An Example of Deontology in Nursing: Brenda's Case

In this paper is shown an example of deontology in nursing. So I propose that Brenda and her family are made completely conscious of all her possible treatment option. By only allowing an individual to be aware about one procedure due to their immediacy to health facilities is ridiculous, therefore it is vital that Brenda was having the right to get opportunity to decide what she thinks is the better treatment . As this scenario involves a serious illness, it is important to evaluate all methods of treatment with the patient, as well as support in decision making by providing the pro’s and con’s of the treatment methods.

Ethical values are fundamental for all healthcare workers. Ethical practice is a foundation for nurses, who deal with ethical issues daily. Nurses are advocates for patients and must find a balance while delivering patient care. In Brenda’s case the nurses must have the responsibility to play the role of a counsellor by providing all information regarding treatment and the merits and demerits along with health care team.

Each patient has the right to make their own decisions based on their own philosophy and values. This is known as autonomy. A patient's need for autonomy may clash with care guidelines or suggestions that nurses or other healthcare employees believe is best. A person has a right to refuse medications, treatment, surgery, or other medical interventions in spite of of what advantage may come from it. If a patient chooses not to receive a treatment that could potentially provide a benefit, the nurse must respect that choice. In case of Brinda , she had the capability and capacity to take her own decision on choice of treatment.

Respect for autonomy is the guiding ethical principle of area of patient preferences. Respect for autonomy in turn says the respect for a person says that each and every person has moral values and dignity in his or her own right. In this sense, the principle of respect applies to every encounter person, including the health team and Brenda.

In clinical ethical aspects, the patient is having the right to freely accept and reject the physician’s recommendations. Their response to health teams recommendations reflects the own values for their own lives.

Respect for autonomy acknowledges the individual as an independent person who is able to make choices for ownself. ( Dimitrios, Theofanidis, & Antigoni, 2018). Autonomy is a two –way aspect, as the health team act only on the best judgement about how best to benefit a patient from their options. The health team here took the best option to help out Brenda but they failed to explain it to her.

Patient autonomy, in the clinical situation, is the moral right on the part of the patient to self-determination regarding one’s own health care(2019). Conversely, whenever a health care professional restricts, or otherwise impedes, a patient’s freedom to decide what is done, by way of curative measures, to oneself, and attempts to justify such an interference by reasons absolutely related to the well-being, or needs, of that patient, that health care professional can be construed to have acted paternalistically.

Healthcare workers have a duty to leave off from maltreatment, minimize harm, and promote good towards patients (Suen, 2018).This duty of particular treatment describing beneficence. Healthcare workers demonstrate this by providing a balance of benefits against risks to the patient. They took a good treatment option to Brenda as she is having difficulty to reach the radiotherapy centre frequently but they had the responsibility to inform her why.

To act beneficently toward others is to behave in such a way as to “do good” on behalf of, or to benefit, someone other than oneself. To the extent to which health care professionals serve their patients by helping them to maintain or improve their health status, health care professionals can be said, to the same extent, to be acting beneficently toward the patients they serve. In theory, every action performed by a health care team, in a professional relationship with a patient, can be expected to be guided by the ethical principle of beneficence. Moreover, the respect for patient autonomy and the practice of beneficent medical care can be considered to be equally complementary. For, it is difficult to imagine a health care member who is committed to the principle of beneficence, on behalf of one’s patients, without also respecting the right to autonomous decision-making on the part of those same patients.

Patients have a right to no harm. Non-maleficence requires that nurses avoid causing harm to patients. This principle is likely the most difficult to uphold. In this they were focusing on that both treatment options have same effect but the easier one for Brenda in their perspective turns to be option of mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection.

Justice involves how people are treated when their concern competes with others. Another example is with patients in rural settings who may not have access to the same healthcare services that are offered in metropolitan areas. This is applicable in Brenda’s case and unlike everyone she had the right to get informed. So it shows the unfairness in health care setting.

Justice, as an ethical principle, stress that the actions taken by health team, in their professional relationships with patients, be motivated by a consistent set of standards in relation to the significance of the variety of factors that are taken into deliberation for such actions. As the same way hiding all treatment options in Brenda’s case is also unfair.

Overall this case can also be as a categorical imperative examples in nursing, but in this case Brenda is a competent women who is capable of making her own decisions. Rather than offering her the option, health care professionals should inform her all the possible options for Brenda and she can decide it with her perspectives. In this case I felt like the principles autonomy and justice is not fulfilled.

Reference 

• Salladay,S.(2017).EthicalProblems. Nursing, 47(4),12-13.doi: 10.1097/01.nurse.0000513616.88679.75
• Suen, K. (2018). Ethical implications of population ageing in the intensive care unit. Irish Journal Of Medical Science (1971 -), 188(2), 699-702. doi: 10.1007/s11845-018-1890-2
• Dimitrios, Theofanidis,M.Sc, PhD., & Antigoni, Fountouki,M.Sc, PhD.(c). (2018). Ethics and deontology in nursing research: A discussion paper. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 11(3), 1982-1989. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.monash.edu.au/docview/2173860682?accountid=12528
• (2019). Retrieved 28 August 2019, from http://hospicefoundation.ie/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Module-4-Patient-Autonomy-in-Law-and-Practice.pdf
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