Week 10: Ethics and Professional Identity

Ethics and Professional Identity Readings: pg 167-186 + 3 articles Ethics and Morality - Ethics: the critical, structured examination of how we should behave in the social context in particular - It is a way of reflecting on and understanding norms, beliefs, and values alongside practices and issues that have a moral dilemma - Morality: refers to the belief and traditions we hold and how we conduct ourselves toward others - Ethical dilemmas may be situations in which we find that the clear course of action is not obvious - Values: our conception of what is good and what is most desirable - Moral autonomy: refers to a state in which we feel responsibly and ownership for our chosen values and beliefs - Being accountable and standing up for what we believe in makes us morally autonomous Moral Integrity - Moral integrity can be thought of as a virtue that relates to reliability, wholeness, an integration of character, and fidelity in adhering to moral norms that are sustained over time - If we find that, for some reason, it is difficult or impossible to stay true to our convictions, we may then feel that our values have been pushed to a limit. This can lead to feelings of resentment, despair, and powerlessness. This feeling of being unable to effect meaningful change in challenging ethical circumstance is known as moral distress - Someone who knows the right thing to do but is unable to do it may experience moral distress - Reducing feelings of moral distress comes as a result of creating ethical environments in places where we work. An ethical environment is one in which we, as individual nurses, feel that meaningful change can happen and that we are not alone when dealing with problems that have a moral or ethical dimension - Being morally autonomous refers to being in a state in which we feel accountable and responsible for our chosen values and beliefs - Keeping our promises - Being steadfast - Moral seamlessness Ethics as Inquiry - Bioethics: can be defined as the branch of philosophy of inquiry that can involve a range of health care professionals, activities, and issues - Alongside the rise of bioethics, we see 3 distinct global trends in health care - 1. Rapidly evolving technological advances - - 2. Historic advances in the reach of the media - 3. A change in the traditional patriarchal doctor-client relationship Nursing ethics: the examination of the norms, values, and principles of nursing practice Focus nurses have on relationships Feminist ethics: the differences in the experiences and relationships of men or women have an effect on our moral development and, in turn, how we approach moral dilemmas Ethical Theories - Ethical theories are systematic approaches to help us examine why some things might seem more wrong or more right when we attempt to resolve ethical dilemmas - Consequentialists put forth that the most important (the only) consideration in resolving ethical dilemmas are the consequences of outcomes - Maximize positive outcomes and minimize negative outcomes - Difficult to come to consensus - Utilitarians assess the moral rightness of a possible action by how much good, satisfaction, or happiness it might produce - Choose the alternative that provides the most good for the most people - Deontological ethics tends to focus on what lies behind our chosen actions and states that our idea about what it means to adhere to our duties should dictate the moral rightness of our actions in ethical dilemmas - Knowing what our moral duties are and acting in accordance with those duties - Principlism consists of four guiding principles that are intended to be the middle ground between high-level idealistic values based on moral theory and a lower everyday morality - This framework identifies 4 guiding principles: - Respect for autonomy - Beneficence - Nonmaleficence - Justice Ethics in Practice: Real-World Problems - Academic integrity is a term used to describe maintaining truth, soundness, and honesty in academic matters - Includes values such as: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage - You have a fiduciary duty as a nurse to tell the truth to your patient, remain autonomous and make sure they have informed consent