Nursing is a very intense field to pursue because nurses are essential to improving patient’s condition. The nurse must put orders into action; the quality of care given plays a huge role in the direction a patient’s health will go. Nursing care is founded upon the ethical principles of doing no harm, autonomy, beneficence, etc. These principles are the foundation of how nursing care is structured and carried out. When these principles are dismissed, the individual is no longer acting as a nurse. In the decision scenario 8, Shawn is acting as an executioner rather than a nurse. Shawn’s job is to kill people by lethal injection. Shawn’s job description does not state he should organize a plan of care around the patient’s wishes nor does it …show more content…
If a patient asks the medical professional to kill him/her, the professional should not do so. It is the responsibility of the health professional to do no harm to the patient. In the case of Donald Cowart, the doctor and nurse’s response to Cowart asking them to kill him were appropriate. They refused to kill him, because it is considered malpractice. Dr. Meier stated to Donald, “Don’t ask us to let you die…because in a sense what that means is we’re killing you. If you want to die, then let me fix your hands, operate on them and open them up so at least you can do something with them, and if you want to commit suicide then, you can. But don’t ask us to stand her and literally kill you (M/L, page 6).” Although Dax gave consent to killing him, it is not ethical nor is it lawful to kill a patient intentionally. Other than the example above, there is no other situation a medical professional should act against the patient’s consent or against a patient’s best medical interests. People entrust health professionals to improve or maintain health. Going against a patient’s best medical interests is unethical and …show more content…
Every patient deserves to take an active role in planning and carrying out their health care plan. Nurses should constantly refer to the ethical principles of nursing when making a decision pertaining to a person’s health. Health professionals are entrusted with a tough job of managing lives; therefore, the best efforts are needed to do the job efficiently. It is vital to develop a therapeutic relationship with the patient to understand why the patient would refuse certain treatments. Doing so, will help the health care provider to better assist the patient in his/her health management. Making sure the procedures and treatments being implemented is the best for the patient’s health and not causing any harm to the patient is the overall goal of the nursing profession. This goal will continue to be the standard of practice for all nursing