Lecture 4 - Nursing Values and Ethics

a strong personal belief and an ideal or standard that a person or group believes to have merit • values influence behavior • they vary among people and develop over time • values reflect cultural and societal influences relationships and personal needs

the process of acquiring and forming values • influenced by a person’s culture, ethnic background, religious community, schools, peer groups, social media and work environments • acquired by choosing values that are strongly upheld in their community and discarding or transforming others

the process of appraising personal values to articulate what matters most and what priorities are guiding your life • a willingness to clarify values reflects a healthy attitude and an ability to adapt to new experiences • involves conscious decisions about which values are most important to one’s practice –> shapes professional identity in accordance with the related ethical values of one’s profession

the study of philosophical ideals of right and wrong behavior based on what one thinks one ought (or ought not) to do • involves the values and standards that individuals and professional strive to uphold

explains what people do or think about moral issues - what rules, principles, or values people apply when making moral decisions or juedgements in different situations

tells us how we ought to think about moral questions • provides moral principles or virtues that allow us to make moral decisions based on our obligations to others • ex. CNA’s Code of Ethics

actions are defined as right or wrong according to moral duties, principles or rules • do not look at the consequences of actions to determine rightness or wrongness –> the action deemed the most moral is taken regardless of the outcome

the ethical choice is the one with the best consequences (= the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people) • the ends justifies the means

actions are obligation based, outcome oriented, and based on reason. guided by 4 moral theories: 1. Autonomy - recognition of the person as an individual with freedom and self-determination 2. Beneficence - obligation to promote health and well-being 3. Non-Maleficence - avoidance of harm 4. Justice - fairness and equity

focuses on inequalities between people (especially minorities)

emphasizes the importance of understanding relationships between people, environments, social aspects, and behavioral aspects

conflicts between two sets of human values, both of which are judged to be “good”, but neither of which can be fully served

Step 1: Determine whether the issue is an ethical dilemma. Step 2: Gather all relevant information. Step 3: Examine and determine your own values on the issues. Step 4: Verbalize the problem. Step 5: Consider possible courses of action. Step 6: Reflect on the outcome. Step 7: Evaluate the action and the outcome

the code provides guidance for ethical relationships, responsibilities, behaviours, and decision-making and it is to be used in conjunction with professional standards, best practice, research, laws, and regulations that guide practice

• Providing safe, compassionate, competent, and ethical care • Promoting health and well-being • Promoting and respecting informed decision making • Preserving dignity • Maintaining privacy and confidentiality • Promoting justice • Being accountable

• Responsibility - a duty to perform actions adequately and thoughtfully (reliability and dependability • Accountability - accepting responsibility for one’s actions and being able to offer reasons and explanations for it • Advocacy - advocating for others to eliminate inequities