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Ethics and Ethical Dilemma

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Ethical Decisions and the Influence of Culture

Nurses and Doctors must face many ethical decisions in their daily routine. It is important that we know our ethical responsibilities while caring for our patients. There are many ethical theories we utilize daily, I will be discussing these theories and provide an example of each. These theories include Deontology, Utilitarianism, Naturalism and Virtue ethics. I will go onto discuss confidentiality and how it pertains to reasonable limits. Finally I will be discussing a case in which cultural values relate to and influence healthcare. This case describes Mrs. Z, who just moved to the United States two years ago with her family, who finds out she has a positive breast biopsy and does not want to inform her family nor pursue treatment.
Deontology is defined as, “a group of ethical theories based upon the rationalist view that the rightness or wrongness of an act depends on the nature of the act, rather than the consequences that occur as the result of it.” (Burkhardt, 2008) This simply means that a person needs to uphold one’s duty. An example is a parent has an obligation to take care of a child. Or in medicine if a nurse witnesses a medication error, she has the duty to report it to the manager, even know it might get the other nurse in to trouble. This is important in healthcare because we need to uphold our practices to ensure the patients are safe at all times. In the case presentation, the Dr. F must uphold her medical duty to take care of Mrs. Z. The doctor has a duty to follow up with Mrs. Z. and provide her with all of the pro’s and cons of the treatment options that would benefit Mrs. Z. the most.
Utilitarianism is defined as, “a theory which holds that an action is judged good or bad in relation to the consequences or outcome.” (Burkhardt, 2008) This theory wants to use the greatest amount

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