OAK NUR4242 All Journal Reflections Latest

NUR4242 Ethics in Nursing

Week 1 Journal Reflection

Two nursing students cheated on several assignments.  Although the evidence is irrefutable, both students deny cheating.  Discuss these students in terms of virtue ethics.  Do these students have integrity?  Do these students have the character to become good nurses? Should the instructor allow them another chance?

Response to be posted to correct Assignment folder.  Items placed in wrong folder will not be graded.  Please follow guidelines as outlined in the course syllabus.

“Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.”

      ~ Oprah Winfrey

 

NUR4242 Ethics in Nursing

Week 2 Journal Reflection

Ethics In Nursing

Think of a time when you had a different opinion than another person.

Reflect on personal values evident in encounters/challenges with patients, friends, teachers, and others.

Note what they think and feel about these situations.

Trace how they developed each value and how their value(s) affected these encounters.

Identify value differences that may have contributed to conflict or misunderstanding.

Response to be posted to correct Assignment folder.  Items placed in wrong folder will not be graded.  Please follow guidelines as outlined in the course syllabus.

“Any tool can be used for good or bad.

It’s really the ethics of the artist using it.”

  ~ John Knoll

 

NUR4242 Ethics in Nursing

Week 3 Journal Reflection

Ethics In Nursing

Deborah is a nurse practitioner working in a privately owned primary care clinic. This clinic serves mostly Medicaid-eligible families. Although Medicaid pays generously for most diagnoses and procedures, it often denies payment for wellness services.

 In order for the clinic to make a profit, it has become an unwritten policy to give every patient a diagnosis even if no problem actually exists. Deborah is reluctant to do this because she considers this fraud. Her supervisor assures her that everyone else at the clinic invents diagnoses, and not only is it common practice across the country, but it is a necessary practice to ensure that the clinic will stay open.

 The supervisor says that Medicaid’s policy is outdated, and that inventing a diagnosis is the logical solution. She also implies that Deborah jeopardizes her job if she refuses to participate in this practice. The nurses in the clinic tell Deborah that the supervisor is right—everyone has been doing this for years; it has never caused any problems. Deborah worries that if she refuses to follow the supervisor’s request, she may lose her job. She also believes Medicaid really should be paying for the visits and that the clinic is a vital community service.

Is this an ethical dilemma, a legal problem, or both?

What principles are involved?

What are the legal implications for Deborah?

What are the legal versus the ethical implications of this situation?

How do you think Deborah should handle the situation?

Response to be posted to correct Assignment folder.  Items placed in wrong folder will not be graded.  Please follow guidelines as outlined in the course syllabus.  Be sure to address all questions and use your critical thinking skills and your new framework for decision-making skills to aid in your exploration of these issues.

 Whether gods exist or not, there is no way to get absolute certainty about ethics.

 Without absolute certainty, what do we do?  We do the best we can.”

 ~ Richard Stallman

 

NUR4242 Ethics in Nursing

Week 4 Journal Reflection

Nursing Students Face an Ethical Dilemma

Tonya and Lydia are two senior nursing students assigned to work in the intensive care unit with a critically ill patient. The patient, Mr. Dunn, is an 87-year-old retired ironworker. He lives alone in an old two-story frame house. Mr. Dunn is diabetic. He is nearly blind and has moderately advanced prostate cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Mr. Dunn was admitted to the intensive care unit after he was discovered unconscious in his home by a neighbor. At that time he was ketoacidotic and had a very severe necrotic wound on his left leg. The surgeon plans to amputate Mr. Dunn’s left leg but has been unable to get consent from either Mr. Dunn or his next of kin, a niece who lives out of town.

Tonya is proud of her efficiency as a nursing student. She makes rapid decisions. Tonya insists that Mr. Dunn must have the amputation. She boldly suggests to the physician that he have a surrogate appointed for Mr. Dunn so that the surgery can proceed. The course is clear to her. Lydia, on the other hand, is not certain of the correct course of action. She talks to Mr. Dunn and his niece about his condition. She wonders if the amputation is the best solution to his problem. She thinks about what his quality of life will be after the surgery. She worries about his ability to care for himself and about his state of mind should he be forced to live in a nursing home. She thinks about what she would want for her own father if he were in the same situation. Lydia falls asleep at night pondering these thoughts. She does not know how to go about solving the problem. Tonya is impatient with Lydia. She sees no benefit to the time and energy spent worrying about this problem when the solution is apparent to her. She dislikes wasting her time talking to Lydia about these concerns.

What ethical behaviors is Lydia demonstrating?

Explain the ethical theory that Tonya is practicing.

Discuss the focal virtues that each of the nurses is using to base their decision-making on the care that Mr. Dunn needs.

 Response to be posted to correct Assignment folder.  Items placed in wrong folder will not be graded.  Please follow guidelines as outlined in the course syllabus.  Be sure to address all questions and use your critical thinking skills and your new framework for decision-making skills to aid in your exploration of these issues.

 “The moral values, ethical codes and laws that guide our choices in normal times are, if anything, even more important to help us navigate the confusing and disorienting time of a disaster”. 

 ~ Sheri Fink (Author of Five Days at Memorial)

 

NUR4242 Ethics in Nursing

Week 5 Journal Reflection

Introduction to Ethical Dilemma Final Paper

Everyone should have an approved topic for your final paper on an ethical dilemma of your choosing.  This week’s assignment is to write the first, and most important, part of your paper.

This is the Introduction—Summary of What is Known about the Issue.  For this assignment you must include one referenced source (not your textbook) that will support your introductory thoughts about your topic.

Response is to be posted to correct Assignment folder.  Items placed in wrong folder will not be graded.  Write this using academic considerations:  full sentences, correct grammar, punctuation—use this assignment to develop your persuasive writing skills.  Content and reference must be in APA format.

“The difference between moral dilemmas and ethical ones, philosophers say, is that in moral issues the choice is between right and wrong.  In ethics, the choice is between two rights.”

~ Pamela Warrick

 

NUR4242 Ethics in Nursing

Week 6 Journal Reflection

Examining an Ethical Dilemma

Ethical dilemmas occur when there are conflicting moral claims.  The "rightness" or "wrongness" of decisions regarding ethical issues is often not clear.  Consider a situation where you encountered an ethical dilemma.  Describe factors that contributed to your uncertainty about which moral claim held the most weight.  What helped you to be able to move ahead with your decision?

Response is to be posted to correct Assignment folder.  Items placed in wrong folder will not be graded.  Please follow guidelines as outlined in the course syllabus.  Be sure to address all questions and use your critical thinking skills and your new framework for decision-making skills to aid in your exploration of these issues. Write this using academic considerations:  full sentences, correct grammar, punctuation—use this assignment to develop your persuasive writing skills.

"The most important human endeavor is the striving for morality in our actions.

 Our inner balance and even our very existence depend on it.

 Only morality in our actions can give beauty and dignity to life."

   ~ Albert Einstein

 

NUR4242 Ethics in Nursing

Week 7 Journal Reflection

Combatting Moral Distress

Moral resilience has been defined as “the capacity of an individual to sustain or restore their integrity in response to moral complexity, confusion, distress, or setbacks” (Rushton, 2016a, p. 112a). Moral resilience is an evolving concept and other definitions have focused on “the ability and willingness to speak and take right and good action in the face of an adversity that is moral/ethical in nature” (Lachman, 2016, p. 122).

I would like to believe that nurses have innate and learned capacities that can be used to combat the negative of forces of moral distress, burnout, compassion fatigue, and incivility that plagues our nursing profession.

As a result of this one course in Ethics, you have been given some tools to develop critical thinking skills, use ethical decision making models to strengthen and clarify your values. I believe all of you will need to be on an intentional journey to use and leverage these skills to keep your nursing practice resilient and meaningful.

How do you see yourself cultivating moral resilience within yourself,  with your colleagues and the organizations where you will work?  What specific interventions can you envision for yourself as you continue your journey in the socialization of becoming a nurse?  What contributions do you intend to create to make meaningful and sustainable change in your role as a nurse?

“From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.”

~ Arthur Ashe

Response is to be posted to correct Assignment folder.  Items placed in wrong folder will not be graded.  Write this using academic considerations:  full sentences, correct grammar, punctuation—use this assignment to develop your persuasive writing skills.  Content and references must be in APA format.