Patient’s well-being is the priority for a nurse at all times. However, conflicts within the professional environment may arise due to different opinions on the patient’s best interests. The nurse’s moral and professional responsibility is patient to maintain a balance between adhering to the Nurses’ Code of Ethics and following legal procedures in their decision-making process to ensure the patient’s best interests.
In case of becoming aware of any questionable practices or decisions regarding the patient’s well-being, the nurse is to deliver the concerns to a responsible person – in this case, a physician. If the physician refuses to discuss the issue, then other involved parties should be contacted. Patients’ right to self-determination, which includes making informed treatment choices, should be respected (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2015). Patients’ decision-making in their care plan outweighs the physician’s position in this case study.
Maintaining conflict-free professional relationships with colleagues while keeping patients’ best interests in mind is vital for providing quality nursing care. If a nurse has justified concerns regarding the care plan or the patient’s ability to provide informed consent, they should address the issue with the responsible physician to discuss possible changes. If no common ground can be found, it is the nurse’s moral duty to seek alternatives, for example, addressing their concerns to the clinic’s administration or local healthcare authorities (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2015). Professional nurses’ moral responsibilities to the patient in this instance are providing informational guidance necessary for informed decision-making, identifying and addressing arising problems, and respecting patients’ decision-making methods.
For this case involving ethical and professional conflict, the nurse should apply the character-based decision-making model. The first step is to ensure that the best interests of all involved parties are considered. The next step is based on the concept of always prioritizing ethics over non-ethical values. In this case, the patient’s well-being and awareness of all possibilities and risks are the main focus of ethical nursing practice. The final step is deciding whether it is worth sacrificing professional relationships with the physician to advance a better ethical climate overall.
A nurse is responsible for properly informing the patient on precautionary measures regarding their condition. Failure to do so could be considered negligence under The Nursing Practice Act in the United States.
Whistleblowing is necessary to issue a warning about malpractice, poor nursing standards, or failure to follow ethical and professional care principles. In the assessed case, given that the physician’s determination to reject the nurse’s initiative could potentially endanger the patient’s health, whistleblowing is justified if no other options are available (Lachman, 2008). The negative consequences of blowing a whistle can be severe and include job loss, psychological pressure, social alienation, and different court procedures.
The nurse might be legally liable for negligence if a patient develops severe health complications due to a lack of patient education. A request by a patient for assistance and a nurse’s observation of inadequate care delivered by another provider create an affirmative duty of the nurse to act in the patient’s best interests (Ballard & Grant, 2017). Legal consequences for the nurse including licence suspension, loss of job, fines, and detention will follow unless necessary actions to avert possible negative consequences for the patient have been taken.
The optimal resolution of the issue presented is to ask the patient to give their informed consent to receive teaching from the nurse. If the physician refuses to let the nurse educate the patient, they should inform the clinic management of local healthcare authorities of the alleged malpractice.
References
American Nurses Association. (2015). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. ANA.
Lachman, V. D. (2008). Whistleblowers: troublemakers or virtuous nurses? MEDSURG Nursing, 17(2), 126–134.
Ballard, D., & Grant, P. D. (2017) Law for nurse leaders. Springer Publishing Company.