical decision for the betterment of the child in given case scenario. Reference List Barry, M., Edgman-Levitan, S. (2012). Shared Decision Making The Pinnacle of Patient-Centered Care. 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