Nursing Ethics Case Summary

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Introduction Understanding the complex nature of primary care physicians care and the ethical responsibility of nursing can seem contradictory at times. Understanding the code of ethics will enhance the nursing care for the patient in a time when a the patient is in need of comfort and palliative care only.
Analysis
Combining morphine and Ativan (lorazepam) can be deadly, making the Primary Care Physician (PCP) statement seem contradictory to medical ethics. The specific medical ethical issues addressed in this case include patient autonomy, beneficence, and no maleficence. However, there are other ethical issues and dilemmas raised by this case. The nurse faces professional ethical dilemmas in terms of the conflicts between Provision 2 and Provision 8 in the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics. Provision 2 indicates that nurses have a primary commitment to the patient, followed by Provision 3, which calls for the professional nurse to actively advocate for and protect the “rights, health, and safety of the patient,” (ANA, 2015). However, Provision 8 indicates that the nurse also “collaborates with other health professionals and the public to protect human rights, promote health diplomacy, and reduce health disparities,” (ANA, 2015). This case shows how the nurse’s primary
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Doing no harm means refraining from offering the patient the morphine if it is suspected that the interaction between the Ativan and the morphine might result in a fatality. The DNR order has nothing to do with physician assisted suicide and if the PCP knows of the potential interaction and still goes ahead with administering the morphine, then the physician might be complicit in maleficent acts leading to the patient’s death. Therefore, there are several possible course of action in this situation. The following three courses of action would occur simultaneously to ensure that all ethical standards are being